Jaworski and De Vega talk Sports
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 06 Jan 2011
Basketball?s living legend Robert ?Sonny? Jaworski and former Asian Sprint Queen Lydia de Vega-Mercado met last Wednesday and what they did they talk about? Jaworski, whose passion for basketball, particular, is comparable to his love for sports, visited De Vega-Mercado in Meycauayan City to extend his condolences to the latter and family for the death of father-coach Francisco ?Tatang? de Vega.
The topic of their discussion focused on the present sad state of Philippine sports and its future. Both agreed on one thing - that sports in the country is in disarray and if the problems besetting it are not addressed soon ?it won?t be long before the Philippines finds itself at the bottom end even in the Southeast Asian level competitions.
?Why, we can?t even have a decent finish in the lowly Southeast Asian Games,? Jaworski, a former senator and principal author of Rep. Act 9064, the law that grants incentives to medalists in international competitions, bewailed.
?Oo nga po. Katatapos lang nating mag-overall champion sa SEA Games four years ago, ngayon nasa fifth-sixth place na tayo. Masyado naming napakabilis ng pagbaba natin sa standing,? De Vega-Mercado, Diay to the sporting community agreed.
?There?s only one reason for that. Sports in the wrong hands. It?s not our athletes because they have proven not only once but many times that they can compete heads up high even against the best in the world, ? Jaworski, ?Sonny?, ?Jawo,? or the ?Big J? to friends, said.
?There?s no program really to speak of,? De Vega-Mercado, who now works as teracdher-coach in four schools in Singapore, her part, said. ?Ang sports program para sa bata medyo late na. Sa Singapore, kindergarten pa lang minumulat na ang bata sa sports and arts. Pagdating sa primary alam na kung ano ang sport na bagay sa isang bata.?
?Kasi naman, yung mga dapat makatulong, like us former athletes, are not tapped. Kung sino yung mga walang alam sa sports, siyang nandoon at nagpapatakbo,? Diay noted.
?Gaya mo, bakit ka nasa Singapore at nagtuturo ng future athletes na makakalaban ng mga anak nating mismo? Dapat dito ka nagko-coach. Dapat nandito ka para humanap ng magmamana ng korona mo,? the former player-coach of popular club Ginebra, said.
To which Diay retorted: ?Eh wala akong magagawa. I have no place here in my own country. I tried to stay despite the numerous offers sa overseas hoping to work right here and discover, develop athletes to succeed me. Wala naming magbigay sa akin ng chance.?
?As former athletes, alam natin pagkakita pa lamang kung may ibubuga ang isang prospect. Alam natin kung sino ang dapat maging sprinter, middle distance runner at maging long distance artists,? Jaworski said. ?Maski sa basketball at iba pang sports, alam natin kung sino ang my future.?
Rather than strengthen the country?s mass-oriented, grass root development program, both lamented plans to transfer anew the staging of the Palarong Pambansa from the Department of Education to the Philippine Philippine Sports Commission.
?They tried it before, but ang resulta palpak. Why? Because the PSC did not show expertise in running the Palaro when given the first chance to handle it. No one in the agency has experience in teaching even P.E.,? he reasoned out. ?Bago makarating sa Palaro, mayroon dyang town meets, provincial meets at regional meets. Kaya ban g PSC yan?? the Big J asked.
Jaworski said he had a bill he filed in the Senate expanding the PSC into a Philippine Sports Authority and expanding the present system?s reach, responsibilities and resources.
?One other important thing is to professionalize the P.E. teaching profession. Kung ang teacher sa academics ay professionalized, bakit hindi ang P.E. teachers? If teachers in academics take care of building a citizenry with a healthy mind, P.E. teachers handles the future citizens healthy and strong body,? he philosophized.
The two sports greats talked about many things more that was stopped only when Diay?s neighbors came in droves asking that their pictures be taken with Jawo that it took the Big J and friend Reli de Leon two hours to reach their cars to return back to Manila.
Before going back home though, Jaworski has words for Diay: Hayaan mo, magtiis-tiis ka muna sa trabaho mo sa Singapore. Maganda naman ang kita mo doon., Kung sakaling maganda na ang estado ng sports dito, ako mismo ang kukuha sa iyo doon para makatulong ka.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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