THE tie ups with the United States Sports Academy will help deepen and strengthen the Philippine Sports Commission’s capacity to develop both a grassroots and elite program.
PSC chairman William “Butch” Ramirez said this after the government sports agency recently forged an agreement with the USSA and arranged a smooth working relationship.
“In other countries, there’s no department of sports and an institute, and no doctorate degree in this area. We want these areas to strengthen, to deepen its capacity to develop grassroots and elite programs,” said Ramirez.
The agreement will mainly benefit the programs of the Philippine Sports Institute, which is now deeply involved in talent identification of potential athletes in the provinces under National Training Director Marc Edward Velasco and Dr. Henry Daut.
Coaches’ education will be the primary thrust. It will involve public school teachers and coaches who still study to have a master’s degree in sports science.
The agreement was recently signed in Davao City, with the Academy set to work with governmental agencies and other organizations endorsed by the PSC.
Meanwhile, the PSC is doing its best to procure materials so that the canteen at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex and at the Philsports in Pasig will soon be operational to serve national athletes.
Ramirez said the agency had promised to open the canteen last year.
But issues in government procurements have cropped. And they hope to get things going by January.
Sports officials said this will contribute a great deal to the national sports development program.
“We when we came to the Philippine Sports Commission we launched the Philippine Sports Institute (PSI) with the hope of establishing and strengthening elite sports and grassroots sports programs,” said Ramirez
Ramirez discussed this PSC’s recent deal after signing an agreement with Academy President and CEO Dr. T.J. Rosandich, and the pact is known as the Sports Protocol of Cooperation And this will also include the involvement of the Philippine Sports Institute, which is now deeply involved in talent identification of potential athletes in the provinces.
“The signing of this protocol is of particular significance to the United States Sports Academy as we have had a long history with the Philippines,” Rosandich said.
Rosandich said that USSA began teaching international certification programs in sports management and sports coaching in the Philippines in the early 1980s.