Under the new program of the Philippine Sports Commission, outstanding athletes of the Palarong Pambansa will undergo training camps in the future.
PSC chairman William Ramirez said this as the government sports agency gets set to unravel a new program that will expand its role this year.
This means that medallists of the Palarong Pambansa will have a chance to train with selected and certified coaches, who will be provided by the national sports associations.
Ramirez said this is among the activities in store when the PSC launches the National Sports Development Program this January.
The programs under the NSDP will be done in the Department of Education and the local government units.
“‘Yun ang path ng grassroots program. Sana lumakas at gumanda ang grassroots sports,” said Ramirez.
The NSDP will focus more on the agency’s efforts to strengthen the country’s grassroots development program.
Ramirez said this will help the PSC implement its mandate even more in the coming years.
For the moment, Ramirez will head the NSDP. But an executive director will be appointed later on.
The PSC chief explained that when the PSC was created in 1998, the agency only had bureaus, such as the administration and finance, plus support services.
With the third bureau in place, the agency will be able to attend to the needs of the athletes and coaches not only at the grassroots level, but at also at the elite level.
This will be supported activities now being done by the Philippine Sports Institute and with the construction of the Philippine Sports Training Center in Rosales, Pangasinan in the middle of the year.
Support for the NSDP will come from services given by the PSC’s efforts to improve its services in sports science and medicine research, and sports education with coaches and trainers.