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Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Foreign coaches to go, Ramirez says
FOREIGN coaches will be soon get their walking papers as the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) is bent on empowering local coaches to spearhead the training of national athletes.
"We have been spending P250 thousand a month for foreign coaches and trainers and yet the Philippines has yet to win a gold medal in the Olympics," PSC officer-in-charge William "Butch" Ramirez told Davao sports journalists Saturday.
He also noted that foreigners get huge salaries while RP coaches are paid lesser.
Ramirez said instead of paying foreigners, the PSC plans to send Filipino coaches to train abroad.
"A Filipino heart is far better than a foreigner's. A Filipino heart will die for our country. A Filipino heart will win that Olympic gold," Ramirez said.
He said Filipino coaches are equally competent and efficient like their foreign counterparts.
But Ramirez added RP coaches lack exposure. "We are very optimistic that with the RP-China bilateral sports cooperation to be launched on February 15, we will be able to achieve our goal for our athletes and coaches to excel not just in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games but most primarily, in the 2008 Beijing Olympics," Ramirez said.
The RP-China bilateral sports agreement will allow Filipino athletes and coaches to train on their respective disciplines in China.
"China is committed to help us win that coveted gold in the Olympics," Ramirez said.
Ramirez, who visited China with First Gentleman Mike Arroyo recently, cited that athletes play, sleep, eat and train together in China.
Ramirez said: "I still don't know how it is possible for us to adopt their training program but I believe we have so much to learn from the Chinese."
The PSC caretaker was here last Saturday to induct the new officers of the Sunday Bowlers Club at the Grand Menseng Hotel.
Ramirez was also at the opening of the ICBL Cup and even took time out to meet with Davao sportswriters.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here.
(February 9, 2005 issue)
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