THE Cebu Province Sports Commission (CPSC) found a gold mine in the Sisters of Mary Boys Town School in Minglanilla, thanks to University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers assistant coach Van Halen Parmis.
The coach opened the gates for the CPSC to provide assitance to the school’s sports program and gave the province access to a vast pool of untapped talents.
“We were totally surprised by how many potential players we saw there. We are thankful to Van Parmis for involving us in his projects. At least now we have some idea how talent-rich Boys Town is. We are coordinating with the sisters because we want to provide another sports clinic there,” CPSC executive director Atty. Ramil Abing told Sun.Star Cebu.
Parmis, who is the scouting coach of UV and heads the community outreach programs of the Lancers, took some of his UV coach-friends and UV players to Boys Town last weekend to teach the basics of basketball to 1,600 students in a two-day clinic.
Volunteer coaches
Parmis was joined by Jaymar Canoy of the UV SBP and Paserrelle teams, Bon Rosito of Don Bosco Technology Center, Benjamin Alcaraz of Cebu Institute of Technology-University, Rommel Rasmo of the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles and the assistant coaches and players of these schools.
Aside from basketball, Parmis also commissioned the lawn tennis coaches of UV--Fritz and Tabura and his daughter Freza--to teach the students the rudiments of the game. He also tapped University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) coach Eleazar Toledo for football.
Equipment
CPSC initially donated five boxes of footballs to SOM Boytown last weekend, while Parmis gave dozens of basketballs for the kids to use.
“Surprisingly, the boys are really in top shape because they are required to jog 30 rounds in a very wide school complex. But it was the eagerness of the kids to learn that moved us. That is why we are now coordinating with the nuns at SOM to formalize our CPSC involvement in a sports clinic at the Boys Town Complex. We are looking at giving them lessons in table tennis, athletics and swimming because they have an Olympic-sized swimming pool. What we are asking from them is to profile their students so that they will go directly to their specialized event,” Abing said.
Parmis, for his part, said he will continue what he started every weekend as he intends to accomplish something out of this project.
“It’s their interest that gave me courage to continue this program. It would be a waste if we will stop this because we are giving the boys a chance to become athletes and get an athletic scholarship from various universities. Our program will continue every weekend and I’ll invite more coaches, as well as players, to share their knowledge,” Parmis said.