Because of the promising results last year, the free grassroots training program at the Sisters of Mary School-Boystown provided by the Cebu Provincial Sports Commission (CPSC) and University of the Visayas (UV) assistant coach Van Parmis will continue this year.
According to CPSC sports development officer III Brando Velasquez, the Boystown was a “gold mine” in terms of finding potential talents last year, which is the reason why they are determined to continue supporting the program started by Parmis.
The CPSC allocated P600,000 for the grassroots training program in Sisters of Mary School-Boystown in 2017, and Velasquez said they allocated the same amount for 2018. CPSC has a budget of P35 million for 2018.
“In a span of one year, we saw a lot of improvements from the athletes, they really showed why they deserve this free grassroots training program because we have seen their dedication and their willingness to be trained. No wonder they excelled in several sporting events,” Velasquez told Cebu Daily News.
An example of this is the 15 athletes from Boystown who qualified in the Provincial meet last December in the municipality of Carmen. They gained slots to represent the Cebu Province in the Central Visayas Regional Athletics Association this February in Tagbilaran City, Bohol.
Another product of the training program at Boystown is 15-year-old middle-distance runner Jessie Abelgos, who won a gold medal in the 5,000-meter run of the 22nd Milo Little Olympics Visayas Regional Finals in Cebu City. Abelgos is a native of Abuyog, Southern Leyte. He also won in several fun runs last year.
The SMS-Boystown under-12 basketball team also managed to barge into the semifinals of the Cebu Youth Basketball League.
‘Eagerness to learn’
Parmis, who started the free grassroots training program at the Boystown with a clinic for basketball on his 35th birthday in January 9, 2017, said the results of his program has inspired him to continue teaching.
“What makes me continue to conduct free training program [at the Boystown] is the boys’ eagerness to learn,” Parmis said.
At first, Parmis started with just basketball with the help of the UV basketball team. The clinic got bigger, which led him to seek assistance from the CPSC and other volunteer coaches so he can include other sports. Now the clinic includes training for athletics, swimming, volleyball, badminton, table tennis, taekwondo, arnis, archery and sepak takraw.
This he was able to achieve not only with the help of CPSC, but also volunteer coaches such as John Philip Dueñas, who is the trainer of Cebuana Olympian and Southeast Asian Games women’s marathon gold medalist Mary Joy Tabal.
“I am very happy for the never-ending support from the volunteer coaches and CPSC. We all believe that one day these boys will win championships and win gold medals,” Parmis said.
According to its website, the Sisters of Mary congregation was founded to “provide free educational and vocational welfare for the underprivileged children/youth, medical care to the sick and the dying, and shelter service to the homeless and helpless.”
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