Sun Life Financial–Philippines Foundation, Inc. has teamed up with Get Passionate Productions to support the training of coaches from different public schools so they can improve their sports programs and help budding Filipino athletes.
The introductory course dubbed “Coach Advancement Program (CAP)” was held from May 19 to 25 at Cebu Grand Hotel in Cebu City. It was attended by a total of 29 coaches from General Santos City National High School and Abellana National High School who handle different disciplines, including basketball, football, volleyball, athletics, baseball, softball, sepak takraw, tennis, table tennis, gymnastics, swimming, and taekwondo.
According to Sun Life Foundation Executive Director Joub Miradora, sponsoring the program is part of the Foundation’s commitment to promoting health and wellness. “We have a lot of young Filipino athletes in public schools who have the potential to shine brighter, but we have to provide them with proper guidance and training thru excellent coaching. This is why ‘coaching the coach’, so to speak, is very crucial,” he said.
The CAP is the first part of a six-month development program, which aims to provide coaches with proper training and resources so they can mold student athletes in the best way possible.
The program, which employs the coach education curriculum of a sports school, was met with enthusiasm by the participants. “What’s unique about the program is its attention to detail and its unique way of looking at the totality of a coach – not just in terms of technical expertise, but also the human side of coaching,” said Hercules Callanta, an Associate Professor UP Diliman’s College of Human Kinetics.
Luz Callanta, a nutritionist and Faculty member of the Center for Culinary Arts echoed this sentiment. “The approach is very professional! This experience has truly been exciting,” she said.
The coaches’ experiences will be featured in the show Team U, which airs every Sunday, 11:30 am, on ABS-CBN Sports+Action. Team U, which follows the journey of the young athletes under the coaches’ care, is hosted by actors Gerald Anderson and Piolo Pascual, who is among the producers of the show.
“We’re grateful for Sun Life Foundation’s support,” Pascual said. “This project is very special to me because education is one of my advocacies. In Team U, we are able to touch the lives of Filipino students who are active in sports. Sun Life Foundation makes that possible.”
Get Passionate Productions, the group supervising the show, also expressed gratitude. “The help extended by Sun Life Foundation will go a long way because, with the guidance of their coaches, the students will not only have the opportunity to hone their skills, but develop their character as well,” said Sebastian Ripoll. “More than being an extra-curricular activity in school, sports is a good platform for the students to learn discipline and understand the value of hardwork and sportsmanship.”