Post-games depression

Do you believe in post-games depression?

In Melbourne, Australia, they are now looking at getting psychiatrists to help the people cope with the depression that follows the Commonwealth Games.

With the people so excited about being host to a major sporting event, there is always that feeling of emptiness after the events close.

I believe that this is really true and the latest experience I had was after the 23rd Southeast Asian Games closed.

Although the competition was not as grand as the other major international sporting events, taking an active role in the biennial competition gave me a schedule that was not something to envy. However, when the event closed and there was nothing to do anymore for my committee, I realized that there was a sense of emptiness.

I started feeling such during the closing ceremonies when I also saw how the others seem to be trying so hard to celebrate when deep inside they felt that there was going to be a different kind of day to live when they wake up the next morning.

There won't be the usual packed meals that you had to eat, there won't be the orders from committee heads to follow, no shuttling from one venue to another, no media to take care of, and many more changes that would suddenly give you a quiet, but depressing state.

Fellow organizers must have felt that way also as I received text messages from some who said that they felt a hollowness after the competition ended.

Well, there remains to be a few loose ends to tighten to put a close to Cebu's hosting of a few events, but that never changed the feeling of emptiness after several hectic weeks of preparation and actual work.

* * *

Gregg 'Goryo' Balsicas III, my teammate in the Queen City United Football Club team B, sent me another e-mail last week in relation to what we discussed on the summer training program for the kids.

He says that kids must be categorized properly so that they can really improve their skills and not stay stagnant. This means that those kids who have already previous training and have good skills must be grouped together while the beginners will also be in another bracket.

I believe the trainers would do this based on my experience watching summer training programs the past several years.

* * *

We received e-mail from our good friend Benson Rafanan, a 3rd dan blackbelt and chief instructor of the Sacred Heart Aikido Center Cebu about their weekend training program this summer.

The sessions will only be on Saturdays and Sundays for the entire months of April and May.

These sessions are on top of the regular practices every Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

For parents wanting to enroll their kids in martial training, there are also many other programs being offered by other gyms or dojos.

I still have to get the final schedule for our judo-training program at the Cebu City Sports Center where the Cebu City Judo Club practices.

Get you kids into sports for the school-break.

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