PHL U-19 booters hold special training camp in Negros

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines  – Some 20 players composing the Philippine Under-19 Football Team are undergoing rigid trainings in a special football camp in Bago City, Negros Occidental since July.

Also called the Musangs, the Nationals of coach Maor Rozen are preparing for the Asian Football Federation U-19 Championship on September 8 to 21 in Yangon, Myanmar.

The camp is under former congressman Carlos “Charlie” Cojuangco, who is the program director.

The players were chosen from try-outs in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao with over 600 aspirants.

"It is a humble effort at putting together a national team when oftentimes, our teams are put together two to three weeks before a competition," said Cojuangco.

Rozen said other countries may have three to four years lead time, but “we are here to compete, to do the best we can.”

Rozen said the camp offers everything they need for their preparations. The boys have field work where they put to practice their strategies learned.

He said they go to badminton court for strength and power exercise sessions and then to the swimming pool for recovery. 

Friendly matches are held either in the field here or at the Pana-ad pitch in Bacolod.

The boys live in a dormitory with study and mess halls and work on a special tutorial program that allows them to keep in step with the classmates they left behind in their respective schools.

Rozen is in the camp most of the time. There is also a headmaster who ensures schedules are kept and in-house rules strictly followed.

Cojuangco said whatever else happens later, the time spent in this camp ensures at the very least that “they’ll be better players when they leave.”

“They’ll be more mature,” he said, adding that the boys are treated as adults even if some of them act like children sometimes. “we are bringing them into the process, so they understand things.”

Interestingly, the players come not just from different places, but also from different social backgrounds – from exclusive to public schools, two are out-of-school, the others are from urban centers to hinterlands, while two come from abroad.

Wasn’t this a problem? Rozen smiled:"Football is round. In the end, everybody is the same." (FREEMAN)