Thus is the general consensus among the 125 participants of the three-day Philippine Sports Talent Identification Program (PSTIP) "Training the Trainors" seminar-workshop of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) for the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) Visayas and Mindanao personnel that ends today at the Abellana Sports Complex here.
"We must start somewhere. This way, we can identify what sport the young boys and girls are suited for," said PSC chairman Carlos Tuason yesterday during the Cebu Sportswriters/SCOOP Forum at the Baseline Recreational Center.
PSC commissioner and Project director Amparo "Weena" Lim said, "The PSTIP shall involve nationwide mental and physical testing of schoolchildren for further development of the athletically-gifted."
"This program aims to put in place a scientific procedure for the selection of young athletes whose training and development will be supported," Lim added.
The PSTIP will be implemented by the PSC with the assistance of the DECS while the Philippine Center for Sports Medicine (PCSM) will handle the technical aspects. This endeavor will be undertaken for the first time in the history of Philippine sports.
Also present were PSC commissioners Ricardo Garcia and Monico Puentevella, DECS Asst. Region VII director Dr. Carolino Mordino, and PCSM director Dr. Jose Raul Canlas.