"I’m old so I can speak out," says the 73-year-old guru whose son Paeng is in the Guinness Book of Records as the only four-time World Cup champion ever. "I think it’s a waste of talent if a foreign coach is hired to teach kids. I’m sure there are many Filipino coaches who could teach kids how to bowl, instead of a foreigner. Is a foreign coach necessary to teach beginners? If a foreigner is hired, his job should be to coach national players, not starters–beyond the basics."
Nepomuceno, considered the Filipino dean of bowling, adds that paying Madoka Amano, a Japanese married to a Filipina, $2,500 a month in addition to an allowance of P5,000 for utilities and another P5,000 for transportation is unfair to local coaches who earn much less. A local head coach receives P10,500 a month plus a P3,000 meal allowance.
Nepomuceno says it’s an insult to Filipino coaches for the PSC to pay a foreigner so much more for a grassroots program. "At my level, I would earn about $500 an hour in the US," he notes. If the PSC listed Nepomuceno as a national coach, he’d earn infinitesimally less.
Nepomuceno says in four decades as a bowling coach, he knows what local coaches are capable of and considers hiring foreign coaches a useless expense.
Known as his son’s mentor and long-time coach, Nepomuceno takes no credit for Paeng’s achievements. "I’m just the producer," he says. But he’s quick to proudly point out that his son was named World FIQ International Bowler of the Millennium, in behalf of 100 million bowlers all over the globe, and received the prestigious International Olympic Committee President’s Trophy.
"I know Madoka–he used to coach in Hong Kong and Singapore," continues Nepomuceno. "I’m not putting him down. But I think our national head coach, Johnson Cheng, has done a fAine job. Johnson’s the only coach to whom I entrust Paeng. I still train Paeng but I don’t coach him anymore abroad. Johnson’s assistant coach Purvis Granger is also good. I remember Purvis drilled Paeng’s ball during the World Cup in Ireland."
Granger, an American, pockets $2,000 a month plus P5,000 for utilities and P5,000 for transportation. It’s strange that an assistant earns much more than the head coach. But Cheng doesn’t mind. In fact, he pays a counterpart salary for Granger just to match the $5,000 monthly fee he used to get as the Hong Kong national coach. Granger was hired last June and his contract expires next year.