MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Sports Commission recently approved the hiring of foreign coaches for various national sports associations in a bid to boost the country’s gold medal chances in the SEA Games in Jakarta in November.
Lithuanian Rolandas Kazlauskas has been contracted for six months to handle the national rowers’ SEAG buildup while Chinese Zhang Li Jun will take over the fencers’ training starting this month.
Kazlauskas will get a monthly pay of $2,500, inclusive of housing and food allowances, while Zhang will focus on the epee event for a monthly stipend of $1,500.
“He (Kazlauskas) is our foreign coach who sincerely and genuinely looks after our team’s welfare. He is competent and he proved it in his past assignments,” said rowing chief Benjie Ramos.
Zhang is the second foreign coach tapped by fencing after Wang Qing, who took over as saber team mentor early this year for a monthly salary of $1,600.
Triathlon and squash have also hired foreign coaches although the two sports are not in this year’s SEAG calendar.
Triathlon has tapped Dan Brown as early as last January and will have him for the rest of the year. It hopes to qualify an athlete in the 2012 London Olympics.
Brown will receive a monthly allowance amounting to $2,000 plus P15,000 for housing and another P10,000 for meals.
Squash, in contrast, hired Wong Wai Hang for just 10 days, from May 5-14. He received a salary of $1,700 plus P26,541 for other expenses.
The PSC, however, turned down SRAP’s additional budget request for Filipino coaches Claudio Paganpan Jr. and Edgar Balleber worth a combined P245,000.
American Eric Lecain, who was earlier tapped as beach volleyball coach for the whole year, will get a $300 monthly raise from the initially approved $1,500.
The PSC is also paying the salaries of other foreign coaches in wushu, windsurfing, shooting, gymnastics, taekwondo, rugby and football.
Football is mentored by German Hans Michael Weiss, whose Azkals are set to battle Sri Lanka in their World Cup Qualifying match on June 29 in Colombo and July 3 at the Rizal Memorial pitch.
Basketball has Serbian mentor Rajko Toroman, whose salary is being paid by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.
Boxing, which has tapped Cuban coaches in the past, might end up with local coaches as it resumes its drive for the first-ever Olympic gold.