Academy to rise from partnership

MANILA, Philippines - A timetable has been set to launch the first-ever Philippine Academy for Sports in two years with the Department of Education spearheading a public-private sector partnership that will initially craft a coaches training program and develop a curriculum to serve as the career pathway for athletes on the K-to-12 track.

Sen. Pia Cayetano turned over P3 million to the Department of Education last December to cover for the transportation, accommodation and food for the training of coaches and teachers from three pilot regional centers as the initial step towards the establishment of the academy. The proposed regional centers are the Rizal High School in Pasig, General Santos High School and Abellana High School in Cebu City. 

Under the scheme leading to the formation of the academy, 17 public high schools designated as SPS (Special Program in Sports) units will serve the regional centers as feeders of athletes in athletics, swimming, archery, arnis, racket games, chess, gymnastics, taekwondo, team sports and speak takraw.

The tentative lineup of SPS schools lists Ilocos Norte National High School (Region I), Cagayan National High School (Region II), Victoria National High School (Region III), Lopez National Comprehensive High School (Region IV-A), Palawan National High School (Region IV-B), Camarines Sur National High School (Region V), Iloilo National High School (Region VI); Negros Oriental National High School (Region VII), Palo National High School (Region VIII), Zamboanga Sibugay National High School (Region IX), Bukidnon National High School (Region X), Sto. Tomas National High School (Region XI), General Santos National High School (Region XII), Bayugan National Comprehensive High School (CARAGA), Datu Paglas National High School (ARMM), Tabuk National High School (CAR) and Muntinulpa High School (NCR).

The SPS schools were organized in 2001 by the Department of Education and will be the springboard and testing zone to develop sporting talent within the school system. Some 300 coaches and teachers will be deployed to the 17 SPS schools with a focus on talent identification, sports psychology, strength and conditioning, physical fitness and skills development in a holistic approach. 

Last year, Department of Education consultants Fr. Tito Caluag and Sebastian Ripoll joined Chito Loyzaga, then representing the Philippine Sports Commission, on a one-week visit to London before the Olympics to evaluate sports training programs of 14 UK universities and determine applicability to the Philippine situation with the view of setting up an academy supported by regional centers and SPS feeders. The three-man team visited four campuses before receiving proposals for consultancy from six schools. Leeds Metropolitan University was eventually chosen to develop the coaches’ education program and sports curriculum under a two-year consultancy agreement sponsored by the British Council. 

Leeds professors Pat Duffy and Sergio Lara-Bercial visited the country last December and later submitted the first part of their scoping report. They went to the three schools that are prospective regional centers. Lara-Bercial will return on a follow-up mission on April 10.

The academy will be a boarding school taking in students from Grades 7 to 12 up to 18 years old. A possible site for the national campus is the Nuvali area in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, where nearby schools include La Salle, UST, Adventist University of the Philippines, Xavier School, Don Bosco, Colegio de San Agustin and St. Scholastica’s College. 

“Academics remain the priority but identifying the needs of the athletes and the uniqueness of the school is a crucial element for the contextualization of the basic education curriculum,” said Fr. Caluag. “The target is to follow the model and concept of the science high schools wherein the content and pedagogical approach of the core subjects are contextualized and oriented towards sports education.”