Skywalker still flying

The Skywalker continues to navigate the stratosphere but now, he’s doing it to teach the tricks of his trade in a customized way. Samboy Lim, one of the PBA’s greatest stars, began his Skywalker Basketball Camp in 2003, hoping to share his knowledge of the game with enthusiasts of all ages on a mass basis. Two years ago, he decided to cater to a specialized market, offering a hands-on approach with basic and advanced lessons in a monthly, year-round engagement.

Lim, 51, keeps in touch with the latest trends in the PBA as Ginebra San Miguel team manager and injects pro inputs in teaching the game to campers at the Dumlao Gym on Shaw Boulevard. He is assisted by Carl Vendicacion and his son Carlos. The customized camp is called the Samboy Lim Personalized Training with four two-hour sessions every month per student.

For the summer, Lim is conducting three camps a week – on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The sessions are on Saturday and Sunday during non-summer months. Each session has a limit of up to 17 campers. The basic camp is from 8 to 10 a.m. while the advanced camp is from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. After a month, a camper may re-enrol for another set of four sessions – Lim will decide if a basic camper is ready to move to the advanced level.

Vendicacion, 47, has mobilized his entire family to support Lim. His wife Anna said it’s out of friendship and a common love for basketball. “Samboy and Carl met while they were working out at the Excel Gym in Megamall about 10 years ago,” related Anna. “Carl became Samboy’s weight trainer and they began a close relationship. Carl has been helping out Samboy in his camps from the start. Now our son Carlos, who is 18, is in the camp staff and our daughter Claire, who is 22, helps out on the computer side. Our family is also involved in marketing and administration.”

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Anna said what makes Lim’s camp different from others is his personal touch. “The lessons aren’t just about ballhandling or shooting or rebounding or footwork but also finding out Samboy’s secrets,” she continued. “Samboy makes it a point to teach his skywalking moves and share his experiences, lessons which you can’t find in books. He adapts his teaching to both the basic and advanced students.”

Lim’s camp is open to players as young as five years old. “We’ve welcomed kids below 10 and for them, we provide a mini-basketball and a mini-court with Samboy still their teacher,” said Anna. “Samboy has also worked with players who are over 30, those playing in inter-company or senior or alumni leagues. We’re proud to announce that many of our young campers made it to the varsity of their schools, like Gabby Angeles who is now with Team A of the Ateneo high school team. It’s gratifying to know that our campers credit Samboy for their development. In every camp, we work like a family. Some campers come with their parents and we track the progress of the kids together. We like to limit each camp to only 17 players so Samboy has a chance to personally supervise the training of every individual. That’s why we call it personalized training.”

Each camper is given a Skywalker shirt to wear for the sessions. A certificate of participation is given upon request after the completion of every monthly camp. The fee is P3,000 for every two-hour session or P12,000 for a four-session camp.

“We’re running summer sessions in April, May and June,” said Anna. “We’ve added a Monday session to accommodate more students but it’s only for the summer. There are enrolees coming from as far as Cagayan Valley, Mindoro and Batangas. Fil-Ams also take the chance to be part of Samboy’s personalized training during the summer and the Christmas holidays.”

Lim thought of setting up his own camp to give back to the sport that has been and remains his way of life. “Constant practice coupled with sheer desire to learn the game leads to perfection,” said Anna. “It’s for this reason that Samboy came up with his camp. He started this because of his passion to impart his knowledge to aspiring players.” The camp is sponsored by Power Corrector Energy Saving Device. For details, call Tel. No. 531-7554 (ask for Carl or Anna Vendicacion) or 0916-6989489.

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Another summer activity worth checking out is Hall of Fame bowler Paeng Nepomuceno’s Mental Game Seminar at Paeng’s Midtown Bowl in Robinsons Place, Manila, from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 1. The seminar fee is P2,000 with a certificate of completion to be given to every participant.

“I thought of doing this seminar because the mental game aspect in sports has not been given much importance by athletes and coaches over the years,” said the six-time world champion. “I’m in the process of finalizing a similar mental game seminar for all sports in general which I believe will help all our athletes.”

Nepomuceno promised to reveal the secrets of his success in over four decades of world championship bowling during the seminar which will introduce the fundamentals of mental programming, including mental relaxation, visualization and imagery, emotions and feelings, development of concentration skills, attitude formation by thinking like a winner and staying motivated.

Nepomuceno said he will explain how to overcome mental barriers that restrict athletes from doing their best, to master the mental side of bowling leading to a new level of excellence, to properly apply the fundamentals of the mental game in achieving as much improvement as an equal amount of time spent on the lanes, to realize that achievement in sports is not entirely physical (sometimes, the mental aspect is more important than the physical) and to excel in mental skills leading in excellence in physical skills.