CEBU, Philippines — Some 600 kids have completed the first phase of their training in six sports under the 2nd Mayor Inocentes Cabaron Summer Athletic Enhancement Program in Moalboal town, south of Cebu.
Now on its second year, the massive grassroots program offers free training for basketball, volleyball, dancesport, tennis, table tennis, badminton, and chess.
It is aimed at encouraging Moalboal kids to take up sports and enhance further their athletic skills.
For this year, Mayor Cabaron has tapped former University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancer Jaysar Esperat for basketball and former Philippine national team member Dave Cabaron for volleyball.
The other trainers are Seth Rabuya for tennis, Odillon Badilles for chess, Filjun Benlot for table tennis, Arvin Flores for dancesport, and Hipolito Gocotano for badminton.
The program will end on July 15.
Sports is the best way to encourage our kids to stay active and by giving them free training, we also hope to discover the next generation of players who can represent us in DepEd meets, said Mayor Cabaron, an avid sportsman who plays tennis regularly.
Mayor Cabaron hopes that some of the players will get the chance to earn an athletic scholarship.
An athletic scholarship is a very huge help to the family of the athletes. That s why I encourage them that if they get a chance, they should grab it since not everyone are given such opportunity, said Cabaron.