Cebu Football On The Rise
Bleacher Talk
October 1, 2006
Cebu Football On The Rise
“Sunod sa basket, uso naman kaayo ang football ron, no?
This was the statement that I had been waiting to hear to gauge whether or not the growth of Cebu Football was for real. This came from a friend who has zero interest in football and yet discovered that many kids are now taking up the sport. This comment was prompted by the “noise” created by last weekend’s CebuFA Aboitiz National Football Festival.
And I’m sure the leaders of the Cebu Football Association (CebuFA) led by Jonathan “Maxi” Maximo must be sporting ear-to-ear smiles these days. It sure looks like the previous highs of local football have now been surpassed and there doesn’t seem to be anything that can stop this momentum. The wonder of it all is that I don’t think we’ve even scratched the surface of what local football can achieve.
I have always been an advocate of “forgetting” what one has achieved with the eye of doing more in the future. Sure, we’ve already achieved a lot in terms of reviving Cebu’s interest in the sport and this has been acknowledged bountifully by the football family and the local press. And yes, greetings of congratulations are in store for the CebuFA. But are we going to sit on it and simply enjoy what’s happening? Are we going to start celebrating to the high heavens?
Sorry to be a killjoy, but to our dear Maxi and company, I’d like to borrow a line from a popular song from way back: “We’ve only just begun.” There is so much more to be achieved, and you’ve already put Cebu on this path towards football greatness. Let’s keep the fire burning! Yes, I’m using the word “greatness” so our football leaders will think big. Nothing wrong here, di ba? Maxi has talked about sending a Pinoy to the World Cup. We’ve also discussed the possibility of Cebu outdoing our neighbors in Negros and Iloilo in football supremacy.
And so while we celebrate Cebu’s latest achievements, let’s also not forget to check on how we fare against our colleagues out there. As I write this, I’m aware that we just lost to Iloilo, 1-3, at the 2006 Visayas Regional Men's Under-19 Championships. How will we do against Bacolod and Dumaguete? A loss to powerhouse Iloilo is a good tool to sit us right back on our asses to ask ourselves again, “So where are we on this path towards football greatness?”
If we really want to get to the next level, I feel that we still need to increase the level of participation of schools in the sport. With more kids playing the sport, Cebu will build a strong foundation of talents that will serve as the future of Cebu football. If the schools or clubs in 2007 will be exactly the same as those playing in 2006, then that’s bad news. We’ve got to keep on expanding the reach to as wide as it can get.
As a gauge or working target, we can check how many private elementary schools have a basketball program, but have no plans of going into football. Top-of-mind, there’s a gold mine out there in the schools like USC, USJR and other big private elementary schools that still haven’t been bitten by the football virus. The irony of it all is that while some of these CESAFI member-schools have a football program at the college/university level, they don’t have a football program reaching down to their own respective backyards. We also have the public elementary schools that admittedly have more natural athletic talent than those players studying in private schools. The question now is how many new faces will we see in 2007?
As the local football expansion moves on swiftly, well also need a healthy base of qualified coaches who have the task of teaching the sport to the young ones. We’ll need a regular coaches/trainers’ training program to make up for the apparent lack of coaches in elementary schools. On top of this, our football officials will also have to be re-tooled, re-trained and kept on their toes to catch up with the growing demands of the local football family.
A natural offshoot from all these will be the need for a well-planned and coordinated calendar of activities so that the entire football family is always on the same page. Tournaments, festivals and training clinics will be laid out across the year in an orderly fashion so we all grow the sport together and not create conflicts within the football family.
I believe that Cebu has never experienced this “high” that we’re feeling right now in local football history (but I could be wrong), but it’s such a good feeling that the only natural reaction is to keep it going. It’s addictive, enjoyable and fun.
Let’s all enjoy this ride on our path to football greatness!
*** Time-out: Good luck to all those playing in the upcoming Inter La Salle badminton tournament. Those of us at ASMS will be out to prove who’s who in the sport. >>> You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com.
October 1, 2006
Cebu Football On The Rise
“Sunod sa basket, uso naman kaayo ang football ron, no?
This was the statement that I had been waiting to hear to gauge whether or not the growth of Cebu Football was for real. This came from a friend who has zero interest in football and yet discovered that many kids are now taking up the sport. This comment was prompted by the “noise” created by last weekend’s CebuFA Aboitiz National Football Festival.
And I’m sure the leaders of the Cebu Football Association (CebuFA) led by Jonathan “Maxi” Maximo must be sporting ear-to-ear smiles these days. It sure looks like the previous highs of local football have now been surpassed and there doesn’t seem to be anything that can stop this momentum. The wonder of it all is that I don’t think we’ve even scratched the surface of what local football can achieve.
I have always been an advocate of “forgetting” what one has achieved with the eye of doing more in the future. Sure, we’ve already achieved a lot in terms of reviving Cebu’s interest in the sport and this has been acknowledged bountifully by the football family and the local press. And yes, greetings of congratulations are in store for the CebuFA. But are we going to sit on it and simply enjoy what’s happening? Are we going to start celebrating to the high heavens?
Sorry to be a killjoy, but to our dear Maxi and company, I’d like to borrow a line from a popular song from way back: “We’ve only just begun.” There is so much more to be achieved, and you’ve already put Cebu on this path towards football greatness. Let’s keep the fire burning! Yes, I’m using the word “greatness” so our football leaders will think big. Nothing wrong here, di ba? Maxi has talked about sending a Pinoy to the World Cup. We’ve also discussed the possibility of Cebu outdoing our neighbors in Negros and Iloilo in football supremacy.
And so while we celebrate Cebu’s latest achievements, let’s also not forget to check on how we fare against our colleagues out there. As I write this, I’m aware that we just lost to Iloilo, 1-3, at the 2006 Visayas Regional Men's Under-19 Championships. How will we do against Bacolod and Dumaguete? A loss to powerhouse Iloilo is a good tool to sit us right back on our asses to ask ourselves again, “So where are we on this path towards football greatness?”
If we really want to get to the next level, I feel that we still need to increase the level of participation of schools in the sport. With more kids playing the sport, Cebu will build a strong foundation of talents that will serve as the future of Cebu football. If the schools or clubs in 2007 will be exactly the same as those playing in 2006, then that’s bad news. We’ve got to keep on expanding the reach to as wide as it can get.
As a gauge or working target, we can check how many private elementary schools have a basketball program, but have no plans of going into football. Top-of-mind, there’s a gold mine out there in the schools like USC, USJR and other big private elementary schools that still haven’t been bitten by the football virus. The irony of it all is that while some of these CESAFI member-schools have a football program at the college/university level, they don’t have a football program reaching down to their own respective backyards. We also have the public elementary schools that admittedly have more natural athletic talent than those players studying in private schools. The question now is how many new faces will we see in 2007?
As the local football expansion moves on swiftly, well also need a healthy base of qualified coaches who have the task of teaching the sport to the young ones. We’ll need a regular coaches/trainers’ training program to make up for the apparent lack of coaches in elementary schools. On top of this, our football officials will also have to be re-tooled, re-trained and kept on their toes to catch up with the growing demands of the local football family.
A natural offshoot from all these will be the need for a well-planned and coordinated calendar of activities so that the entire football family is always on the same page. Tournaments, festivals and training clinics will be laid out across the year in an orderly fashion so we all grow the sport together and not create conflicts within the football family.
I believe that Cebu has never experienced this “high” that we’re feeling right now in local football history (but I could be wrong), but it’s such a good feeling that the only natural reaction is to keep it going. It’s addictive, enjoyable and fun.
Let’s all enjoy this ride on our path to football greatness!
*** Time-out: Good luck to all those playing in the upcoming Inter La Salle badminton tournament. Those of us at ASMS will be out to prove who’s who in the sport. >>> You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com.
Comments