By Jel Santos
To discourage the youth from vices, the local government of Marikina City will soon implement a sustainable sports development program.
Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro (Photo from Marikina PIO / Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)
Mayor Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro said he has ordered the Marikina City Sports Commission and the Department of Education (DepEd) Schools Division Office coordinators and trainers to draft a community -based sports development program to properly train the youth in the city.
“I want it to become a sustainable development program for the youth that you will train. I want them to learn discipline,” he said.
“We really need to have a sports development program. It is not enough to only get professional trainers that will do this for us, we need to create our own program,” Teodoro added.
During a recent meeting with trainers and coordinators, the mayor and members of the Marikina Sports Commission discussed the planned sports program, and determined that volleyball, basketball, soccer, softball, sepak takraw, baseball, table tennis, badminton, arnis, and pep squad training are the sports that will be prioritized.
The mayor said the program, which will be funded by the local school board, will also make use of the three-hectare Marikina Sports Center which is currently being renovated.
He emphasized the importance of sports among the youth especially school children in order for them to have an active and healthy lifestyle and shape the country’s potential athletes.
The Marikina Sports Center, formerly Rodriguez Sports Center, was built in 1969 under the administration of former Rizal Governor Isidro Rodriguez Sr.
According to Teodoro, the local government of Marikina bought it for P11 million and renamed it in 1995.