Olongapo City – The United Football Clubs of Olongapo City (Olongapo United) in partnership with the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) is set to hold its first Philippine Youth Coaching Course (PYCC) from March 2 – 7, 2020 at the Olongapo City Sport Complex.
The six-day course is the introductory course to football coaching that is given by the country’s football governing body to anyone who wants to coach kids at the kindergarten level to middle school (grades 7-8). The week-long course is offered free and is fully subsidized by both organizations to all qualified participants.
PFF General Secretary Edwin Gastanes, in his approval letter last February 6 said that the PFF appreciates the effort of Olongapo United “to further the growth of youth football” in Olongapo City and assigned Michael Jayson Agbayani, a certified PFF “C” Coaching Certificate course Instructor and FIFA Elite Youth Coach.
This development will add 25 new certified coaches to the current crop Asian Football Confederation (AFC) licensed coaches for both futsal and football in the city.
“The sport of football and futsal has grown so much in the last decade. Now we have 10 football clubs and more than 600 active players. Many of these athletes have played in for the national team, university varsity teams in the UAAP and the NCAA, and even in the United Football League,” Robert Dy Jr., president of Olongapo United, explained.
Among the coaching course participants are members of Amihan Football Club, Apo Athletico Footbal Club, Batang Pag-Asa Futsal Team, Dragonball Kickers Football Club, Futsal Club ng SPED-G, Gordon Heights Football Club, Kalaklan Dragonball Kickers Football Club, Mighty Valorous Football Club, Subic-Gapo Football Club, and the Subic Bay Football Club, Inc.
For his part, Olongapo City Sports head David Bayarong said that partnerships like these “lift the quality of football and futsal to a higher level, as qualified coaches are essential in producing exceptional athletes.”
“Mayor LenJ Paulino is happy to see the determination and consistency of action from the clubs to improve themselves. In return, he pledges to continue to supporting sporting endeavors like this,” Bayarong added.
Mayor Paulino assigned the City Sports and the Gordon College to extend facilities and resources to ensure a successful staging of the PYCC.
Dy added that the PYCC will ensure the “next generation of players are well-trained, disciplined, and committed to helping the clubs, their schools and the city, in general, to achieve the best possible results.”
“We must make sure that our athletes have the best supporting cast in their quest for excellence, from facilities, to superior training programs and coaching staff, and more importantly, a supportive community that cheers them on every step of the way.”
To ensure the quality of the course, United Olongapo has limited the number of partcipants to 25, all of whommust be currently and directly involve with football in the city. (Dante M. Salvaña)