POC eyes blue-chip foreign coaches

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Olympic Committee will bring in blue-chip foreign coaches for several sports to work closely with their local counterparts and the national athletes for at least two months.

With the help of the Philippine Sports Commission and private sponsors, POC president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr. said they are willing to spend more than what was spent in the past to hire coaches with impressive track records in producing medal-winning athletes.

The PSC used to hire foreign coaches, paying each of them $1,500 to $2,000 a month, excluding perks and bonuses.

“We cannot get the best coaches in the world if we will stick with that amount,” said Cojuangco. “We’ll be spending more to hire them this time. But we could maximize their stint by making them stay with the athletes and coaches for one to two months.”

The PSC and the POC are set to identify 150 elite athletes who will be trained for the 2013 Myanmar Southeast Asian Games.

The two bodies will also choose 10 sports which they hope will produce top-caliber performers for the Olympics and world championships in the long run.

Cojuangco said the athletes and coaches will stay in a training facility with zero distractions along with the foreign coaches, preferably in high-altitude Baguio City.

PSC chair Richie Garcia said the bulk of the 150 elite athletes would come from the roster of medalists in the 2011 Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia where the Philippines landed sixth overall.

The selection of the 10 favored sports, meanwhile, is under serious scrutiny since the list will be submitted to President Aquino first for approval.