ONLINE ZOOM CHAT BOX FUTBOL PINOY MENTORING 101 IS THE PLATFORM WHERE THIS GROUP HAS STARTED TO ORGANISE.
COACHING football in our country is a thankless job as no coaches have became rich doing this work.
When they finally succeed and get to higher level they end up getting undermined and then exploited.
I know of a national coach who had this experience almost 20 years ago. He was so happy when he was named national coach but when he was already the national coach he was not treated very well and he ended up resigning.
Of course that was eons ago and hopefully that was a thing of the past and is not happening now with the present set up with the Philippine Football Federation (PFF).
That is why it is a breath of fresh air when the regular group of coaches that meet twice weekly early morning on the Futbol Pinoy Mentoring 101 Zoom chat box organised by Laguna coach Ake Pastoral, has decided to organise the coaches to give them protection and also help them improve their careers.
Top coaches from Manila, Hans Smit of De La Salle, Ronald Patulin of Laos FC and Pastoral are spearheading the formation of the association to give coaches a voice in the formation of policies to benefit the coaches for the good of the beautiful game.
They are also supported by top Luzon based coaches Myk Agbayani and Ariston Bacalan of FUTBOLife show over at Facebook ang Youtube.
Coaches from the Visayas like Juan Carmona, Bingbing Colina, Eleazar Toledo, Glen Ramos, Joel Villarino are supporting the formation of the group.
Mindanao coaches like Abing Lim, Jerome dela Pena, Don Lazo, Bonifacio ‘Bombet’ Avenid, and Reynold Tana have also agreed that it is about time for the coaches to organise.
The group is also in talks to merge with another group of coaches based in Manila who are led by two top national lady coaches. They are set to meet soon to form the final group.
As of the moment, there are 250 coaches listed not only from the Philippines but also from other countries like UK, Germany, and Dubai who are members of the chat group and may become members of the association.
If the association of coaches will be formed it will boast the ranks of the coaches in the country. It also plans to apply as a member of the PFF as there is no coaches association yet in the roster of PFF members.
PFF statutes and by laws allow a coaches association to be a member of the PFF.
The coaches association will then have a clout in the formation of football policies within the PFF as it will become a voting member. The membership with the PFF however will still be depending on the approval by the current PFF members set during the PFF congress next year.
Since most of the coaches are also members of the different regional football associations who are the voting members during the Congress, the association expects smooth sailing and will get the nod of the Congress.
Among the programs that being pushed by the group is the recognition of the importance of coaches through the standardisation their salaries and contracts, pushing for more coaches education and development of clearer communications between the coaches, the RFA’s and the PFF.
With this development, the association will indeed be a great help to the coaches. Someday they will consider coaching no longer a thankless job. GOD BLESS (l.biantan@gmail.com)
