For national athletes, online training is the way to go

MANILA, Philippines – For now, all coaching and training by members of the national team will be done online.

Philippine Sports Commission chair William “Butch” Ramirez on Saturday ordered the restructuring of all training procedures by the national squad as part of the safety measures being done to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have to reboot our approach on grassroots and elite athletes programs,” said Ramirez. “The framework of coaching education, until no vaccine is found, will all be virtual or online, reaching out to all elite athletes in their own location.”

The new format will apply to all aspects of the training process like leading, coaching, sports psychology and physiology among others.

“We have to put up the IT (Information Technology) infrastructures, that is how deeply impacting and dangerous the virus is,” said Ramirez.

The government sports-funding agency had already sent all its national athletes and coaches home as early as two months ago and shut down its training facilities and converted it to makeshift medical sites in its fight against the worldwide health malady.

It also canceled all its sports programs and activities like the 10th ASEAN Para Games, Philippine National Games, national sports summit and Batang Pinoy among others.

And this new method should keep national athletes in condition while in quarantine.

“COVID-19 will change the face and substance of both amateur and professional sports. Or primary importance is to save lives, which is the ultimate goal of society and government,” he said.