| Davao football: A focus on children |
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| Wednesday, 06 September 2006 | |
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FOOTBALLL for children is one among the many focus of concerns by the Davao Football Association (DFA) in Davao City. We are not alone in our quest for promoting this kind of game among children clustered in the multiplicity of categories and games format. The children of football are actually the best and effective means to also bring the adults in the field to either exercise their muscles in jumping and their vocal chords in cheering for their children's respective teams. The recent Kadayawan footballl festival in the action-filled month of August for example, has attracted participants from as far as Bukidnon uphill in the south to Maco in the north. It has also doubled the number in the field with the parents and the yayas. Parents are the most supportive lot, especially when their own children are out in the field sweating it out for the best athletic recognition. Good examples are Professor Greg Ramos of CMU with his 6-year-old Andrew Greg and 8-year-old Greg Bertrand, not to mention the most highly improved team of Malita vice-Mayor Allan Colina and the "Big Boy" of Davao football Allan Colina, Jr. "Parang mga siling labuyo" was how Coach Greg Ramos of CMU-Maramag described his team of 11 to 12 years old players starring the slippery and zig-zagging forward Gerry Opiso. Against the team that is now being coached by his former protégés as a budding professor in Malita, CMU was thumbed down by the team of Vice-Mayor Colina. It was a different kind of teams from Malita who won for the first time the championship in the 11 to 12 against the highly rated teams of first runner-up Cotabato and former champion Del Monte. The visitors from Malita in Davao del Sur, Del Monte of Manolo Fortich and Maco in Comval can muster all their strength to dominate the 9 to 10 and 11 to 12 years old categories but never in the 7 to 8 years old cluster where Ana Serano, Gel del Piero, Kyron Dimaandal, Miggy Aquino and Martin Avanceña are manning the 7-a-side match-up. The Davao City team of 7 to 8 years old stretches its unbeaten record so far with the tandem of Jed Diamante and Javi Romero-Salas still intact. Courtesy of Sun Star Davao By Romeo F. Sabaldan |
