Fair Play: The proud parents of the 'others'
DR. JOEL Cadungog Pascual and his wife Dr. Chona Aragon are walking on Cloud 9 these days.
Their son just made it to the RP team 19-Under football team.
Doc Joel once told me that he takes care of the sports activities, while his wife is in charge of their kids’ studies.
It’s why I regularly saw him on the field, back when I was on the beat. He’s as regular as a referee in a football match involving his son.
He’s always there, not with a whistle, but with his ever-ready camera.
Doc Joel was there in Iloilo—the time I walked through a glass wall on the boat trip back home—in 2005 when his son played against the best of Barotac Nuevo.
He was there in South Cotabato in 2007, when his son’s team got eliminated early in the Palarong Pambansa, a day after losing 8-0 to Iloilo.
He was there in Palawan in 2008, when Cviraa lost to Iloilo (again) in the secondary football finals of the Palarong Pambansa.
Now, he’s busy plotting a trip to China.
No, he’s not off to see the Great Wall or learn Kung Fu.
His son Paolo is making his debut as the starting keeper for the RP 19-Under team and the proud dad will be there to chronicle his son in action.
And when you’re the keeper of a Philippine team in an international tournament, there will be a lot of action.
In China, Doc Joel will be cheering for the same bunch of guys who beat his son’s team so many times in high school.
I learned from the RP U19 goalkeeper coach that it was the same guys who beat Paolo who recommended the keeper for the national team.
Now that’s how you show respect for your opponents.
Mario Ceniza, who coached Paolo in Springdale and in the Palarong Pambansa, told me the other day, “Maayo kaayo’g batasan si Paolo, maayo’g pagka-train sa parents.”
Ceniza said Paolo regularly thanks him whenever he gets picked for the team, even though he doesn’t have to because he more than deserved his spot.
Two years removed from high school, Paolo still regularly communicates with his high school coach, who is also elated with his selection for the RP team and has nothing but praise for his former ward.
“Mura’g army,” Coach Mario said of his former star keeper.
“‘Obey first before you complain’ sya.”
Ceniza said Paolo has no qualms in training and follows his instructions.
In China, Paolo will need every trick he has learned in training, plus the presence of mind of his defenders, and a lucky break or two, in every minute of the game.
That’s how tough it is when you’re the keeper for the Philippines in an international tournament.
Paolo also reminds me of how I got it very wrong one day on Nov. 9, 2000.
That day, Coach Graeme Mckinnon dragged me from the office to watch him and Mario train a group of kids for their stint in the Alaska Cup.
It was one boring, slow-news day, so I tagged along to watch the 9-under, 11-under and 13-under teams of Springdale practice
They can’t be kids, I remember thinking then. In that practice session, the 9-Under squad beat the older guys, 5-0.
Some stood out—earning a few lines in my story, while I barely noticed the others. They were only included in the story only because they were part of the team.
I was so sure that someday, I’d see those who stood out playing for the national team.
I reviewed the article I wrote for that day and realized I got it wrong.
I rarely heard of those who stood out in that practice when I returned to sports writing in 2004, while two of those “others” made it to the RP team a few years back.
Guess who is another member of the “others?”
Their son just made it to the RP team 19-Under football team.
Doc Joel once told me that he takes care of the sports activities, while his wife is in charge of their kids’ studies.
It’s why I regularly saw him on the field, back when I was on the beat. He’s as regular as a referee in a football match involving his son.
He’s always there, not with a whistle, but with his ever-ready camera.
Doc Joel was there in Iloilo—the time I walked through a glass wall on the boat trip back home—in 2005 when his son played against the best of Barotac Nuevo.
He was there in South Cotabato in 2007, when his son’s team got eliminated early in the Palarong Pambansa, a day after losing 8-0 to Iloilo.
He was there in Palawan in 2008, when Cviraa lost to Iloilo (again) in the secondary football finals of the Palarong Pambansa.
Now, he’s busy plotting a trip to China.
No, he’s not off to see the Great Wall or learn Kung Fu.
His son Paolo is making his debut as the starting keeper for the RP 19-Under team and the proud dad will be there to chronicle his son in action.
And when you’re the keeper of a Philippine team in an international tournament, there will be a lot of action.
In China, Doc Joel will be cheering for the same bunch of guys who beat his son’s team so many times in high school.
I learned from the RP U19 goalkeeper coach that it was the same guys who beat Paolo who recommended the keeper for the national team.
Now that’s how you show respect for your opponents.
Mario Ceniza, who coached Paolo in Springdale and in the Palarong Pambansa, told me the other day, “Maayo kaayo’g batasan si Paolo, maayo’g pagka-train sa parents.”
Ceniza said Paolo regularly thanks him whenever he gets picked for the team, even though he doesn’t have to because he more than deserved his spot.
Two years removed from high school, Paolo still regularly communicates with his high school coach, who is also elated with his selection for the RP team and has nothing but praise for his former ward.
“Mura’g army,” Coach Mario said of his former star keeper.
“‘Obey first before you complain’ sya.”
Ceniza said Paolo has no qualms in training and follows his instructions.
In China, Paolo will need every trick he has learned in training, plus the presence of mind of his defenders, and a lucky break or two, in every minute of the game.
That’s how tough it is when you’re the keeper for the Philippines in an international tournament.
Paolo also reminds me of how I got it very wrong one day on Nov. 9, 2000.
That day, Coach Graeme Mckinnon dragged me from the office to watch him and Mario train a group of kids for their stint in the Alaska Cup.
It was one boring, slow-news day, so I tagged along to watch the 9-under, 11-under and 13-under teams of Springdale practice
They can’t be kids, I remember thinking then. In that practice session, the 9-Under squad beat the older guys, 5-0.
Some stood out—earning a few lines in my story, while I barely noticed the others. They were only included in the story only because they were part of the team.
I was so sure that someday, I’d see those who stood out playing for the national team.
I reviewed the article I wrote for that day and realized I got it wrong.
I rarely heard of those who stood out in that practice when I returned to sports writing in 2004, while two of those “others” made it to the RP team a few years back.
Guess who is another member of the “others?”
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