I must say I am very proud that my team became the Grand Champion in the 67th Arawng Baungon, Bukidnon(Foundation day).
Training athletes is never easy especially since I and other coaches were doing it for free and sometimes taking some from our resources to sustain the training.
It's all worth it!
I had to leave my family for a while to get to Baungon Bukidnon; my team acquired sponsorship from the municipal government fro the vehicle to ride and they hitched me a ride. We left at 5 in the evening and arrived there a little past 7. It was a long ride since we had to travel through a traffic-infested city of Cagayan de Oro City.
Buffet welcomed us, just at the right time for our hungry stomachs. The food was plenty and it tasted very good. Coaches, and athletes all in one place as one in our goals and ambitions.
Shortly after, everyone lends a hand in erecting the boxing ring; as everyone is excited to come up and fight. It brought nostalgia and made me miss the good old days, when I was younger and were on the shoes of the athletes that were with me.
I and the rest of the committee members had a short briefing of what was about to happen the next day. We talked about who'sgoing to fight who in what division and everyone agreed as we all wanted to see the limit of the aspiring kids that are with us.
Selfies are mandatory
In events like this, selfies are mandatory, We have to let the family know we are safe and sound. I had my family at home and most of the kids that are with us are alone. Parents could not afford to go with the, as they too need to find a living to provide for the family's needs.
I am even thankful for the accommodation they provided us. it was not that much but we are used to situations like this. We were given a classroom to sleep in and were provided ripped foams to protect our bodies from the cold.
Some came ready and brought blankets but I was good with the jacket I had. The night was cold, I am not used to sleeping away from home and my thought remained to them.
The Big Day
A bright, beautiful day welcomed us in the morning and only then I appreciated the place. It was huge and we had to move fast before the students move in.
Here are some of the events they prepared as a celebration of their foundation day
Motocross competition, Live band, and their highlight is Cueshe band, off-road challenge, drag race, beauty pageant, and more
The competition started as soon as 9 in the morning with 72 bouts from different teams. Balingasag, Talisayan, Cagayan de Oro, Valencia, Damulog, Manolo Fortich, and many teams that came from across the Island came. Boxing enthusiasts never feel the distance of the place where there is competition.
Behold, the Champions!
Boxers were rewarded with medals and the team, a trophy of P8,000 pesos cash which they spent on an outing.
The competition ended at 10 in the evening, followed by awarding and pictorials. No one is more happy than us being the champion!
Going home, finally
It was a long and very tiring day, and I had too much (more than satisfied) of boxing fights. I could not wait for the whole team to go home, they still had many things to do. I rode with Jolan in his motorcycle but a just a few kilometers from home, we ran out of gas. We had money but because it was already past one in the morning, there were no gasoline stations open.
I called and asked help from my best friend and pushed us home. It was a fun and memorable experience for us. Wife is already awake when I arrived home and we had coffee before sleep. And yeah, we had a good sleep despite the coffee.
Challenges are everywhere but we are strong enough to face and get past them and we always win.