THE Philippine Sports Institute (PSI) will test and profile young potentials in the next two years to provide a massive pool of future members of the national teams.
PSI National Training Director Marc Edward Velasco said the testing and profiling is a priority of the institute, as it travels to major cities to scout talents from the grassroots that could be tapped by the national sports associations (NSAs).
“We are gathering data that can help the NSAs tap the best available Filipino talents in their sport,” Velasco said. “We want to help them facilitate faster talent selection.”
“The PSI will gather information in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao, and find out who will excel out of the testing and training,” he added.
The institute, patterned after the programs of China and Australia, will educate coaches on how to conduct tests in speed, agility, vertical jump and strength for proper identification.
The height, weight and arm span of each potential youngster aged 8 to 14 will also be measured to know which sport they could excel in.
The data will then be given to NSAs for their disposal.
The PSI nationwide caravan is currently in Puerto Princesa City, with 50 students and 39 trainors attending in the weeklong talent identification program. There will also be stops in Vigan City, Butuan City and Tacloban City in the coming weeks.