After two years, the Philippines replicated perhaps its best showing in regional football competitions for national teams. It was the once again the U14 girls national team who bagged the silver in an AFC-level competition. However, like its other counterpart national ensembles in the sports, the 2016 team is different from the 2014 team. Something the team manager of this most recent iteration of the U14 girls’ squad wants to address.
Enter Lalaine Sarmiento.
Sarmiento is currently the chairperson of the Women’s Football Committee of the Philippine Football Federation and, consequently, took her first dibs in the affairs of the national team with the U14 girls team.
She shared that it has not been an easy task, but the girls made it easier at the start, because the members know the purpose of everything that they have done. Sarmiento also said, “You can see from the girls that they had it, it’s really there. They knew why they were there in the tryouts, why they were in the AFC or in the game. So, they really [knew] what they want.”
The team’s delegation head likewise praised her coaching staff, headed by former De La Salle University and current senior women’s team standout Marielle Benitez, for the passion they had shown throughout the tournament. She shared, “Not only as coaches, mga sisters, big ates. Everything that they know about, their experiences when it comes to the game. They really poured everything to the girls.”
“It was really sweat and hardwork,” she emphasized.
Sarmiento could hardly explain how things had transpired during those five days in the competition, including the preparation they had in Japan.
During the tournament, the Philippines had high hopes and had been aspiring to reach the Finals again. The team gained respect in the tilt and the Thailand Head Coach even told Sarmiento that they were looking forward to play the RP U14 girls. And as the cliché goes, the rest was history.
As the chairperson of the PFF Women’ Football Committee, Sarmiento also laid down the projects the federation have for the women’s game. She shared, “It’s really the development of women’s football and all programs for the girls, and not really just for the national team.” Sarmiento also talked about coaches’ development and hopes that the Philippines complete its transition to female coaching staff who will handle the campaign for the girls. Lastly, she also talked about getting more female referees and officials.
It can be noted that the AFC itself was pleased to see two teams in the said competition that brought in an all-female delegation: Singapore and, of course, the Philippines.
With the former women’s national team players getting their hands in molding the next generation of players, Sarmiento believes that they had undertaken small steps towards their plans.
The competition might be over, but Sarmiento and, perhaps the whole country, fervently hopes that the team would remain intact and break the continuous trend of discontinuity among most, if not all, Philippine youth teams of football. It is because for Sarmiento, it is not far-fetched for our dreams and aspirations with these baby steps.
As she said, “[We’re] getting there.”
