Springdale’s reboot

One of the primary reasons Mario told me of the decline is their lack of players. You may be the best coach but how can you succeed without any players?

Recently, Coach Mario Ceniza told me that Paref Springdale is going to boost its football program, hoping to return to its status as one of the best teams in Cebu. You see, back before the Azkals phenomenon hit the country and changed, among others, the way someone could make it to the national team, Springdale, under Mario Ceniza, had four (or was it five?) players making it all the way to the national team.

And that’s without the Festival of Footballs set-up now, where the best players of the Visayas gather so the national coaches could have a check of all the best players in just one venue.

Last Saturday night, I spent some time with coach Graeme Mackinnon, who helped coach Mario start the program in Springdale back in 2000 and Doc Joel Pascual, whose son Paolo played for Springdale.

I think it was Paolo’s batch that had the strongest team the school had ever produced, going undefeated in all major tournaments in Cebu from elementary until high school, when they made it all the way to the Palarong Pambansa and earned the silver medal.

Paolo, too, is one of the more successful products of Springdale’s program, making it all the way to the National U19, U21, U23 and even the Azkals.

Lately though, Springdale hasn’t had much success in the local scene. I even remembered thinking after reading how their team in the Milo Little Olympics lost, 3-0, in day one that the school has really fallen far. That loss just came about a year, or was it two, after it won the national title in the Milo Little Olympics.

One of the primary reasons Mario told me of the decline is their lack of players. You may be the best coach but how can you succeed without any players? Curiously, just as their football team was lagging, Springdale’s other teams were succeeding, which highlights the problem of a school with a small population.

Right now, Springdale is addressing that and is improving its program and the fruits of such could be visible three or four years down the road. An improved Springdale means the competition in major tournaments like the Cebu City Olympics or the Milo Little Olympics will no longer be between two schools. And improving the quality of competition raises the level of football in Cebu.

Good luck to Springdale and I hope Coach Mario and the rest of the coaching staff gets the program to grow.