The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) will be looking to coordinate with various government agencies to improve the state of the country’s grassroots program in preparation for the country’s hosting of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Plus Youth Games (YG) next year.

PSC chairman Patrick “Pato” Gregorio said they will be having deeper connections with the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to make sure athlete development will be consistent, especially in the Philippines’ two biggest grassroots competitions in the Palarong Pambansa and Batang Pinoy.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino made the announcement last Thursday, saying that they are batting for the hosting of the SEA Plus Youth and use it as a proving ground for athletes 17 years old and below.

“The SEA Plus YG is Southeast Asia’s answer to molding athletes at the grassroots level, make them competitive at the Asian Youth Games level and able and capable of winning medals at the YOG,” Tolentino said.

With that, Gregorio is determined to give young athletes the best care possible for them to reach their full potential ahead of this very crucial international grassroots event.

“We will go all out on grassroots development and in terms of our partnership with DepEd and DILG,” Gregorio said.