DCHS Sports: Captivating Plans for School-Wide Wellness
Article by Chris Daniel Banquerigo
Photograph by Juz Almeria
With the welcoming of esteemed Physical Education teacher Dr. Dexter Cagampang as Davao Christian High School’s new Sports Coordinator, the innovative course of sports in DCHS aspires to spark interest in young students as well as its thriving athletes. Directing the school to embody its vision and mission holistically through prioritizing school wellness is a mark the sports division aims to make in 2024 and beyond. As such, to further capitalize on the growth of sports like basketball, volleyball, and even pickleball, the school truly desires its students to exercise and exhibit the gifts and talents they have been blessed with.
In order to promote wellness through sports, various engaging activities are set to enact this school year under the division’s new guidance. One of the school’s pioneering athletic programs is the Basic Athletic Training for All, or BATA, which seeks to establish a solid foundation for young athletes in grades three to five. With registration open until August 15th, students who have a passion for volleyball and basketball will embark on a five-month journey that nurtures the essentials a young athlete must have physically, mentally, and even character-wise in scouting and sprouting talent by tapping their potential.
In the sports division’s new direction, DCHS aims to foster a culture of wellness through involving teachers in the initiative. The newly introduced “Wellness Tuesdays” is set to take center stage this year. Every Tuesday, teachers will soon break some sweat to the sound of the beat to further strengthen the bond of the school’s faculty in championing holistic school wellness.
Still, for students interested in showcasing their passion and love for sports, DCHS continues to encourage them to graze the court through various varsity teams such as basketball, volleyball, chess, and many more. With the popularity of pickleball continuing to take the school by storm, the first-ever official DCHS Pickleball Varsity Team is ready to launch for the school year 2024-2025.
In addition, varsity teams are not only expected to be objectively regulated through analyzing and ranking the skill and talent of players, but the desire of the school to impact the community will be carried out through various outreach engagements. As such, student-athletes are poised to represent the school and their respective sports as they advocate for wellness outside school walls. Connecting with the community is one of the ways Dr. Cagampang hopes to reach in order to impart passion to others within reach.
The vision of holistic wellness goes further on the court this school year. Sports coaches and their team captains are planned to undergo certified basic life support training for the health and safety of student-athletes. With such, a trained and recognized responder would now be present in school sponsored sporting events in case of any emergency.
Coinciding with this, the department aims to launch a summer camp for every sport, spotlighting former Davao student-athletes who have excelled at the local level and beyond. This proposal seeks to honor the city’s athletes and also serve as a way to inspire the current and future generations of student-athletes at Davao Christian High School.
As the school gets ready for the much-anticipated SportsFest this October, excitement might grow even more with the introduction of a school-wide leaderboard showcasing DCHS students' athletic achievements and physical abilities. Soon, we may see a catalog of the most ropes skipped, most push-ups done consecutively, and many more under the clearance of the school’s clinic to ensure the safety of interested students.
The pride of the school’s expanding sports program vests upon its athletes. Yet, before heights of glory are achieved, promoting a culture of wellness is the goal for DCHS’ sports division. Cultivating a culture of wellness through training the young right and further tapping into the potentials of the present allows student-athletes to grow not only academically inside the classroom but athletically outside of it as well.