DAPHNE, Ala. – The United States Sports Academy has signed an agreement to work with the Republic of the Philippines to develop the island nation’s national sport effort.

Academy President and CEO Dr. T.J. Rosandich recently signed a sports Protocol of Cooperation with Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chair William "Butch” Ramirez through which the Academy will work with the country to strengthen its sports programs at all levels, from youth and grassroots sports programs to the elite sport level. Under the agreement signed in Davao City, the Academy will work with governmental agencies and other organizations endorsed by the PSC to contribute to the national sports development program.

"The signing of this protocol is of particular significance to the United States Sports Academy as we have had a long history with the Philippines,” Rosandich said.

"We taught our international certification programs in sports management and sports coaching in the island nation in the early 1980s, so to return today for this program is meaningful indeed.

"The Academy is looking forward to playing a role in the development of the national sport effort in the Philippines through our programs in education, research and service. Having taught sports education programs to over 65 countries, this partnership with the Philippines is a continuation of our mission.”

"We when we came to the Philippine Sports Commission we launched the Philippine Sports Institute (PSI) with the hope of establishing and strengthening elite sports and grassroots sports programs,” Ramirez told the Davao City Sun-Star newspaper.  

"This partnership with the United States Sports Academy is hoped to achieve that.”

The Academy will provide a wide range of services including an assessment of sport education and staffing in the country, as well as educational services to train coaches and sports administrators to achieve the nation’s sport goals. The Academy will work with the Southeast Asian nation on such topics as human performance research, sports medicine, and the development of international caliber athletes.

The agreement will also involve collaboration on sports cultural exchanges including Olympism, youth activities, sport art, literature, history, and many others.

The Academy will work with government entities and organizations designated by the PSC in consultation with the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, Philippine Olympic Committee, Department of the Interior and Local Government and national sports associations.

The agreement came as Rosandich was in Davao City as keynote speaker for the 2017 International Conference on Physical Education, Recreation, Fitness and Sports Science, where he discussed the role of education in sports development with an international audience of leaders in sport.

The PSC co-sponsored the event with the International Federation of Physical Education, Fitness and Sports Science Associations to bring together leading experts from around the world to share knowledge and expertise, research and advances in technology, and exchange of experiences and best practices on various areas of physical education, recreation, health and fitness and sports science.

Founded some 45 years ago, the Academy has delivered quality sport education and service programs in 65 countries around the world. These have varied in scope from the full-charge conduct of a nation’s entire national sport effort to individual coaching clinics, seminars, and symposia. As a not-for-profit, independent school of sport, the Academy has been able to provide a combination of expertise expected from a sports university combined with the experience gleaned from applying this expertise in the field.

Clients of the Academy have included central sports organizations (CSOs, such as ministries of youth and sports), national Olympic committees, ministries of education (for physical education and interscholastic sport programs) and sport associations and federations. Many of the details of this work can be found by visiting the Academy’s website at https://ussa.edu/international-sport-education/.

The United States Sports Academy is an independent, non-profit, accredited, special mission sports university created to serve the nation and world with programs in instruction, research and service. The role of the Academy is to prepare men and women for careers in the profession of sports.

The Academy is based in Daphne, Ala.  For more information, call (251) 626-3303 or visitwww.ussa.edu.