By Segun Giwa
Akure – The Ondo State Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development, Dotun Owanikin, on Friday in Akure said the state was working at repositioning sports at the grassroots for optimum performances.
Owanikin said the state government was prepared to address challenges associated with sports at the grassroots, and had decided to organise a workshop for secondary schools’ games masters and mistresses.
The commissioner, who spoke at a workshop tagged “Facilitating Grassroots Sports Development in Ondo State”, said the state government was prepared to discover and nurture talented young men and women.
“There is an urgent need to keep stakeholders in our schools abreast of roles expected of them, in order to actualise optimum and sustainable sports development in the state, and in the country as a whole.
“Teachers are very important instruments. This is why the selection of this group is based on those assigned the responsibility of mentoring the students at the grassroots level, so that they will have a sound foundation on sports, skills and technique,” he said.
The Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mrs Dupe Eshofone, commended the State Governor for approving the programme for young men and women in rural communities.
The Ministry’s Director of Sports, Mrs Evelyn Lebi, said the programme was important as it would assist the games masters to discover talents at their tender age.
Lebi said the programme, which was organised this year in the state’s central senatorial district, would also be organised across the state next year.
She enjoined all the participants to ensure that the training received was used effectively to discover more talents for the state.
(NAN)