SEPAK takraw is exactly where it wants to be now.

This was the reply of sepak takraw ‘s Karen Tanchanco Caballero when we had a long chat and I asked her how sepak was at present.

And she is actually reaping the harvest from all her efforts for the last five years since 2019 to develop the sports both at the elite level and at the grassroots.

The sports has seen its share of success at the regional level, I watched them win in Subic in the 2019 SEA Games we hosted, and they have maintained their good performance.

Last year, sepak brought home 2 silver and 1 bronze medals from the Cambodia SEAG and followed it with 2 bronzes in the Asian Games in China.

Karen also saw a record number of entries during the Philippine National Games, Batang Pinoy, and the Palarong Pambansa, and now she does not have problems attracting young athletes when they call for national try outs.

In fact, the national sepak team has undergone a transition with 80% of its athletes now belonging to the under 18 category, with visible pride in her voice, Karen talked of her veteran athletes moving on to their next stages in life after their success as athletes.

She added that her athletes have completed their education , some have now their own houses, and it is all because of their involvement in sepak.

Of course she had to leave some veterans to help guide the younger athletes in their development.

No wonder she is now more focused on the grassroots development side, taking a look at other indications, her nationwide base now is just under 10 thousand athletes with more than 4000 members in 15 different clubs in Mindanao, another clise to 4000 in Luzon with 26 clubs, and 14 in the Visayas with over a thousand members.

And last year Karen distributed 1000 takraw balls to these clubs.

With those numbers she has started her own digitalized data base for her athletes, with those numbers too, she has been experiencing better results in her search for corporate sponsors with MILO on top of her list, good that MILO has refocused on grassroots program in sports abd saw sepak as a good sport to support.

Karen also works with LGU’s and this year will be holding both the Pilipinas Sepak Takraw League and grassroots events in cooperation with local governments in Ilocos Norte, Tacloban in Leyte, and Butuan in Mindanao.

I might even be with her when she does her Laoag event in Ilocos on March , I might even be able to set up a meeting with Laoag Mayor Mike Keon for her.

And she has also identified the international competitions she wants for her athletes this year, a World Cup ranking tournament in May, the Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games ( AIMAG) and the King’s Cup L, both in Thailand later this year.

Also in her schedule would be training sessions for her coaches and technical officials, , including rolling out a coaching manual prepared by her coaches , this will be a very good material for aspiring coaches at the grassroots level.

She was pleasantly surprised that in Mindanao, a number of sepak clubs merged together for the good of the sport, now Karen sees sepak as a possible way to help promote peace in the area, encouraging kids to pick up the sport instead of picking up a gun .

In a previous vlog I have done with her, I introduced Karen as the local sports world’s dragon lady who has no fear of tangling with anybody or expressing her thoughts , especially where her athletes are involved.

And yes, I can attest to the fact that she is indeed a feisty lady but her love and passion for sepak is unquestioned.

But she herself admitted she has mellowed down somewhat that even her athletes were surprised, ” mas mahinahon” was the feedback given to her by her athletes and these athletes know what they are talking of when it comes to dealing with their leader.

Me, I have accepted Karen for what she is and what I appreciate most about her is the way she takes care of her athletes, and her willingness to do what needs to be done, including fighting for it, as long as it will benefit the sport and her athletes..

Sepak athletes are lucky to have her.