EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW : PVF SEC-GEN KARL CHAN

Karl Chan is the current Secretary-General of Philippine Volleyball Federation. He was the PVF president when the biggest support for Philippine volleyball came in. It was also under his presidency that Pilipinas Amihan and Bagwis were formed. Together with current PVF President Boy Cantada, Executive Director Otie Camangian and Deputy Sec-Gen Gerard Cantada, Karl Chan continues to help Philippine volleyball gain better support despite the emergence of a rival group.

Here is his exclusive interview.

1. How did you get involved with volleyball ?

I started playing volleyball in 1990. During that era, volleyball in Tacloban was mostly self taught and learned through experience. I was never very serious with volleyball since I was a Sepak Takraw varsity player during my high school days. In my first year of college in 1994, I shifted to volleyball and eventually became a varsity player in my 2^nd year in U.P. – Tacloban College. Since I was also helping out in our family business, I didn’t continue playing but instead became the trainer of our women's teams for the remaining 2 years of my college years. I became head coach of my high school alma mater from 1998 - 2001. Volleyball was an exclusive sport in Tacloban back then but in 1997, a colleague and I organized the Tacloban City Volleyball Club. The group participated in numerous competitions. So most of my experience was centered in Tacloban City.

Since volleyball was doing well in Tacloban and with the foundations supposedly cemented, I retired from my volleyball activities in 2004 to concentrate fully on my business ventures. Until in 2006, I was urged by my peers to once again come back to volleyball life. What was the reason? First, in the 2 years I was absent, a gap in the level of development was created. The experienced players became hesitant and didn’t want to teach the new and aspiring players for fear of being out skilled in the near future. Second, the people within the organization had become nonfunctional and personal grudges surfaced due to monetary reasons which left bad impressions and created doubt from people who deals with the organization.

So in the same year we renamed the Tacloban City Volleyball Club to Volleyball Associationof Leyte – Tacloban City, elevating our status from club to association and in the process affiliated ourselves with the Philippine Volleyball Federation which was long overdue.

In 2007, I was invited by then PVF President Roger Banzuela to join the PVF Board. At first, the question I had was if I was ready and deserving to be part of the PVF Board. But as Mr. Banzuela said, the efforts I have done for my association merits such an opportunity and it would progress to an even bigger scope. So here I am now, being a member of the board, to vice president and eventually becoming acting president of the PVF has been a very fruitful journey which I think is worth reliving again because volleyball in our region has steadily improved and more people are enjoying the sport of volleyball.

2. What do you consider your biggest contribution to volleyball so far ?

My meager contributions are more on the grassroots and development of volleyball in our region especially in Tacloban City. The level of skills and competitions in my region has steadily grown in the past 9 years. I have been able to provide an avenue for kids to showcase a healthier and fun activity by introducing them to volleyball rather than immerse themselves in computer games and other vices. Through my volleyball program I have been able to provide the student athletes with the limitless opportunities to pursue their education further in the absence of scholarships and monetary incentives. The culture of sports has changed wherein other locales in the region has used my volleyball as a blueprint for their respective sports programs. The sense of loyalty, commitment, respect, pride and volunteerism has been instilled into the young minds of my student athletes with which they bring to even the colleges in Manila.

Nationally, I have done my share to impart and promote volleyball to the regions which is my primary responsibility. I am not as popular as other sports officials but it is of little importance. Seeing your program flourish and your visions met regardless of who gets the credit is satisfaction and justification enough that I have done something good. When I became acting president, the advocacy that I and my colleagues wanted to show is a PVF that is open and transparent, a PVF that will unify all the stakeholders as one and to be accountable to the Philippine volleyball community. In that short span, I believe we did that.

3. What do you think is the solution to the conflict in Philippine volleyball ?

The PVF sought to change the corrupt culture of sports. Reuniting the regions and showing that there is true progress for volleyball. The PVF did that. But unfortunately not all share the same insight. The only solution is for the people concerned to sit down, show their integrity and be united. Yet this did not happen as well. When people learn to start letting go of personal interests such as power and money and work and sacrifice for the greater good of volleyball, then that would solve everything.

4. What is needed for the quality of Philippine volleyball to improve ?

Let me clarify this, everyone thinks that volleyball in the country is already of high caliber but this is far from the truth. The reality is that the popularity of the sport is great but the quality and level of play is not that great. Because of TV and media, we are shown only the positive side but when we watch how other countries play then we are left to wonder when our country can be like them. Don’t get me wrong but the level of our players are high but not at the level we want to attain. The development of Philippine volleyball in reality comes from the grassroots level. Without the regional associations, who toil and sacrifice without anything in return, supplying the pipeline of players whom we see on TV then our level will be lower. So this is why the regional association are vital to our improvement.

There are many ways to improve our volleyball status. The main thing is to come up with events without considering something in return but the only return which is that volleyball was promoted. One such event is to bring more volleyball promotion to the different regions through clinics tours. In this manner, volleyball can be introduced to everyone who are considering taking up the sport and spread the good news of volleyball. Second, is to upgrade and adapt to the modern trends and technologies related to volleyball such as the application of volleyball statistics, new training methods and purchase of essential volleyball equipment. Third, establish more international exposures for our teams to gain more experience and get a feel of how the international game is. This DOES NOT mean going out of the country. We can bring in international teams instead. This is most evident with what we did for the Shakeys Girls League. League brought in the Victoria team from Australia and New Zealand Natioal Youth Girls teams. Through that experience our players are able to get a glimpse of how the game is played in other countries which will aid in their learning. For now I will just cite this 3 ways but there are more.

5. What do you want to happen in Philippine volleyball ?

My wish for Philippine volleyball is to have a TRUE resurgence. Not the resurgence of popularity but a resurgence in the quality of our sport. That all the TRUE volleyball personalities and entities become one in making the sports grander than any other.To one day see that integrity for the sport rises above and becomes the main reason for their sacrifice rather than personal and conflicting interests for power and money.