The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) has formed a five-man team to monitor the training of athletes bound for the 2009 Laos Southeast Asian Games in December.

The team started visiting different training venues on Friday, acting as observers and making themselves available for athletes who may have personal concerns and problems.

“The monitoring team will report the training conduct and conditions of the athletes. Maaari ding lumapit ang mga atleta sa kanila kung mayroon silang personal na problema para kung kayang makatulong ng PSC, tutulungan naman namin,” PSC chairman Harry Angping said.

“We cannot ignore the personal problems of athletes because it may affect their performance and training. Pwedeng may problema yan sa pamilya, sa kaibigan? they can voice these concerns to the monitoring team,” he added.

The monitoring team will assess the athlete’s preparations every day until the start of the biennial meet on Dec. 9. The team can also call the attention of the coaches if they see any misbehavior from the athletes.

Angping added he will also talk to nutritionists from the Philippine Center for Sports Medicine (PCSM) to examine the athletes’ conditions during training, while providing food assistance which is separate from their monthly allowance.

“We will not leave any stone unturned,” Angping said. “We will provide them anything that they need: from milk, food, vitamins. We’ll take care of all the athletes so that there’s no more reason for them not to succeed.”

Angping added he will also meet with the athletes every Friday and have lunch with them and get assessments from coaches regarding the athletes’ progress.