By MARK REY MONTEJO
After almost two decades of leading the school to its powerhouse status in the UAAP, long-time coach and fencing program head Amat Canlas, mentor of Olympian Sam Catantan, has parted ways with University of the East recently.
At the UAAP Fencing Championships last Monday at the Makati Coliseum where they took home three gold trophies, an emotional Canlas bade farewell as he marked his final day for his alma mater, which he steered to multiple titles – 12 in men’s, 16 in women’s, 14 in boys and 11 in girls.
Those accolades became a testament of how the Recto-based squad stood out among the rest of the member schools in the sport, which Canlas, a former fencer himself who turned a national team mentor, hopes to continue even without him.
“Sabi ko lang na ituloy nila ‘yong dynasty na sinimulan namin dahil hindi lang naman basta-basta ‘to. We started from nothing, malalim ‘yong ugat nung UE. Hindi ito basta-basta champion lang, talagang from sa ‘kin pa, hanggang sa ngayon, sa present, eh talagang natuloy ‘yong pagiging dynasty namin,” said Canlas.
“So, pag-alis ko, kung sino man ‘yung mga papalit na coach sa ‘kin, ituloy lang nila. And ang sabi ko, maging loyal sila sa UE kasi hindi rin naman sila magiging magaling kung hindi dahil sa UE. Kumbaga, pinaghirapan sila; hindi dumating nang magaling na eh; ginawa sila ng UE,” he added.
With dreams of giving a better life for his loved ones, Canlas made his tough decision of kissing goodbye to UE and bringing his mastery on the piste to aspirants in Tizona Fencing Club in Australia.
“Pero nakita ko ‘yung opportunity para sa mga anak ko, sa family ko, na ‘pag pumunta ako do’n, kasama sila. Kaya susubok ako kasi ang hirap namang tanggihan, parang no-brainer ka naman, lalo pa’t Australia,” Canlas continued.
“Alam naman natin sa Australia; nakita naman natin ‘yung quality of life do’n. Why not, hindi natin subukan, para sa future ng mga anak ko ‘to, hindi naman ‘to para sa akin,” he added.
It’s an understandable move for Canlas, especially with the growing demands of his family – not to mention the economic crisis the country is facing right now due to the war in Iran.
Before his departure, Canlas had been guiding youngsters to learn fencing and inspiring them to reach the pinnacle of the sports stage, the Olympics. He also put a premium on the student-athletes’ education.
Nearly two years ago, Canlas led Catantan to the Olympics during the Paris Games – the first by a Filipino fencer in 32 years.
