FREEPORTS & ECOZONES
BULL SHARKS OF ELYU
SWIM CHAMPS START YOUNG By January Guia Bawat
L
a Union boasts of beautiful sceneries along its breathtaking coastline. Its beaches invite both tourists and locals to dive in and enjoy the water, making swimming one of the most loved activities here. The province is also the training ground of competitive swimming teams, including the multi-awarded La Union Bull Sharks. The Bull Sharks’ story started in 2006, when some parents of the Thunderbird Resorts members invited Coach Isagani “Gani” Corpuz to teach their children the basics of swimming. However, the kids started to enjoy the activity and wanted to learn more. Coach Gani and the parents decided to provide more lessons, which eventually turned into more advanced training. The La Union Bull Sharks Swimming Team was then created, with members comprised of almost 30 kids ranging from 6 to 18 years of age. Coach Gani hails from Urdaneta, Pangasinan and began from humble beginnings. He started swimming as a varsity high school student in Dagupan. During this time as a teenager, he had the opportunity to be taught and trained by famed swimming coach Eric Buhain, who himself was an international swimming champion in the 80s and 90s. As the protégé of Mr. Buhain, Coach Gani learned the proper discipline and mindset to cope with the rigorous training. He was able to reach his goal of being ranked as the Top Swimmer in Region 1 at the High School Division. 36 Collective / Issue 17
“I always tell the children that they should have the right mindset during training. There is no magic in training but with discipline, hard work and patience, you will be able to attain your goal. And once you reach your goal, never forget what you learned from the beginning, especially the respect for your training, coaches, and your parents.” ISAGANI CORPUZ, LA UNION BULL SHARKS SWIMMING TEAM COACH
When he reached college, he not only continued swimming but started his career of teaching the sport to children. It was also at this point when he was selected by the Swimming Varsity Team of Colegio De San Juan De Letran. With the right attitude in mind, Coach Gani was able to garner a lot of medals and eventually became an outstanding competitive swimmer. After 10 years of teaching and coaching in Pangasinan, Coach Gani decided to relocate to La Union and continue his passion and commitment of teaching swimmers at an early age. Under the tutelage of Coach Gani, the La Union Bull Sharks Team has been competing and earning multiple awards in both local and national swimming competitions. The team has competed and topped the 2010 and 2012 Asian Age Group Championships, which is similar to the Southeast Asian Games for children. Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Australia are just some of the places where the team has competed in, and won, at the international