Moms and Dads
Win that Split: Paeng Nepomuceno on Being a Dad and Celebrity Athlete
6-Time World Champion bowler Paeng Nepomuceno shares how he balances his being an active tournament athlete and a dad.
Being a Guinness World Record holder of three unbroken titles is really something for 6-time world champion bowler Paeng Nepomuceno. He’s currently the only Asian to have earned the USBC (United States Bowling Congress) Gold Coach certification (kind of like getting a doctorate in your post-grad studies except for coaching), making him a one-of-a-kind coach. But how does a world champion like Paeng Nepomuceno still have the energy to juggle being a coach, senior lecturer in UP, and a dad?
The Art of Time Management
Learning time management early on helped Paeng manage juggling sponsors, tournaments, and raising his kids. Getting into sports at a young age allowed him to practice juggling both his studies and his athletic career, a trick that he learned to apply with his wife.
“I am fortunate that at a young age, I learned the art of time management. I got into sports and specifically got into bowling at 12 years old,” explains Paeng. “My parents instilled in me the importance of studying before I engaged in sports. They taught me the importance of time management which I was able to apply when it came to raising our children.”
With him attending international tournaments, he’s thankful that they didn’t take too long. “I’m fortunate that international tournaments last for only about a week – so I would be away for short periods only. In the beginning, my wife would accompany me in my competitions abroad when our kids were younger but as they grew older, my wife would just stay behind and look after our kids. I’m lucky too that my mom or my wife’s mom would watch over the kids when my wife had to come with me.”
Paeng Nepomuceno on Being a Dad
Although his kids are grown-ups now, they still spend time together. Though not all of them got into bowling the way he did, they still found ways to bond with each other even with his busy schedule. “When they were growing up, I would personally accompany them together with my wife and attend the children’s parties that they were invited to,” says Paeng. “We also watched a lot of cartoon movies, ate out as a family, and went to the beach. We also traveled together during summer breaks whenever there was an opportunity.”
But there are some moments that he spends differently with his two daughters and his son. “Up to this day, my son and I would still bond by going biking together. We both have the same hobby which is mountain biking and we go to the trails together,” says Paeng. “With regard to our girls, we still go to the beach as a family and we used to eat out together before the pandemic.”
How Bowling Shaped Him as a Parent
Starting his bowling career at 12 let Paeng see how his parents worked together in raising him. “I only had to look at my parents as my role models for parenting since my dad was my coach and my mom was my number 1 cheerleader,” Paeng explains. “They accompanied me to all my tournaments and I applied what I saw in their parenting style. But I’m fortunate to have such a supportive wife and that she made it a lot easier in being a parent and a dad, especially to my two daughters.”
Talk about being active as both a sportsman and a dad! Hailed already as both a multi-world record holder and one of the 100 Filipinos that made history, Paeng Nepomuceno has one more title to add: being an awesome dad.
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