Nurturing and Nourishing: Guiding Little Champions Through Sports and Life
Thermomix Philippines brings Coach Alex Compton to Katipunan for a morning of motivation and nourishment for the minds, hearts, and bodies of parents and their little student athletes.
Quezon City, Philippines — Hone in your child’s athletic excellence by nourishing their bodies with simple yet nutrient-dense meals, while enriching their mental and emotional wellbeing with the help of invaluable knowledge from PBA MVP and coach Alex Compton in his decades long experience and career in coaching children and adults alike through adversity and triumph in the world of student and professional sports.
Former basketball star-coach now author Alex Compton paid a visit to Thermomix’s Experience Center in Katipunan last March 24, 2026, to lead the Tuesday morning with a motivational talk about Guiding Your Child’s Athletic Journey directly pulling from his NYC Big Book Award winning publication of the same title. Coach Alex’s decades long career in basketball has earned him a lifetime’s worth of experience and excellence that has led him to the elite leagues playing and coaching for teams in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
About Coach Alex’s Book
Photo: tipunanmagazine.com
Coach Alex Compton shared lessons from the first few chapters of his book, co-written with Kevin Dalafu, which talks about the parents’ role in instilling the necessary values and skills young child athletes will need in their lifelong relationship with sports and their own personal lives. Coach Alex shares that he has always had a fascination for how kids develop, particularly in the context of how family impacts the growth of a child, so much so he finished his undergraduate degree in Cornell University majoring in Human Development and Family Studies. Coach Alex’s book is a culmination of his lifelong experience in handling and being a student and professional athlete himself.
He shared, “We were eleven chapters done, and our chapters are really good. We’ve done the research and this is really gonna help parents. Kevin [Dalafu] runs a K-12 school, so he’s been in education. My whole family’s in education, and I’ve been training kids since I was a kid. We thought this was great, and I actually did the journal research on this, but then we were missing something in the book. And the number one thing is—unang una palang, ano ang values natin? So it all starts with your values. Not mine.”
The book emphasizes developing individual personal values while learning and taking from other people’s unique experiences and perspectives.
He adds, ”We all share a lot of values—may mga magkakapareho tayo, and that’s great; but you’re in charge of your family, not me, so what are your values? And what is it from those values that we want to build in our child?”
More than just excellence and skill, Coach Alex puts an emphasis on morals—building communication skills, work ethic skills, and character.
He explains, “I’m mostly concerned with building character. What do you do when your coach yells at you and it’s not fair? What do you do when you feel tired but you need to step up? What do you do when things aren’t going well? Now that doesn’t mean I expect you at 8, 9, 10 years old to master that, but I do expect you to understand that we have standards that we’re shooting for. And that is my #1—this is the meat of the sandwich, if you will.”
Coach Alex tells parents that children need to see somebody modeling the family values. It is important to recognize the values gap—where your stated values do not match your course of action and behavior when faced with a difficult situation.
Video: tipunanmagazine.com
He says, “They're listening to more than just your words; they're watching you…It actually gives me a chance if I admit it and apologize, to deepen our relationship. It gives me a chance to say hey, I was wrong. I'm sorry I'm gonna try to do better. Now, I’ve actually just modeled for them what you do. So when there's a values gap, don't beat yourself up—just recognize it and address it head on.”
For most child athletes, a lifelong relationship with sports will accompany them through their growing and professional years, and for Coach Alex there are four key things to always keep in mind to have a successful sports dayregardless of wins or losses:
Playing Hard
Listening to Your Coach
Being a Good Teammate
Having Fun
And as a parent, Coach Alex advises other parents that they do not have to be a master at anything to properly coach or parent their children.
He adds, “There’s too many things for our kids to learn, and I actually would encourage parents to not overcoach, especially stuff they don’t know. Know your values, develop your values, and support them.”
Coaching Through Adversity
Tipunan asked Coach Alex, “They mentioned that you’ve coached for Gilas Pilipinas and Alaska’s basketball team [Alaska Aces], so we wanted to ask what it was like coaching kids and adults through adversity in such high stakes games?”
Coach Alex Compton responded,”Boy, we’ve gone through adversity. Well, I would say, people are people; kids are not ‘apprentice people’—they’re also people, and adults don’t have it all figured out. Do you ever feel like that as a parent, like, sa loob-looban mo hindi mo talaga alam kung anong ginagawa mo? This is the first time I’ve had a 17 year old. So that’s one.
As for the adversity side, we went through some real challenges. I actually don’t even enjoy talking about it; it’s nothing I’m proud of. We’re the only team in the history of [Philippine] pro basketball to lose a 3-0 league in the finals.”
Collage from Photo: SPIN.ph, abscbn.com, rappler.com, tipunanmagazine.com
Coach Alex shares their untriumphant experience during the 2016 PBA Philippine Cup Finals, “First three games wala si June Mar Fajardo. We were up 3-0, then he came back, and we lost. We could’ve won—we didn’t. There’s things I could have done differently that maybe would have gotten us a win, maybe not.
It was hard, but I walked into a locker room of guys that I loved and cared for, grown men, all the way from 40 years old down to 23 and these grown men were shoulder-shaking sobbing because they knew kami lang sa buong mundo—we are the only ones [to lose 0-3 from 3-0].
We had a new season starting. So, for me, I didn’t have a chance to appropriately grieve that [loss] because we had to start practice 4 days later for the next conference. So we had to let it go in that locker room, and then I had to say, ‘This is what we have to do sometimes as parents, guys. We have another season that starts now. I know that was awful; I know that sucks. But guess what? We’re in the PBA. 10 other teams wish they could’ve been in this spot in the finals, and they weren’t. People all over this country wish that they could be playing where we’re playing, but they’re not. People all over this country wish that they drove the kind of cars that we drive, and they don’t. No one’s going to feel sorry for us. We’ve got another place to go.”
He adds, “So, context matters; there’s no exact formula what to tell your kid, but at a certain point, we have to put on our ‘big boy pants’. We had another task ahead of us. This is why I love youth sports and sports. It’s a safe place for adversity—we’re not going to war, but it’s painful, especially when you experience that kind of loss, but life doesn’t stop because you’re sad.
So there’s an aspect of that where you have to coach your kid; they can't wallow for too long. They can’t not go out into the world and not go to school now just because they're sad. That’s not an option.”
Feeding Little Sports Champions
Photo: tipunanmagazine.com
After Coach Alex’s moving lesson, Chef Maris Tomas, who specializes in plant based recipes, demonstrated how to prepare and cook a full menu of healthy food and snacks for little sports champions in just minutes with the Thermomix.
Find some fun and delicious Thermomix recipes below:
1 . Chicken Pizzaiola
Photo and Recipe: cookidoo.thermomix.com
First on the menu is the Chicken Pizzaiola, a healthy protein-forward dish perfect for young athletes as it uses white chicken meat in place of flat bread or carbohydrates, while incorporating classic toppings from everyone’s favorite snack—pizza, complete with a tomato based sauce, cheese, and classic Italian herbs and seasoning. This dish is delicious eaten by itself but will also pair greatly with a serving of rice—the quintessential Filipino way of enjoying a hearty meal. Feel free to add more healthy toppings to customize the recipe to you and your young athletes’ liking.
2 . Hommus
Photo and Recipe: cookidoo.thermomix.com
Next on the list is Hommus. This dish is perfect eaten by itself or as a dip with a side of tortilla chips for the perfect crispy, creamy in-between meal snack. Another protein-packed recipe as chickpeas are an excellent plant-based source of protein to help young athletes build muscles.
3 . Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls
Photo and Recipe: cookidoo.thermomix.com
For dessert, Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls are the way to go for a deliciously natural sweet treat. Sweetened by nutritious dates, this confection is sure to satisfy any sweet cravings while providing an additional protein boost and a day’s requirement of healthy fats. You can also make the peanut butter from scratch using the Thermomix to ensure full control over the ingredients you use in your kids’ diet.
4 . Breakfast Protein Smoothie
Photo and Recipe: cookidoo.thermomix.com
Last but certainly not least, the Breakfast Protein Smoothie. No menu is complete without a nice healthy drink to pair with all the delicious meals and snacks. Of course, a smoothie is another excellent way to incorporate more protein and superfoods into your growing athlete’s diet to ensure optimal muscle rebuilding and recovery after long days and sessions of sports and training. This recipe calls for frozen berries, but any fruits and mix-ins you like will go perfectly into this recipe. Customize and get creative as you wish to expand this recipe to various delicious smoothie flavors.
Special Thanks to Serina Alonzo and Thermomix Philippines.
If you would like to learn more about Thermomix or purchase a Thermomix machine, please contact Miss Serina Alonzo at reiser.kitchen@gmail.com
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