Regina, Alberto
Biographical Note
Alberto Regina was born in 1900 in South America. He began working for the Buenos Aires YMCA at the age of 13 as an office boy, where he found what was to become his life work. He entered the Instituto Tecnico, the YMCA College of the South American YMCA and obtained his undergraduate degree in 1924. He traveled to Chile in 1924 to take a position as the Director of Physical Education in Chile to work with the basketball and volleyball association. In 1928 Regina became the Physical Education Director of the YMCA in Buenos Aires, Argentina. During his time at this YMCA he coached various sports teams; including the national Argentinian water polo team in the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam. He taught classes to train the future leaders in physical education and the world of sports, as well as courses in Calisthenics for the businessmen of Buenos Aires. He also made his presence upon radio stations giving programs on physical education as well as leading group calisthenics exercises.
In 1930 Regina was offered a scholarship from Springfield College (then the International YMCA College) to study as a graduate student. Regina returned to South America in 1931 to coach a championship basketball team in Santiago, Chile and then in Rio de Janeiro. In 1936 Regina traveled back to Springfield College to continue taking courses towards his degree. It was during this time that he met Josephine Puglia, who was to become his wife. He also traveled around the United States from New England, Ohio, and North Carolina giving lectures on physical education. From his trips to the United States he learned a great deal about North American sports and physical education. He was able to bring this knowledge back with him and implement what he had learned within his own YMCA. He returned to Argentina and became the Technical Advisor (Trainer) to the Argentine Federation of Sports from 1938-1940.
In 1947 Regina was awarded the travel scholarship of the YMCA International Committee to visit and study various YMCAs in the United States. He traveled to many places including New York and Boston where he found inspiration amongst the leaders of this country. On this trip, Regina fell ill and had to undergo a serious operation in Springfield, MA. He returned to Argentina after the operation where he suffered complications from the surgery which would eventually bring an end to his life on January 24th, 1948.