Chasing the aviation dream: Martin Villaflor takes to the skies

People say that life is a sport. It takes discipline for one to survive both on and off the playing field. Like former DLSU Green Spiker Enzo Dizon, Martin Villaflor chose to pursue a new venture, this time in the field of aviation. The former DLSU Football goalkeeper has been able to reap the benefits of being an athlete even after his playing days, citing the discipline he had from playing under coach Hans Smit as one of the many examples.

“Pilots have OTP (On-time performance), you gotta be there on the dot. With Coach Hans, he always had that discipline,” Villaflor says on how football has been able to help him with his aviation career.

Prior to sitting down with The LaSallian, Villaflor also shared personal insights and experiences to aspiring aviators in the Lasallian community at the Lasallian Enrichment Alternative Program (LEAP) held last June 14.

The beautiful game

Despite being busy with his aviation career, Villaflor has had the time to follow the DLSU Men’s Football Team. He was impressed with the team’s leading scorer, outgoing midfielder Greggy Yang, and current goalkeeper Paeng De Guzman. Though Yang and Villaflor never played together as teammates for DLSU Football, the two used to play pickup games together at their neighborhood park. With De Guzman, Villaflor was particularly impressed with the incoming junior’s stellar performance in La Salle’s heartbreaking loss to the FEU Tamaraws in the Season 77 finale.

“Nung finals against FEU before, I was impressed with Paeng. He stepped up big. He had big shoes to fill in,” says Villaflor on the UAAP’s Best Goalkeeper for the past two seasons. “For me, Paeng had to show that La Salle had a really good goalkeeper because La Salle was really known for that, even back in the 90s and 2000s. La Salle was known for the quality goalkeeper programs, and he proved it.”

DLSU Football back then during Villaflor’s playing days did not train in Rizal Memorial Stadium or De La Salle Zobel. Rather, they trained at the school’s own football field, which is now the site of the Henry Sy Sr. Hall. Villaflor made his UAAP debut for the Green-and-White in 2007, La Salle’s first year back from its suspension. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Behavioral Sciences majoring in Organizational and Social Systems Development in 2010.

“Coach Hans Smit, stepped in [after the UAAP suspension]. However, we were depleted with resources. No recruits, no nothing, and panay walk-ins. That was the downside of our career,” recalls Villaflor on La Salle’s sixth-place finish that year.

Following that season, Villaflor and his team managed to get La Salle Football back on track, as they racked up back-to-back third place finishes in the coming years.

Chasing the aviation dream

After his graduation, Villaflor continued to pursue his football career in the United Football League (UFL), the de facto premier league of the country. He played for the UFL All-Stars in 2011, where they upset the national football team, 4-3.

Alongside playing in the UFL, Villaflor also worked with Philip Morris and as a cabin crew member for Philippine Airlines (PAL) to raise money for the high costs of aviation training.

“To be honest, sinabay ko [playing in the UFL and being part of the PAL cabin crew]. Those UFL seasons were hard. Kasi, there were days I was playing games walang tulog. I would have a 4 am flight. I’ll finish at 7 pm, and there were games at 8 pm. They [would] see me running with my cabin crew uniform,” he recalls.

Riding out the storm

At one point in time, Villaflor also pursued his aviation schooling with OMNI Aviation while playing in the UFL. Things took a turn for him, as the hiring window for pilots closed upon the conclusion of his training in 2014.

“[I]t was a big frustration, I didn’t know what to do next. I didn’t have money to pay for extra ratings [training], so that excluded me from other flying opportunities,” shares Villaflor on his struggle.

In 2015, he hung up his gloves and boots, as he decided to focus on his aviation career. He spent most of his time in the UFL with Green Archers United FC (GAU FC), and had spells with sister team Forza FC and Pachanga FC.

Villaflor carried on his passion for aviation as a flight instructor, particularly at the WCC Aviation Corporation. Fortunately last July, he was blessed with the opportunity to become an airline pilot for PAL Express, where he is undergoing training.

“Now, the world is wide open and the companies are desperate for pilots that they’re hiring pilots sometimes below the minimum requirements. If they say 200 [flying hours] is the minimum, sometimes they’d be interviewing you at 180 or 190 [hours]. So right now it’s a good time [to get into the industry],” he says on the demand in the profession he is pursuing.

As to his message to future aviators, Villaflor says, “Don’t let any obstacle put you down. Life is gonna kick you hard. If you think you’re in a hard part in life, it’s only getting harder. The only way to succeed is to keep moving.”

Villaflor also emphasized the need for perseverance and fortitude, in facing personal obstacles in life. “If you can’t run, walk, if you can’t walk, crawl. If you can’t crawl, just keep moving find any inch to get forward. There’s no other way but to keep moving on, and there’s always a way to your successful life,” he concludes.