Nes Pamilar

Behind every successful team is a selfless mentor who has devoted himself to bringing out the best in his team. Just last month, Nes Pamilar assumed the head coaching position of the Green Spikers, a team seeking to end their Final Four drought.

With months to go before the opening of the UAAP Season 79 volleyball Tournament, Pamilar will have enough time to instill his system in the talented squad. With his experienced and decorated background, Pamilar also hopes to inject energy into a team that is looking to get into shape even in the preseason.

A strong foundation

Most coaches begin their coaching careers as early as their playing days. Pamilar started his own coaching career in high school, back when he was playing for the FEU Tamaraws’ juniors team. He shared that volleyball became enjoyable for him when his high school coach taught him how to set the ball up for his teammates.

Things would seem to take a different turn as he went to a different college to pursue the course his parents wanted him to take. However, it wasn’t long before Pamilar went back to his high school alma mater and was immediately recruited to play for the FEU college team.

“Pagbalik ko, kinuha na ako ng FEU as a setter,” he recounts.

A new kind of challenge

Handling teams wasn’t something new for Pamilar as he found himself facilitating his team’s trainings even when he was still just a player at FEU. At that time, their coach was also the head coach of the national team, limiting the time he spent with the Tamaraws.

“Halos every practice, ako nabibilin sa mga trainings. Hanggang halos ako na parang nagpatakbo ng training namin,” he says on his collegiate experience.

Besides that, Pamilar shares that his experience of being a setter helped him out as a coach. Being the playmaker of the team, he needed to understand how the team works. “Mas malaki yung naisheshare ko sa players nung nagcocoach ako,” he explains.

With sufficient knowledge and experience to aid him, he led a number of teams to championships. One of them was the FEU Lady Tamaraws, whom he led to clinch a UAAP title in Season 70. He also guided the Letran Lady Knights into becoming one of the top teams in the NCAA.

In addition to those teams, Pamilar also coached the high school team of Angelicum College and the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde. “Pero nung nag-iistart na sumali yung CSB sa NCAA, mas pinili ko sa Letran kasi mas nauna talaga naman ako sa Letran,” he adds.

Back in the game

With the recent disbandment of his professional team, the Cagayan Valley Lady Rising Suns, Pamilar started biking. After a while, Pamilar felt that there was something missing. So when he was given the opportunity to coach another team, the Laoag Power Smashers, he was eager to take the role.

Not long after, he was contacted by DLSU for the Green Spikers’ coaching job. Giving considerations to his time away from collegiate volleyball and the team he was coaching, he asked for time to think about his next course of action.

A few weeks later, Pamilar decided to take on the offer to become the head coach of the La Salle men’s volleyball team after confirming with former head coach Ronald Dulay that the position was indeed vacant. “Ayoko kasi yung meron akong nasasagasaan ako na coach,” he says on the situation. “Subukan ko uli sa college. Baka meron pa ako isheshare sa players.”

A step-by-step process

When he came to La Salle, Pamilar realized that the team was far from what he had in mind as his ideal team. Because of this, he told his coaching staff that they shouldn’t expect much from the offseason tournaments as their preparation will be for the UAAP. As such, their training program will not change due to the tournaments they will partake in.

“Sasali ko lang sila diyan dahil gusto ko lang makita kung ano pa yung mga dapat naming iadjust,” he states.

With that thought in mind, he decided to concentrate on one aspect at a time. He chose to start with improving their service and service receptions; blocking would be for some other time. After a few training sessions, he saw great improvement with their service. He said, “So yung mataas na porsiyentong service, nakuha namin. Pero yung first ball talaga yung problema.”

He also stresses the importance of having the right attitude, something that the team lacks, not only during the game, but also during their training. If the team wants to go further, they have to become serious with what they’re doing. “Siyempre, gusto ko mag-improve rin yung standing o hanggang maging, sana, maging champion,” he says on what he wants to aim for with DLSU.

Overall, Pamilar shared that the players already have the individual skills. It’s just a matter of how they can use them as a team that needs to be improved. “Kailangan maging buo sila para maging mas malakas na team,” he concludes.