The first round of the UAAP Season 81 badminton tournament began last September 24, at the Rizal Stadium. The DLSU Green Shuttlers opened their campaign with a win against the UST Growling Shuttlers, 4-1. With a victorious opening match, the team is hopeful that this is the season that they finally get the crown for the Men’s division of the UAAP Badminton after falling short in Season 80.
On the other hand, the Lady Shuttlers, are looking forward to their continuous momentum and a back-to-back win after ending their eight-year drought last season.
As the DLSU Shuttlers are hoping to earn the top spot of the podium, both teams have undertaken the necessary adjustments and training to rally their best in their campaign this year.
Of rookies and intense preparations
Both the men’s and women’s team will be starting their campaigns with new team members, which consist mainly of rookies. Thus, the teams’ training catered to adjustment of both the team and the rookies.
“We focused on rebuilding the team because almost all of our members are new and are rookies,” Lady Shuttlers team captain Iyah Sevilla said when asked about their main focus during their offseason training. Green Shuttlers team captain Cayel Pajarillo affirmed this by saying that the addition of rookies is the reason they have been training harder.
With newly introduced teammates, both squads have discovered new points to improve on during their offseason training. Sevilla saw the need to determine each player’s roles in the team. She believes that everyone in the team has a respective role to play in helping the team emerge victoriously. “The biggest concern I have now is how each and everyone can contribute in the success of the team. ‘Cause I believe na everyone has a crucial part and that’s what we need to figure out,” Sevilla said.
For Pajarillo, improving technical and tactical aspects can greatly help the team in succeeding. “We focused more sa technical and tactical aspects of our play because we observed that it was our problem last season,” added the captain.
In order to prepare further for the season, some members of the men’s and women’s team played in a preseason tournament. Last June, Sevilla, and Pajarillo, together with Geki Paz and Andrew Pineda, played in the FDG Cup. The cup is known to be one of the prestigious badminton tournaments in the country.
Mindset is key
Aside from physical preparations, the teams are also prepared for the upcoming season mentally. Sevilla, as a captain, would always remind the team to just enjoy the game and the training, “I tell my teammates na just enjoy every minute of training kasi when you enjoy something, mas malalabas mo yun kung ano talaga game mo.” Pajarillo also adds that he, as a captain, tries to motivate the team by doing anything that can boost their confidence. He also reminds the team to always give their best, not only in training but most especially during their games.
Both team captains would echo the sentiments of their head coach, Owen Lopez. “Coach Owen would always remind us to enjoy while giving our 100 percent every time. He would always tell us na it’s okay to lose. The important thing is you learn from it and you never give up,” Sevilla shares when asked about what their coach keeps emphasizing during training. Pajarillo adds that their coach would always say that, “Pag gusto may paraan pag ayaw may dahilan.”
(If you want it, there’s always a way; if you don’t, there’s always an excuse.)
As the team gears up for Season 81, the Green and Lady Shuttlers both look forward to their campaign with positivity and enthusiasm. Pajarillo remains hopeful that they can battle it all out up to the Final Four by giving all that it takes. “One of our outlooks this coming season is to enter [the] Final Four and give our best for DLSU,” he says.
Sevilla, on the other hand, treats the pressure after their last season with a positive and confident attitude for Season 81. “We plan to just enjoy every game while giving our best. We also plan to take it step by step. But, I’m certain that this season will be a whole different story. My outlook is just always be positive. I trust and I have faith in my teammates, even the men’s team, that [they] will do great this Season 81,”
concluded Sevilla.
