AT 26 years old, Nosa Omorogbe is ready to take on the challenge as one of the head coaches of Perpetual Help in the NCAA.
The former Altas player now transitions into coaching after being appointed by the school as one of the team's three mentors along with school owner Antonio Tamayo and lawyer Barry Neal Tobias, with Omorogbe taking the lead on the court for the Las Piñas-based squad
Omorogbe said he was initially surprised with the offer to take over the squad from Aric Del Rosario, but he had no hesitations in taking the post.
“I didn’t see this coming,” said Omogrobe. “After my Masters, I was thinking of doing business or going back home and get a job.”
“But the owners approached me and said you can give it a shot. I said, ‘Sure, why not,’” he added.
The Cameroonian cager-turned coach won his coaching debut in the Filoil preseason tournament when the Altas beat University of the Philippines on Wednesday.
Despite the win, Omorogbe admitted coaching is in no way easy, and has already seen the big difference between playing and coaching especially at his age, which is relatively young for a coach.
“It’s pretty hard. I do a lot of thinking. Now, I have to play the game without playing on the floor. All I do is think, which is really, really hard. It’s not fun, trust me,” said Omorogbe.
Omorogbe, however, made it clear that he has a long ways to go before he can become a good coach. And he's even asked former Altas coach Jimwell Gican to be part of his coaching staff to help him out in his new task.
“He was my coach before when I arrived in the Philippines. He was the first person I called and he said he will help me. He is helping me a lot. Without him, I won’t be here,” he said.
“I’m just trying. It’s not that I’m a good coach. I’m just trying,” Omorogbe added.