ALYSSA Valdez will long be known as one of the hardest-hitting spikers to have ever graced Philippine volleyball.
Across her 18-year career from the juniors to the pros alongside national team duties and overseas stints, Valdez has 17 MVP nods (season, conference and finals combined), 12 best outside spiker plums and six best attacker citations to her name.
Also stemming from such a vast array of individual accolades are nine club volleyball championships — two with PLDT Home Ultera in the Shakey’s V-League and seven with Creamline in the Premier Volleybal League — and four collegiate crowns (UAAP and Shakey's V-League) with Ateneo.
Simply put, Valdez is the ‘Phenom’ for a reason.
READ: How to hit strong volleyball spike? UAAP stars share secrets
But did you know that back in the day before being one of the sport’s strongest attackers, Valdez made use of one ordinary article of clothing to sharpen her spiking skills.
The clothing item in question: socks.
“I think one thing na maipapayo ko sa mga younger kids is that I used socks for my wrist reaction and over the net para mas bumilis siya and ‘di ako ma-force na gamitin buong arms ko whenever I spike.
“I guess that’s one of the things na kahit ngayon ginagawa ko, and definitely walling — spiking sa wall,” Valdez shared to SPIN.ph.
Alyssa says timing is everything
Under the tutelage of her University of. Sto Tomas High School mentor in Kungfu Reyes, Valdez learned three fundamental keys to consistency in the spiking department — a clean approach, a well-timed hit paired with an in-sync wrist motion.
“I’d say one of the things na I do for me to be consistent in spiking na lang would be proper approach and proper timing,” said Valdez.
“And I think one of the things na kailangang i-apply is ‘yung wrist reaction. When I was in high school [in UST], si Coach Kungfu [Reyes] taught me how to properly approach, to spike din,” she added.
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