WHEN JP Yude first recruited Shaina Nitura to San Marcelino, there was one specific attribute of hers that stood out straight away for the now-Adamson women's head coach.
READ: In just her rookie season, these are all the records Shaina Nitura broke
Still feeling the cool breeze of Nitura’s historic rookie season, Yude shared with SPIN.ph how it was like handling the 20-year-old serial record-breaker as her first volleyball coach in the Adamson program.
“Nu’ng time na pumalit ako (sa Adamson juniors), nandyan na yan si Shaina, pero hindi pa siya nagsa-start na maglaro sa Adamson. Ako yung unang nakahawak diyan sa kanya sa Adamson kasi nung past, nasa CAL [California Academy] ‘yan eh,” Yude said.
“Yung mindset niya nu’n at yung attitude niya nu’n, kumbaga hinone ko na lang siya at hinasa nang hinasa, pero I always knew na marami pang mararating yung bata.”
With almost every UAAP scoring record now held by 'Super Shaina,' her mentor bared how the Lady Falcons' rookie-captain wasn’t always the hard-hitter she’s known for today.
She didn’t have the lethal scoring skillset that would’ve made heads turn at first glance when she was still a high school rising star.
Nitura knows - and grows
But why did Yude take a chance on Nitura when not a lot of teams did?
It’s because the Adamson coach saw a natural-born leader that was a rarity for someone as young and inexperienced as her at the time.
“Number one thing ‘yung leadership talaga. Yung skills niya, na-develop lang naman ‘yan. Hindi naman ganyan dati maglaro ‘yung bata na ‘yan, pero ‘yung leadership niya at attitude niya talaga, palaban,” said Yude.
“Siya, kahit mga ate nga yan, medyo nagla-lie low lang ‘yan sometimes si Shaina, pero kung kaya niya, alam mong kaya niyang dumiin nang dumiin at mag-disiplina.
“‘Yung pagli-lead niya talaga, ‘yun talaga ‘yung nakita ko sa kanya all throughout sa ilang years na kaming magkasama.”
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
