THERE’S more to La Salle’s early UAAP Season 87 struggles than meets the eye.
Having been through many highs and a few lows over his nearly three-decade rule in Taft, Lady Spikers head coach Ramil de Jesus now sees the game seriously evolving and he is wondering if he and his team can catch up as he sees his rivals moving forward at a dizzying pace.
READ: Ramil de Jesus opens up after La Salle season opens on losing note
While developing players remains at the heart of every school's volleyball program, de Jesus noted that some schools are far more successful than others because they have mastered the art of recruitment, meaning they are able to quickly assess if a player has potential and then go all out to grab them.
La Salle has long been a force in both recruiting and developing many of the sport’s brightest stars and the proof is there for all to see: there is at least one Lady Spiker in each of the 12 PVL teams today.
But for some reason, the school's recruitment game hasn’t been as strong and as sharp over the last few years. It's last sensational recruit was two years ago when it reeled in Angel Canino who, as a rookie, won MVP honors, the first in La Salle's history.
Meanwhile, this year’s Lady Spikers rookie pool features Fil-American Jill Santos and homegrown senior high prospects Shane Reterta, Ela Raagas, Mikole Reyes, Jessa Ordiales and Francesca Sofia Rodriguez. And it's safe to say that none of them can hold a candle to Canino.
“Every year, nag-e-evolve ‘yung volleyball eh. Ang challenge ngayon, kung kayang maka-adapt (ng schools) lalo na sa recruitment kasi ‘yun ‘yung problema (namin) eh,” said de Jesus whose team for Season 87 has six rookies.
De Jesus pointed out that teams which can get what he calls ‘Class A players’ have the best chance to be successful. These kind of players are precious because they can easily blend into the program and requires very little strict supervision.
But if you get an abundance of Class B players, those with not enough talent and need to be trained hard, then chances to advance are greatly diminished.
He feels La Salle has not been able to get enough Class A players in their current roster of rookies.
“Kapag medyo active ka sa pagre-recruit, ‘yung lahat ng Class A ng players nakukuha mo, advantage sa team ‘yun,” RDJ said.
“Pero kung kukuha ka ng mga Class B na napakahirap i-develop at isabay sa mga Class A, mahabang proseso.”
NU's cutting edge over La Salle
RDJ made it clear that La Salle will have some catching up to do in the UAAP recruitment game.
He admitted that it's going to be tough to beat NU, which, by the way, handed La Salle a rare opening-day defeat last Sunday to start its title-retention bid. NU, de Jesus said, is way ahead in the recruitment game.
Familiarity from their times together is a big part of the success of Bella Belen and Co., the veteran coach said.
“‘Yung NU, hindi naman nu’ng Season 84 (lang gumaling) eh. Matagal na talaga silang magkakasama. Kilalang-kilala na nila ‘yung bawat isa. ‘Yun nga ‘yung isa sa mga strengths ng NU, dahil sa tagal nilang magkakasama, alam nila ‘yung weaknesses at strengths nila,” RDJ said.
“‘Yun talaga ‘yung advantage ng NU na hindi sila nara-rattle. Alam nila kung sino ‘yung go-to guy, kaya solid ‘yung NU.”
At least de Jesus knows what his team needs to do to compete against the Lady Bulldogs. And it would be foolish really for NU and the others to dismiss La Salle as a serious contender.
This team, after all, won 12 UAAP women's volleyball championship under de Jesus.
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