The rise of an athlete
Dedication is a word commonly found in dictionaries that refers to being committed to a certain task. It links to loyalty and devotion that pushes an individual to go the extra mile in order to fulfill their biggest dreams, a spice that completes the recipe of success.
Tricia Balagat is the epitome of dedication in playing and learning the sport of tactics and communication—volleyball.
The Start of the Journey
Accidental was the terminology Balagat used to describe how she started her volleyball journey on the view of the fact that it would not have started if it was not for the basketball club being full.
Her decision to join the volleyball club being a second choice would hypothetically give her a loose grip but throughout her ripening five year journey that started in grade 7 (A.Y. 2013-2014), she felt an extraordinary perception as she played which made her stay with her fellow players and under the guidance of her coaches to assimilate the sport further despite it being foreign to her then.
Years spent on training after school hours has definitely paid off for her after she was pronounced Best Spiker in the Athletics Association of Private Schools (AAPS) in 2016 alongside her teammates who also bagged individual awards. Her team also claimed the championship in the said event.
The Team and the Player
“Isa para sa lahat, lahat para sa isa.” A strong bond was gradually built between Balagat, her teammates, and her coaches throughout her career. They have grown into a family, committed to remain as one despite the challenges that are to come their way.
Recalling the line her coach once said, “Kung gusto mo manalo, kailangan may will ka sa sarili mo.” The will to achieve is what gives a person, particularly an athlete, the motivation to claim a goal regardless of the possible situations that may hinder the path alongside the notion that a team is always ready to defy the uncertainty and doubts together.
Humorous and kind are the first terminologies to come from her teammates’s vocabulary when asked to describe their fellow. According to one of her teammates, she is an embodiment of reliance, a person who cheers on her peers in moments of melancholy and remains humble during times of victory.
The Player’s Perspective on the Sport
Volleyball has helped her a lot not only in improving her physical state but wholly as a person. The team sport has taught her the essence of strength in emotional and mental means and also the value of good attitude towards the people surrounding her. She could definitely say that she has achieved the betterment of her personality because of the sport.
She herself has started from being unfamiliar to volleyball itself but the thoughts of giving up did not occur in her mind as her coach’s words became the barrier to keep such negativities away thus producing an athlete possessing a great potential of becoming a future star.
Volleyball may look easy but it definitely is hard to learn. However, as Balagat’s coach said, it takes genuine determination to achieve the full capacity of a person. The athlete leaves the aspiring volleyball players the words, “Never give up. Sa una mahirap ‘yan pero kung gusto mo talaga at ‘di ka susuko, maaabot at maaabot mo ‘yong pangarap mo.”
