Collegiate volleyball, specifically UAAP, is one of the biggest and wildest games in the Philippines and as a player, one should not just be equipped with technical skills, but they should know how to handle their emotions as well.
Former UST player Caitlyn Viray is one of those players who has overcome all the nervousness, lack of confidence, and everything internal through her experience in playing beach volleyball.
Before she was known to be an indoor player, she used to play beach volleyball as instructed by Coach Kung Fu, UST Women’s Volleyball Head Coach, during the UAAP season wherein she belonged in the Team B pool for her conditioning.
“[Kapag] kasi nalaro mo na sila pareho, makikita mo yung difference nila,” Viray stated in the 7th Episode of The Hang Time Podcast. [When you experienced playing both, you will get to determine their differences.]
“Sa beach volleyball, dalawa lang kayo, talagang kailangan hahawak ka ng bola and hindi pwedeng wala kang laro kasi walang pupuntahan yung partner mo, kaya dapat mas matapang ka sa beach [volleyball],” she added. [There are only two players in beach volleyball so you really need to get the ball and you should always be alert because if not, your partner has nowhere to go, so you need to be braver in beach volleyball.]
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In terms of pressure and nervousness, Viray is very confident in handling them with the years of playing experience and with the aid of her coaches, mentors, and teammates that guided her to always be calm and composed whenever she feels it already.
She admitted that Coach Babes, NU Head Coach where she played during her high school years, was really the one who gave her the advice regarding that aspect.
Coach Babes’ signature line, “Composure Bata,” made an impact on her that she was able to bring up until now which means that when you make an error, you have to bounce back and not make the same error again.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the volleyball schedule of the UAAP Season 82 was canceled. This season was supposedly her last playing year; she also admitted that she has officially told the UST management that she will not be extending for another year to catch up for the next season.
However, even with the given situation, Caitlyn Viray is so proud that one of her greatest achievements during her stay in UST was when they played the championship game against Ateneo during the UAAP Season 81 wherein they won Silver.
“Naibalik namin sa championship yung UST, naibalik namin yung crowd, yung [mga] sumusuporta sa UST,” she said.
Recently, Caitlyn Viray was recruited by the Choco Mucho Flying Titans squad and she is looking forward to training with her teammates because due to the quarantine protocols, she has not been able to do physical meet-ups or any training with them yet.
The entire interview of Caitlyn Viray (Episode 7 of Hang Time) can be found with the links below.
This piece was written by Carla Molina, a common contributor for Globally Ballin check out the link below to see all the articles by Carla Molina that revisit past episodes of the network in bring the story of the guests to article form as well.
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