DLSU Badminton Head Coach, Owen Lopez comes across as a man with unusual tranquility. An outside observer might say that he has every reason to be calm since his team is doing very well in the current UAAP Season 78 Badminton Tournament. However, it is his tranquility which leads him to order his players to do one thing while they are on the court: enjoy. “Minsan siyempre ang laki ng expectation ng coach, eh so sabi ko lang sa kanila mag-enjoy sila.”
Not that the DLSU head coach is taking things too easy. Lopez continuously warns his players not to relax. There are still two more games for DLSU, and the last thing he wants to see is his players lifting their feet off the pedal. “Siyempre yun nga, hanggang hindi natatapos ang round robin sinasabi ko sa kanila na huwag mag relax. Kasi siyempre may mga games na kailangan pang tapusin so one-by-one lang. Ang ginagawa ko sa kanila is focus on one team, tapos on another one team kase mahirap buoin yan.”
The DLSU Men’s Badminton Team have been dominant so far, having won all of their five ties as of this writing. NU is the big tie coming up for them, and all Lopez hopes to see is his team play well. “Actually ang priority natin is mabigyan tayo ng magandang game pagdating ng NU so I hope prepared yung team, as an individual and as a team.”
On the other hand, the DLSU Women’s Badminton Team are currently second in the standings. While their male counterparts have NU in their sights, the ladies have FEU to target. Lopez downplays the tie, but has full confidence in his team. “Kung ano yung lineup namin at kung ano yung lineup ng FEU, yun pa rin yun.”
Lopez has two notable rookies in his women’s team, namely Iyah Sevilla and Nicole Albo. Both are national team players and have held their own in their rookie year in the UAAP for the green and white. Nonetheless, he feels that both of them still have to adjust to the team format of the UAAP Badminton Tournament. “Naniniwala ako sa kanila dahil prepared sila. Everyday training sa national team at sa La Salle. Prepared mga yan eh so I hope lang dahil iba talaga ang laro sa team competition sa individual.”
Lopez had a lot of reasons to be happy last week. Not only did he witness his team perform well in the latest round of ties, he also celebrated his birthday last week. Lopez reiterates that he emphasizes enjoyment to his team. “Kahit ano mang resulta sa loob ng court, ok lang sa amin yun as long na ok lang sila, nagawa nila ang gusto nila.”
Coaches tend to imprint their personality to the teams they coach. In Lopez, DLSU has a coach whose tranquility and appetite for enjoyment can make his players have fun along the way in securing double UAAP Badminton championships.
