“It got into my head.”
Jarvey Gayoso had what could have been a dream debut for any young footballer given the chance to don the Blue and White for football powerhouse Ateneo. The highly-touted high school standout was chosen to start for the Blue Eagles on their opening matchup with La Salle and had several good chances in ninety minutes on the field. But at the end of those ninety or so minutes, it was the men in the Green and White who walked off the field celebrating, and for the young striker, much is to be learned from Day 1 on the job.
“I’m disappointed about the way I played. The hype and the expectations given to me threw me off. It got into my head having a UAAP debut against the rival team,” said the former Ateneo High School standout after the Eagles’ 3-1 loss to their archrivals the Archers.
“We’ve been playing in pre-season games, but the UAAP is a different environment. Coming from playing on the high school level, it’s a whole different game. “
The hype for Ateneo’s new forward comes as no surprise. Jarvey, the son of former Ateneo cager Jayvee Gayoso from the 1987 and 1988 championship squads, has an athletic resume many aspiring footballers could only dream of building. He has been selected as a member of the U-19 Teen Azkals squad and later was one of the six amateur players selected to play in the Clear Dream Match; was named Rookie of the Year in the UAAP Season 75 football tournament; and has won the Golden Boot in various football tournaments such as the Singha Cup. In addition to his footballing accolades, Gayoso was also named Most Valuable Player in the Season 77 Athletics portion of the junior Track and Field tournament.
Despite failing to score, the highly-touted newcomer nonetheless showed flashes of the brilliance attached to his name. He stayed on top of the attack at every moment, and was able to take on the experienced La Sallian defenders while charging into the box. He had a couple of good shots from the edge of the box in the second half, but was unable to hit the goal.
“Playing in that position (forward) and playing that long wasn’t that hard for me. It was the mental aspect of the game that got me,” answered Gayoso, when asked about starting and going on to play for the ninety minutes on the field.
In spite of the day’s disappointments, the young Eagle knows what he needs to change to finally get into the mold for the next chapter in his football career.
“It’s my mindset towards the game. The way I think about what’s going to happen in the game. Today was mostly a battle between me and myself. It got to me. The nervousness got to me.”
“I’ve been telling myself and the team that this should be the last loss of the season; that we’ll push harder and understand everything wrong that went with this game. And of course, my mentality, before and after the game; the way I should adjust myself, mentally and physically.”
