PLAYING for the national team at any level for any sport is the greatest privilege for athletes in their careers. There are regular opportunities in football due to the frequent international friendlies and tournaments played by national teams all over the world.
—
Just like its male counterparts, the Philippine Women’s National Football Team has been preparing for the qualifying stage of the 2018 AFC Asian Women’s Cup, which will be held in Tajikistan from April 3 to 12.
Tryouts have been organized by the Philippine Football Federation in order to form the best team possible for the qualifiers. PFF Women’s League teams and UAAP schools have released players for the trials as a sign of full cooperation with the national cause.
Among the student-athletes to take part in the tryouts were Cam Rodriguez of Ateneo de Manila University and Marie Navea-Huff of the University of the Philippines.
“It feels great to be back in the sense that I think it’s been long, four years. My last tour of duty with the national team was when I was a rookie.
“It was good to see everyone there despite the ongoing UAAP tournament. You see see people from Ateneo and La Salle, FEU just mingling. You know people who you see should hate each other on the pitch in a competitive sense just get together,” shared the 22-year-old Rodriguez.
With the UAAP Season 79 Women’s Football Tournament ongoing, players such as Rodriguez and Navea-Huff need to make certain adjustments to their daily lives in order to balance academics, varsity practice, and PWNT tryouts.
“It’s a good thing coach Anto (Gonzales) has training in the mornings and then the tryouts are in the afternoon and my schedule just seems to fit. It’s just wake up, train, go to school, go to tryouts in the afternoon, and make sure I drink lots of water in between and study after the tryouts. It’s as simple as that.
“It’s as if I was doing two sessions a day with UP,” Navea-Huff, who is 23-year-old and a fourth-year student, explained.
“I guess it’s a matter of knowing my priorities. I guess I’ve been trained to have this skill because I’ve been juggling all three or four ever since I was second year high school when I started in the U-16.
“It’s something that’s not new to me but it’s still very difficult because it’s a whole new level. When you’re in the university level, especially in the national team level mas malaki ang demand. It’s really priorities, priorities,” added Rodriguez, who is playing in her fifth and final year for Ateneo.
One student-athlete who knows what both Navea-Huff and Rodriguez are going through is De La Salle University goalkeeper and current PWNT captain Inna Palacios. Palacios recently competed in the 2016 AFF Championship and will be a direct call-up to the PWNT come the formal preparations.
Palacios opined, “It’s actually pretty hard but if you want something, you’re actually gonna do anything or everything to balance everything that you have so that you can attend to all the commitments you’ve made.
“Because it’s not easy having school and having to train in the afternoon, morning especially for the national team since we train twice a day. It’s about hard work. If you’re really determined then you’re gonna be successful.”
Sacrifices have to be made as a national team player and student-athlete. Completing both tasks would be tiresome, and sometimes fulfilling one or both takes precedence over other things.
“There were three tryouts and I was only able to go to the last one because in the first two I had thesis and I really can’t go. But in the third one, even though I had class, I ended up cutting two of my classes which were heavy classes. That’s where you could see where I prioritized,” elaborated Rodriguez.
Academics are not the only things to take a blow, but also their personal lives.
“Well it’s always gonna be my family time because school is always there. We can’t delay school,” the 22-year-old Palacios shared.
“Training, we have to be in training. I guess it’s my family which is the one sacrificing for me. I’m so happy they’re very supportive. At least I know that I can always have them behind me.”
All three players have shared how their coaches – Ateneo’s JP Merida, UP’s Anto Gonzales and La Salle’s Hans-Peter Smit – have pushed, encouraged, and helped them in their endeavors for the national team. With that said, it’s all up to the ladies now if they want to fulfill their dream of playing for the Philippines on the international stage.
“Me and I speak for the rest of the students athletes to fix our priorities and I think sari-sariling diskarte.
“Hiningi kasi ni coach Buda (Bautista) sa amin, yung parting words niya ay what she needs from us is focus and commitment,” Rodriguez stated.
The PWNT has been grouped with the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Iraq, Tajikistan and Bahrain. Jordan already has a ticket to the 2018 AFC Asian Women’s Cup tourney proper as the host, which leaves the other slot to the highest-ranked team in the group.
It’s an easy group on paper, which is why there could be no better chance for the Philippines to join the continental competition than now.
“We just have to see how we do as a team. Anything can happen.
“We’re put in a really good bracket. It’s just how everything comes together. I can’t guarantee anything but I know all the girls who tried out are really willing to do their best for the country. We’ll see because like I said we’re in a really good bracket and it would be really amazing if we could move forward from there,” surmised Navea-Huff.
