Coach Roger actually began, not with volleyball, but with basketball, which was his first favorite sport because “after all, we are a basketball country,” he says. Everything changed in his sophomore year in high school, when he played volleyball as part of his PE class. “I became very interested in the sport,” he says. In his senior year, he joined the varsity team as a designated setter.
Playing for the San Sebastian Stags in the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) as an athletic scholar, Coach Roger came to appreciate the sport even more. However, everything changed in his senior year, when their team’s head coach had to leave for Australia. It was then that he became both player and coach, not only for the men’s team, but for the women’s and the juniors as well.
Being a playing coach became his stepping stone. Despite experiencing the difficulty of coaching three different teams, things paid off for Coach Roger. All three teams went on to win the NCAA championship that year.
Today, he holds the record for having four consecutive triple NCAA championships from 1993 to 1997. Also, he has led the women’s and juniors teams to 11 consecutive NCAA championships, from 1986 to 1997 and 1992 to 2003 respectively. He still coaches all three teams to this day.
Coach Roger now brings his numerous credentials and expertise to Loyola Heights to aid the Lady Spikers, who are currently in a rebuilding process. “My main objective this year is to unite the new players with the old players. I want the players to commit to the team for two to three years, so that the team will develop into a very cohesive team,” he says.
Despite a rough outing for the young team at the recently held V-League, Coach Roger sees a lot of potential in the team. “I am very happy with this team, and they are playing well beyond my expectations. It is just that most of the players are rookies and they lack enough experience, which is important in the UAAP,” he says.
Needless to say, the coach is very passionate about volleyball. “I was schooled and [I] graduated because of volleyball,” he says. “I am very serious… [about] the sport, especially when it comes to practice.”
Coach Roger, however, wishes more people would appreciate the whole sport of volleyball. “I wish people could watch volleyball games as well, so that they could see the beauty of the sport.”
