A look into multiple-varsity athletes
The Atenean student-athlete is the embodiment of the Latin quotation mens sana in corpore sano, meaning “a sound mind in a sound body.” To do well in one sport is already an achievement. To be among the best in more than one field is another level in itself.
It is a position where skill is no longer enough, but demands willpower and the drive to excel. After all, the road to the top is much more difficult if it is split into two. These three ladies of dual-varsity status concretize such ideals and travel along the long road with high expectations.
All-natural
When you talk about Ateneo softball, Kristine Drilon (III AB IS) is a major part of the conversation. But few people know that the Lady Batters’ phenom is also the newest goalkeeper of the Lady Booters.
“Last summer, some of the players from the women’s team were just messing around and scrimmaging. They were missing a goalkeeper, so they made me play. Before that, my only experience with football was in high school PE. After the game, they asked me to try out, and the rest is history,” she recalls.
Krissie plays multiple positions on the diamond and is learning how to make use of her coordination and instinct in football. “Some of [the things] I can do already helps. But everything’s still new to me. I’ve been soaking up the basics and everyone’s been supportive,” she says.
She claims that softball is her first love, but football is catching up fast. Both teams are set for the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) games in January and Krissie is very excited. “I really don’t know what to expect in football. I just want to support the team. For softball, we’ve got a new coach, and we’re aiming for [at least] a fourth place finish,” she says.
Krissie prioritizes softball–she has a full scholarship there and is the captain of the squad. But she also notes that her role on the football team is quite similar. “As a keeper, I’m still a leader. I command the defense. The only thing really different is I had to do rookie stuff again,” she says.
However, her dual varsity status doesn’t come without a price. “I miss all the time I used to spend with friends and family. I’m missing out on a lot,” Krissie says. “The combined training schedule is crazy! But surprisingly, academics have been better for me. All the extra planning is working out,” she says.
Krissie stays grounded despite her success and keeps in mind what’s truly important to her. “I can’t do this forever,” she says. Soon, I have to make a living doing something else, and I’m so blessed right now to have twice the opportunity to learn from being on these varsity teams. I learn leadership, commitment, discipline, and so much more, all these things I can use in life. I always think about the bigger picture.”
Best of both worlds
Sometimes she rides a caddy. Sometimes she runs in mud. A golfer, a football player, and an occasional wakeboarder, Pamela Rosario Bravo (IV AB IS) likes to keep busy.
Being a full-time student isn’t enough to fill up Pam’s days so she joined the Lady Booters as a striker in her freshman year. Her romance with football started in high school. “My friends were the ones who influenced me to try the sport,” she says.
The Lady Booters have always been strong contenders in the UAAP. But the difference this season is their determination to come out on top. “We are all hungry to win and I think that’s what makes it different this year,” Pam says. “The main objective for this season is to come out as a solid and strong team.”
Golf, on the other hand, is something that she does with her dad. Though the University didn’t ask her to play for the golf team, she signed up for the tryouts when she was a sophomore. Luckily, she got in.
“For football, I definitely knew I wanted to go on the competitive level. As for golf, I just wanted to try it out,” she says.
She recently won third place in the women’s team golf division of the ASEAN University Games. She teamed up with Erlaine Lumanog (III BS CTM) and Riva Galveztan (BS CTM ’08) in the tourney held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last December 15-18. They represented both the school and the country and competed with other Southeast Asian countries.
There’s hardly any conflict in her training schedules since the football team practices in the morning, while the golf team does so at night.
“I honestly can’t say that I am more dedicated to one, but I am committed to both [sports].” So does playing for two teams on top of the usual school requirements like thesis papers take its toll on her? “For me, there are no disadvantages [in being a double varsity member]. I get the best of both worlds,” she says.
Triple threat
She might have been a member of the historic Lady Tankers team that bagged its first ever championship this season, but make no mistake, Ian Banzon (IV BS HSc) is not just a prolific swimmer. The Lady Tankers’ team captain of three years has been a discus and shotput thrower for the Track and Field team since her junior year.
However, the multi-faceted athlete reveals that before becoming a Trackster, she had teed-off the golf course as a Lady Golfer from her first year until her third year.
“Swimming and golf I’ve been doing since seventh grade and was a member of both varsity teams in my grade school and high school at Miriam College,” she says.
After her successful stint in high school, she was recruited and offered a scholarship for the Ateneo Swimming Team while also landing a spot as a Lady Golfer after her try out during her freshman year.
Her stint with the Ateneo Golfers, however, was cut short when a change in the tournament format dissolved the lady’s division during her junior year. And then on the summer of her senior year, she had to give it up. She points out that because of her scholarship and captaincy in the swimming team, she could not choose golf over swimming.
Ian admits that although she was also part of the track and field team from third to fourth year high school, she did not plan on trading her golf clubs to be a thrower. “I did a bit of track [in] high school but it was more of running and not the throwing that I am doing for the team now.”
She was asked to join the team by no less than the coach himself. “I knew the coach and a couple of guys on the team,” she says. One of my friends told me that their coach [was] asking if I would be interested to join the track team as a thrower. So I tried it out, and our track coach talked to my swim coach who eventually allowed me [to join].”
With the myriad of sports they have played, Krissie, Pam, and Ian all attest that they are governed by the same values–discipline, dedication and determination – all of which now guide them as students and athletes of two varsities.
“If there were benefits that came along with it, then I am thankful,” Ian says. “But it really wasn’t the reason why I got in to them in the first place. I just did them because I enjoyed doing them.”
