IN THE wake of the abrupt departure of their head coaches, the Blue and Lady Booters have carried their heads high and moved on. The lineups of the two Ateneo squads are being overhauled, and the head coaching positions are slowly being filled in thanks to swift action by the University Athletic Office (UAO) and Ateneo Football Program director Bob Manlulo.

Focusing the lens on the women’s team, Manlulo aims to build and develop a solid football program on the current squad that has yet to taste the glory of a championship—or even a finals appearance.

“It is high time that the women’s team reaches their long sought championship and fame in the UAAP football scene. The men’s team has had their victories over the years while the women’s team has not,” said Manlulo. By focusing intensely on their development and training system, the Lady Booters will hopefully become a force to be dealt with in collegiate wars.

With his revitalized development plan, coming in to coach the Lady Booters in UAAP Season 74 will be Manlulo himself, who is also the National Under-14 Women’s Football coach. The UAO advised him to lay down the groundwork of the proposed new vision for the Lady Booters by becoming an interim coach for a year. During his temporary stint, the UAO will continue to search for a coach fit to carry the flag for the Lady Booters.

Aiding Manlulo will be the same assistant coaching staff of former coach Scarlet Bautista. He also expressed a desire to form a strong bond with the Lady Booters through the assistant coaches’ knowledge and experience with the players.

“As the interim coach and the Ateneo Football Program head, I want to be able to connect with the players so the plans we have will be understood and realized,” Manlulo continued. “After the coming school year, we plan for the team, the players and the system to be ready for the future head coach to take the reigns.”

Training for the Lady Booters already started on April 13, as they have summer leagues awaiting them in the coming weeks. Coming in to fill in the gaps left by fresh graduate and former team captain Monica Santos and veteran player Lydia Stroud-Lusk, who migrated to Canada, will be Leah Cruz from De La Salle Zobel and Kimberly Jimenez from Miriam College High School.

As for the Blue Booters, the men in Blue look to begin training this coming May with their future head coach. The UAO did not disclose any names for formality’s sake but the two final candidates for the men’s coaching position is between a senior coach of the Ateneo Football Center and an assistant coach from last season’s staff.

Meanwhile, the UAO has recruited midfield defender Jico Noel from Don Bosco Cebu and Mico Mabanag, best midfielder of the UAAP Season 73 High School Football Tournament and a member of the Ateneo High School team that finished first runner up to Junior’s champion FEU.