FOLLOWING A string of consecutive last place finishes, the Ateneo Blue Babble Battalion has made significant number of changes going into the new University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) season, bringing in consistent UAAP podium-placing coach Jacqueline Alota and recruiting a number of exciting rookies.

Blue Babble Battalion Program Head Ralph Aligada believes that the changes to training and routines under former FEU pep squad coach Jacqueline Alota and assistant coach Peter Padilla could be the key to success in the upcoming season.

“[Their style] is something we’re not totally used to. They’re very strict, sometimes to the point of students feeling smothered, but it’s very hard to argue against results,” Aligada stated.

Bringing belief back

Apart from drastic changes to the Battalion’s training schedules— adding three extra sessions a week in addition to the required weightlifting and dance sessions— Alota has given the team a new sense of purpose and belief.

Team captain Arthur Alianan believes that the new coaching staff has not only contributed to the development of the team’s physical abilities, but also changed the members’ mindsets completely. “The coaches are really thirsty for a win and right now, [and] we’re getting affected by it too. A lot of us are pushing ourselves even more than we thought we could,” he said.

Co-captain Elena Villanueva concurred with Alianan, further highlighting the intensity and drive the new coaching staff has brought to the team. “The coaches are very goal-oriented. They always have a target that they want you to hit,” she stated.

Facing the challenges

Aside from developing the skills of the members, the coaches have to face the recurring problems encountered by the battalion. Aligada identifies that the problem of discontinuity within the team has played a large role in their three successive defeats. The squad would constantly transition from one coach to another and adjust its program to tailor-fit the new set of members who joined the team each year.

Veterans Villanueva and Alianan both expressed similar concerns regarding the continuity problem as well. “We’re half rookies this year, half rookies last year and the year before,” Villanueva stated. Alianan added that a lot of those on the team are graduating, while many of those in the previous year have also left the team.

Both veterans suggested that the team needed to first build a foundation in order to continually grow by being able capitalize on the crucial skill sets needed in the UAAP cheerdance competition. They are there hoping to find lifters, flyers, and members who would stay on the team.

The Battalion Program Head also pinpoints recruitment as one of the struggles the team has only recently overcome. In the past few years, the team lacked scholarship funding, therefore restricting its annual recruitment pool solely to students who applied to the team. This severely limited the team in terms of experience and ability, leaving the coaches little to work with.

“[Because of] the mere fact that at that time we didn’t have any scholarships to offer and no recruits to speak of, we just relied on who applied and sometimes, people who applied had no experience whatsoever,” explained Aligada.

Aspiring for the future

In order to address these issues, the team worked closely with the University Athletics Office and discussed a new direction for the program while acquiring a few scholarships for the needed recruitments. Aligada mentions that the team then moved quickly and aggressively in securing four high-profile recruits for the upcoming season.

Three of the four recruits, Francesca Balburias, Nina Turano, and Regine Reynoso, come from the reigning Women’s National Collegiate Athletic Association and National Cheerleading Championship champions, St. Paul College Pasig. On the other hand, Rachelle Nolido joins the Battalion from Assumption College San Lorenzo. Aside from their high school cheerleading experience, Turano, Reynoso, and Nolido have also competed on the national level. Aligada believes that the experience and technical abilities the new recruits bring will help propel the team to success this coming season.

Asked about his aspirations for the team, Aligada said realistic goals would be set for the short-term and the long-term. For this coming season, he believes that a finish above eighth place is a must, stating that the team had to make significant progress this year with the new student and coach recruits. However, in the long-term, Aligada hopes that the new freshmen recruits this year would ascend to a podium finish by the end of their stay in the Ateneo.

On the other hand, veteran captains Villanueva and Alianan aim to change the widespread stigma of the team being the underdogs across all of the UAAP schools.

“Even in basketball games [let’s say], There will be people [leaving] during halftime performance of Babble because they think it’s nothing,” expressed Alianan. “So the only thing to do is to prove ourselves, to do the best we can, making a name for Babble