"Alam mo ba bakit tayo pinatawag ni coach?" umupo sa tabi ko si Yuki.
"Di ko rin alam. Not a single clue" sabi ko sa kanya.
Nasa gym kami ngayon dahil may announcement daw si coach sa amin kaya lahat kami ay andito. Wala rin kaming schedule for training kaya laking taka namin na pinatawag kami.
"Oh good andito na kayong lahat" kakarating lang din coach.
Binilang ko kung ilan kami, mga nasa 17 ata kami na andito.
"So ano gusto niyo unahin ko. Good news or bad news?"
"Good news coach" sabi ni Capt. Lance.
"Okay then as you all know malapit na ang UAC so we have to prepare really hard" tumango naman kami. "So I've used some of my connection and we have booked a joint training with other universities and club teams!" masayang sabi ni coach sa amin.
Then murmurs started with what Coach Jesus said.
"Ano kayang university ang kasama?" sabi sa akin ni Yuki. "Buti na lang may mga club teams. Veteran na kasi mga iyon kaya madami matutunan"
"Our goal with that training camp is to learn and try new things. Kaya i-absorb niyo yung dapat i-absorb because it will help us in our campaign in the UAC. We have to adopt to new play styles that other teams will show us. So all of you here is already in the pool of players for this upcoming season. Me as well as the other coaches have hand picked you guys because we saw potential in you and also your contribution in the recently concluded competition" sabi niya.
"What is the bad news coach?"
"The bad news is that as of now we have 17 players in our training pool but only 14 will make it too our final cut. Don't worry you will be in the training camp but we need to cut three guys" coach sadly said.
Nagtaas ng kamay si kuya Kim. "So coach we need to compete for our spot?"
"Yes that's right Kim. You need to compete for your spot for the final line up. I may sound harsh but take note that I don't care if you're a senior as long as you don't perform then you are cut from this upcoming season" naglakad si coach na parang naglelecture sa amin. "The method of cutting players is harsh but it brings out the drive for improvement. So adopt as fast as you can"
"Yes coach!"
"Ano mantra natin for this season?" tanong ni coach.
"Strong Mind and Strong Heart" we said.
"With our mantra we show case that we are eager to learn and have mental toughness also bringing our heart in our game"
"Pero coach saan yung traing camp" sabi ni Capt. Lance.
"Sa Baguio" kaya nagsigawan ulit na naman sila. "Kaya maghanda kayo and you will sign a waiver bigay ko sa inyo next day"
Nagsigawan naman sila dahil sa balita. Sobrang pump up tuloy lahat dahil sa balita ni coach but may lungkot din dahil hindi naman lahat makakasama. Bale 17 players ang nasa training pool pero 14 lang ang pwede sa final line up. Binased din sa performance nung off season sino sasama kaya alam naman na fair yung pagpili. Alam ko naman na healthy competition kami kaya walang samaan ng loob. Sports is harsh.
"Iyon lang ang annoucement ko pero bago niyo problemahin ang training sa Baguio eh you need to study dahil mag-sesembreak kaya bubugbugin kayo sa activities at quizzes. I should know dahil dumaan ako sa pagiging estudyante"
Tumawa naman ang lahat.
"Puwede na kayo umalis. Ingat kayo and good luck"
"Sige na una na kami" paalam ng isa naming teammate kaya tumango na lang kami ni Yuki at Pat. Sabay-sabay kasi kami kakain ng dinner.
