Razel Aldea was introduced to volleyball late, trying the sport for the first time in high school. But she is looking to make the most of her journey, especially now that she has worked her way into becoming team captain of University of Perpetual System DALTA for NCAA Season 98.
Aldea was initially a track and field athlete in elementary school and also tried softball. But she found herself enjoying on the taraflex and eventually pursued volleyball full-time all the way to the collegiate ranks, even if she had to work her way up from a reserve player.
"First year and second year, sobrang bench player lang ako. Talagang tagapalakpak lang ako. 2018 and 2019, nag-start ako as reserve," she recalled in an interview with GMA Integrated News.
"Sobrang ganda ng journey ko sa volleyball kasi lahat pinagdaanan ko bago ako maging captain ball ng team. Nung first time ko na ma-lineup, first time ko rin ma-injure — 'yung injury ko last season."
("First year and second year, I was a just a bench player, my role was to clap. 2018 and 2019, I started as a reserve... my journey in volleyball is really good because I went through everything before becoming captain ball of the team. The first time I made it to the lineup, was also the first time I got injured — my injury last season.")
In NCAA Season 97, Aldea suffered an ankle injury during Perpetual's five-set loss to San Sebastian College-Recoletos on June 26.
But now healthy and back in tip-top form, the 23-year-old Aldea is beaming with confidence that the squad can have a better run this time around, noting that they had more time to prepare for the upcoming season.
"Ngayon masasabi ko na mas grabe 'yung preparation namin kasi 'yung training namin almost five to six hours na ngayon a day. Before kasi four hours lang. And doon sa five to six hours, we really maximize our time para mas magawa 'yung mga drills namin," the B.S. Psychology major added.
"Lagi kasing sinasabi sa amin ni coach na kailangan niyong mapagod, hindi kayo pwedeng maging tamad kasi the more napapagod, worth it din ito until the end."
("Now, I can say we had better preparation because we're training five to six hours a day now. Before, we would do only four hours. And in those five to six hours, we really maximize our time so we can do all of our drills... Our coach always tells us that we have to get tired and we can't be lazy, because the more tired we get, the more it will be worth it in the end.")
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
