Coming out of high school, Trisha Paras was a promising young volleyball prospect with a bright future ahead of her.
Paras, who was introduced to volleyball after her P.E. teacher in elementary school urged her to try it out, drew the interest of Adamson University and was able to compete alongside seniors such as Mylene Paat, Jema Galanza, and Joy Dacoron in UAAP Season 78.
But before her second year, she got involved in an unfortunate accident that threatened to derail her future in the sport.
While in the province, Paras and her cousin were riding a motorcycle and got involved in a crash with a tricycle that was being driven by a drunk driver. That resulted in injuries, including a fracture to one of her toes on her left foot, that would keep her out of action for months and eventually lead to her exit from her school’s program.
"Lumipat ako sa Beda nung second year kasi nagpalit ng coach, umalis si Coach Sherwin (Meneses). Eh ako nun, nasa probinsya ako no'n tapos naaksidente kami sa motor," Paras shared with GMA Integrated News.
"So hindi ako nakapag-train ng halos three months tapos sabi ng bagong coach, ni Coach Air Padda, na kahit mag-train ako, hindi na ako makakahabol sa mga teammates ko. So natanggal ako."
(“I transferred to San Beda in my second year because there was a change in coaching. Coach Sherwin left. And I was in the province then and got into a motorcycle accident… So I was not able to train for almost three months and the new coach, Coach Air Padda, said that even if I trained, I would not be able to catch up to my teammates. So I was removed.”)
For her next stop, Paras considered transferring to San Beda because she wanted to play with her kababayans, particularly the Viray twins, Ella and Nieza.
"Nung una nagsabi ako sa mga seniors ko sa Adamson na tinanggal ako. Una kong sinabihan sila Ate Paat tapos nag-offer siya sa akin na kung gusto ko raw bang mag-tryout sa Arellano tapos sasamahan niya raw ako," she added.
"Sabi ko try ko muna sa Beda kasi nando'n 'yung Viray twins eh kababayan ko sila. Kinausap ko 'yung coach tapos pumayag naman sila, pinaayos agad mga papers ko."
(“At first, I told my seniors at Adamson that I was off the team. I first told Ate Paat and she asked me if I wanted to try out at Arellano and offered to go with me. I said I would try San Beda first because the Viray twins were there and they were from the same province as me. I spoke to the coach and they allowed me to join and fixed my paperwork.”)
Paras said that while that accident initially led her to think twice about a career in volleyball, she is thankful that San Beda took a chance on her.
And as she prepares to play out her final year for the Red Spikers, the 5-foot-9 hitter vowed to give it everything she’s got.
"Hindi ako nagsisi na sa Beda ako lumipat kasi mababait 'yung mga naabutan kong seniors tsaka 'di na ako nahirapan na mag-adjust. Mabait din 'yung coaches," she said.
"Bigay ko lang 'yung best ko this season and sana maabot namin 'yung goal namin which is mag-champion."
(“I don’t regret choosing San Beda because all of the seniors were nice and I didn’t find it hard to adjust. The coaches were nice, too… I will give my best this season and hopefully, we reach our goal, which is the become champion.”)
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
