From hobby to career: Alyssa Valdez' volleyball journey

Alyssa Valdez has been the name almost synonymous with the rise of volleyball in the Philippines in the past decade or so. But did you know that she did not imagine having a career in volleyball when she was young?

Valdez revealed this in an episode of "Surprise Guest with Pia Arcangel."

"I started very young, we're not born naman — wala sa blood namin maging athlete. So, I started at 10 [years old] probably for fun, playing with my brothers and I thought I was doing good, but when I went to Manila, iba pala ang formal training po talaga," she shared.

Alyssa said she was just playing with her brothers and with some girls at school to bond with them.

Eventually, Alyssa was recruited by University of Santo Tomas for the high school team, along with Kim Fajardo, and her entering the team was also somehow by accident.

"Technically, I was recruited because of volleyball. So I was with Kim Fajardo who played for La Salle, so siya po talaga' yung ni-recruit ng UST coaches. And hindi po kasi ako, 'di ba sa volleyball may first six, so hindi po ako first six. Tagabigay lang ako ng water kina Kim," she shared.

"So what happened was the coaches, 'yung coaches po were asking sino pa 'yung gustong pumunta ng UST or mag-try out. So, I don't know what happened but, I was like, 'Okay, ako.' So I did get their calling card pa noong mga una."

From then, she had a year to decide whether to pursue going to UST for a tryout.

"Nag-tryout po ako. Hindi ko alam kung ano 'yung tryout back then, so I was wearing full suit talaga, jogging pants, jacket, 'yun pala kailangan ko maglaro. So, my teammates there sa UST, parang binigyan nila ako ng damit na pwede ko isuot. After training, hindi ko po alam kung paano ako nakuha kasi wala akong nagawa sa lahat ng pinapagawa nila. 'Yung coaches po namin said na if you really want, you can enroll in UST. So, yeah, I got accepted sa UST."

And the rest was history for one of the most famous athletes in the Philippines.

Asked what she wanted to be when she was a child, Alyssa said she may have chosen to be a teacher.

"Parang I was thinking, siyempre I was in the province po so I really idolized my mom. She's a teacher. So, I really wanted to be a teacher someday. So that was actually my goal: to finish studies and hopefully I can be a teacher. Pero 'yun, si God, I think He has His own way or path for you so I was given a lot of opportunities. Hindi ko namalayan na doon pala ako dinadala sa sports," she added.

Despite not achieving her dream then of being a teacher, Alyssa said her role now in the sport is somehow similar to teaching.

"I think in all fairness, it's all related pa naman din sa goal ko na teaching kasi one of the things na I really wanna do is to actually help and give back to young kids, to teach them and hopefully makapagbigay din tayo, makapag-impart tayo ng knowledge natin sa sports. So, in a different classroom lang siguro yung sa akin, if ever."

Alyssa will return to the taraflex with her Creamline Cool Smashers squad when the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference opens on October 8.

—JMB, GMA News