Beyond the League

The Queens of the green turf still living and kicking despite UAAP’s schoolwide boot
By Cristine Antonette B. Catu


“It’s a different feeling for the athlete compared to the coach. The coach doesn’t have to be the best in everything that he could do. Well, I’ll try to do milestone in this career because no one had ever done this in football history. I knew I had not been bragging because I believe we will come up victorious. We’re really preparing for the future. I don’t like to wallow what I finished and all the tournaments that I’m joining. It’s a job. It has nothing that I’m excited but it looks like differently in the player.”

These were the words that came out of multi-titled De La Salle University (DLSU) women’s soccer coach Hans Peter Smit’s mouth on focusing his lady wards for the future after wiping the opposition en route to several national collegiate titles in the country.

Who would contest the Lady Booters feats? Four consecutive diadems in the Universities Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). Seven straight University Games crowns. Reigning and defending ADIDAS Futsal, National Capital Region Football Association (NCRFA) Women’s Open, Alaska and Zobel Cup title holders. In the athletic (academic) year 2006-07, these titles are on the bag one again. Chalk up one each for these upcoming battles. Uh-oh, not yet.

However, a lightning beam (the order by the UAAP board to suspend DLSU from competing in Season 69) aimed to stab every heart of every Green blood, standouts and student and alumni enthusiasts living today, struck in full force. And with this unfortunate event, the Lady Booters jive for five in Season 69 was left in peril.

Though there are juniors and seniors that felt bad about it, Smit maintained to his wards that UAAP is just another tournament for them and records done by the team would not be shattered for a very long time. He believed that it would be hard for another team to upheave this record.



Focusing his wards

Focus. Focus. Focus. – That’s what Coach Hans Smit had been constantly reminding his players in preparation for the UAAP.

“We will have to do more because everybody wants to be on top. It’s not easy to be number one now because everybody would like to bring you down,” explains the coach. “The preparation is only secondary,” he continues.

After steering the team to its fourth straight soccer crown in Season 68, Smit did his best to keep Greenies focused on the game and not get too caught up in its magnitude.

The players are all in high spirits with the inclusion of eight rookies who amused the crowd in a higher standard, thus, making the team more competitive than last year. They are looking forward to another year of training and being a family again after two months break.

Led by 2005 South East Asian (SEA) Games stalwarts Clarissa Lazaro and Samantha Bermudez, the Greenies dominated every match en route to a successful defense of the title they have won four years back.

Determined to stem the tide of history, the Greenies had nothing to lose and had everything to gain. Hence, the Green and White were itching to pay back with interest because once they are down and pinned against the wall, they [players] would always come fighting back.

Their preparation is nothing out of the ordinary. The team will barely maintain what they have worked together, howbeit, more assertive this time.


Departure of reliables

In every team, one cannot erase the fact that a reliable would bid farewell to the team. It’s like a loss of a loved one. But for Smit, it is a continuous development as he continues to search for aspiring Lady Booters in the future.

KC Hernandez has graduated college. Aside from this, there are two graduating players from last year’s roster – Chessa Ibarra [graduating 1st trim] and Trina Martirez [graduating 1st trim]. One of the rookies, Gia Yusi [3rd year], will continue her Culinary studies in New York and Patty Silva might have to quit because of program problems.

Knowing this would happen to the team, early this year, Smit mapped out a contingency plan for the good of his team. He prioritized on the recruitment and training of players that have ball carrier potentials.

In an interview with Coach Smit, he brings up that almost all of the juniors are potential team captains. DLSU Women Soccer Team is very fortunate to have the bulk of the best high school players in their time. It will be fun seeing them develop to make another strong contender for the future. He will pick after ‘06 –’07 season is over the next team captain, keeping an eye on anything that can happen in a year.

“It’s not perfect season all the time. But of course, the most difficult thing to do is to do what we did few years back. Other than that, these are girls…These are really girls. Oh! I have one tomboy [he chuckles]. They’re all real beauty, brains, and they play hard ball,” opines Smit.


Titles… titles…

The Lady Booters annexed the Metro Manila Girls Football Association [MMGFA] crown, the first ADIDAS Futsal League and bag the Unigames titles for the seventh straight time. Aside from that, they were the bridesmaids of the Alaska Cup soccer festival.

What’s next? Smit’s team will be defending the regular MMGFA and 2nd ADIDAS FUTSAL Championship which will start on May 28. University Games will be going for their eight straight title, and the ninth in ten stagings. There might be the National Capital Region Football Association (NCFRA) Women’s Open Championship won by the Lady Archers in their last staging of the tourney.

Moreover, there will be a string of football festivals in between the regular tourney’s like Alaska Cup and Zobel Cup which will also be defending in November this year.


Father to the bouncing kids

The boss of the team takes care each of the members as his own kids, even stricter than these ball carrier’s parents. He makes it a point to treat his players as different individuals and different personalities but with the same objective. They work professionally as they can even if they were just a collegiate team. “As long as the respect is there, it’s easy to get along with your players. I respect them first so they reciprocate with the same respect given to them. Well, it’s not all about football but about relationships. Without a relationship, you have nothing,” he candidly says.

For this guy who possesses the uncanny ability to make all wrongs always right, the four-peat will just be a bonus. The five peat? As of now, he doesn’t need that added question to himself.

“Don’t lose hope because nothing is definite! Always be positive even in adversity and things will turn out just fine! As they say, LIFE GOES ON BEYOND UAAP,” concludes Smit.