by Henry Ramirez & Allyssa Pestelos

JCSGO Christian Academy held its boys and girls volleyball tryouts on Thursday, August 10, weeks before the academic year 2023–’24 begins.

Both teams lost a significant number of players and are shorthanded coming into the school year; these tryouts are for “filling in empty gaps.”

“Maraming nawala sa akin last year; may mga grumaduate. Malaking butas ‘yon kasi from 25 (players), naging 10 na lang kami,” Girls Volleyball Coach Jerwin Olid said.

“I’m really looking forward more on Grade 11 (players) from public school na really interested sa volleyball and to learn the sport,” Olid added in his statement.

Boys Volleyball Coach Roland Joseph Austria also said his focus for their tryout was to acquire new players ready for competitions.

“I’m looking for those players na ready to play competitively. We already have some of the players from last year na na-develop na sila from their previous coach, now nag-transition sa akin,” Austria said.

According to both coaches, their criteria for choosing a player weigh heavily on their skill, playing level, including character, specifically if they are coachable, and their maturity on the court and on the team.