Adjusting to the new normal has not been the easiest thing for NCAA student-athletes.
Aside from resorting to online platforms for their studies, they also needed to settle for home workouts just to be able to keep their bodies in shape and in top condition while leagues are at standstill.
Ella Rosales of the Lyceum of the Philippines University said adjusting to the new normal was a challenging task since her sport, taekwondo, is a discipline that requires contact with opponents.
“It was a big adjustment on our part since our sport is a contact sport so it was really hard,” Rosales, who is a Pirates’ jin since 2018, said on 'Rise Up Stronger: The Road to NCAA Season 96'.
“What I’m expecting from the new season is that there will be some fear and excitement since everything is new.”
The same goes for Joshua Miña and Gelo Sablan.
Miña, the team captain of Emilio Aguinaldo College men’s volleyball team, and Sablan, a cager from the Arellano University, shared to host Martin Javier how they've made do with online training as their buildup for the new season has been relentless.
“We’re alright but we’re a little bit haggard since our training is continuous and we never stopped since our coach wanted us not to lose our condition,” Miña said.
Sablan added, saying: “It was a big adjustment for us basketball players because we’re used to face-to-face training and we’re also a contact sport so we adjusted on doing our training via Zoom. But we managed to get through it.”
Meanwhile, it was a different set of challenges for Romeo Canino of the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA chess team.
According to the woodpusher, chess could be played conveniently online but it was still difficult for them since there would be times that their internet gets disconnected, resulting in them losing a match.
“It was really difficult because there are circumstances where we lose our internet connection so that’s why we sometimes lose a game. There are also chances that we got a mouse-slip.
Watch out for GMA Synergy's 'Rise Up Stronger: NCAA Season 96' every weekday (2:45 p.m.), Saturdays (4:30 p.m.), and Sundays (5:05 p.m.) on GTV.
—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News
