MCS CONDUCTS VARSITY TRYOUTS FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2023-2024
Since the beginning of the pandemic, MCS has momentarily stopped the recruitment process for the school's official varsity team. On October 11th, 2023, varsity tryouts were officially reinstated and brought back after three years.
Written by: Margaret Tabios
Layout by: Eana Junio
November 11, 2023 | 8:45 P.M.
On Wednesday, October 11, 2023, the varsity tryouts for basketball and volleyball were held at the Jaime Cardinal Sin Gymnasium. The chess team’s varsity tryout started last Thursday, October 12, 2023, and it was held at the Grade 12 St. Benedict of Nursia’s classroom. The varsity tryouts for the badminton team happened on Friday, October 13, 2023, also held at the Jaime Cardinal Sin Gymnasium.
As the school day ended, aspiring varsity players from all high school departments swarmed to the venues where tryouts were held in anticipation and excitement of the first varsity tryouts post-pandemic. This event gave a chance to many students who aspired to represent Malate Catholic School and exhibit their talents in sports.
The events first started off with a prayer and an introduction of the coaches or teachers in charge. Once the formalities had ended, eager to start, the players started to do their warm-up exercises.
On October 11, 2023, tryouts for basketball and volleyball started at 4 PM in the afternoon and ended at 7 PM. Mr. Renzo Fabon was in charge of the basketball team, while Mr. Marc Joseph Palado and Mr. John Osmeña took charge of the volleyball team.
The basketball players started to warm up by doing the usual dynamic stretching, cardiovascular, and footwork warm-up exercises. They also used a device called a “ladder” to enhance and show how fast their reflexes are. A 5v5 game was also executed to see how the aspirants performed on the court. The volleyball players' skills were assessed with the help of drills and games to see who among them already had an idea about the sport they were trying out. After selecting the players, the coaches encouraged those who were not picked to attend training to improve their skills.
On October 12, 2023, Mr. Remi-Rei Magat—the coach for the chess team—held the chess club's first meeting. The second meeting was held the following day on October 13, 2023. By then, they had already elected their trusted officers. Mr. Magat familiarized the players with the essential knowledge about chess: recording and notation of the moves, and the proper use of the chess clock. A robin-round tournament was held to identify the top two players.
Similarly, on October 13, 2023, tryouts for the badminton team (for grades 7 to 8) started at 2 PM and ended at around 6 PM with their coach, Mr. Constantino Bucag. The second tryout (for grades 8 to 9) was on October 20, 2023, at the same time. While the tryout for the SHS students was scheduled on Monday, October 23, 2023.
Despite being on a strict time schedule, the coaches extended the time as many people registered for the varsity teams. Tryouts were also extended for numerous days.
At the end of tryouts, there is truly no doubt that everyone felt proud of what they've accomplished. Despite only spending a few hours together everyday, the players became quite close to one another already.
Volleyball, basketball, and chess varsity teams have already scheduled training. The volleyball team trains every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 4:30 to 7:00 PM, with a single exception of Friday, which is from 2:00 to 7:00 PM. While the basketball team trains every Wednesday and Friday from 4:00 to 7:00 PM. The chess team meets only once a week, on Thursdays from 3:50 to 5:00 PM.