UP Women's Volleyball Team Season 75 Opening

UAAP Season 75 UP Women's Volleyball Team celebrating their first win.

It's been busy times for my team and I recently. Obviously, opening weekend of the UAAP Volleyball Tournament Season 75 has offered so much. No doubt that we have been preparing ever more so especially with last year's unfortunate campaign. This year it hasn't gone as smoothly as we expected it to be either during the off season. Despite this, our hard work did pay off with a good first win after so long in the UAAP. The team can only expect better and more things to come. We really our positive now and we plan to continue this way. It isn't going to become any easier for us however. We all do have to remember that it is a long season. As for now, we will be playing and keep on fighting for success. We will do our best as a team and enjoy every moment of what volleyball has to offer. 

Support our team this season! #UPfight

Volleyball Workshop at the National Conference on Sport Pedagogy 2012

Basic concepts for better coaching analysis.

So, I've been a bit busy recently. As a physical educator in the University of the Philippines, the first semester is ending (as of the time I typed this entry). For teachers like us, it is time to check papers. But in our college, the College of Human Kinetics, the faculty have decided to share their knowledge through the National Conference on Sport Pedagogy. That adds a bit more to the semestral ender work. Of course, in a good way, since other teachers will gain more knowledge from the seminars and workshops to be presented. It is in fact our duty as teachers to do such services to our fellow country and its countrymen. This leads to one of the reasons to why I was hired in my college, and that is to teach volleyball. 

I decided to lead the volleyball workshop for the conference as I already have been previously teaching this sport in other regions of the country as well. What I offered to teach however for this conference was something new. Aside from the usual seminars I give, what I took notice was the knowledge the teachers already had for the basics of volleyball. I had to give "new thinking" to a sport of more than a hundred years old. Simple, basic, but very much effective is how I wanted share my knowledge with my fellow professionals. What I taught were details seen in volleyball that are not particularly noticed all the time or given thought of. The understanding of it, and transfer of this understanding from player to coach, could be possible for further improvement of their students, players, or athletes. It is an understanding I apply in any sport I play or encounter. It has guided me through learning volleyball the quickest possible way. Let's just leave it with that for now (I might have to do a whole workshop in my blog).

Participants ready to serve and apply the basic concepts.

The experience was good. The challenge to teach something else aside from my usual routine and help other teachers understand these concepts were new lessons which the participating teachers and I learned together. I'd like to believe that the concepts were accepted well. To notice such ideas also made the participants think while using their bodies during movement. As the saying goes, mind and body should work together.

Finswimming in the UP Pool

Today marks the day I will be teaching my first finswimming class in UP. I think it would be rather cool to start teaching another water sport other than my basic swimming classes. 

Finswimming is swimming with an aid of a bi-fin or monofin powered by a swimmer's own muscles. Finswimming is known to have both recreational and fitness benefits including muscular fitness especially for the abdominals, back and leg muscles, improved swimming mechanics and rehabilitation purposes.

Finswimming in the University of the Philippines Diliman is offered as a service PE to its students.

Trellis Volleyball Team Claims 3rd in the 2012 PVC Men's Open

Battle for 3rd. Trellis won in 4 sets over Haikurasu.

Our team, Trellis A, finished third in this tournament. We could have battled it out in the championship game but we were unfortunate to be the number three team in a triple-tie against the TVM team and Rockwell team. The point quotient system had left us out and the team felt gutted. We knew we could have had the biggest chance of winning our first over-all victory. A victory that would have been very fulfilling as we played a gentleman's game within the team and knew each strength and weakness of our members. Unspokenly, we agreed to use them to the best of our abilities. Thus, finishing the league with a good result.

Team huddle. Trellis Sisig!

We had placed well in numerous games, often landing somewhere in the runner-up positions. We all were previous varsity volleyball players from the University of the Philippines from different times. We knew our system. We knew our goals. And, we did it right, having respect for everyone inside. Everyone was able to show his best qualities within the team, and we now all have a little more respect for each other. And though we may sound serious, we actually had a lot of fun inside and outside the court. We enjoyed our game and we played it well! 

Thank you Trellis Restaurant for another successful tournament. Good games for the guys, Dino, Jarod, Eric, Ronald, Gerald, Paolo, Juno, Luis, Nicolo, Justin, Choq, and Tep.

Semi-final game against Rockwell in Club650.

Video of our intense game! How we won in our battle for 3rd! (Don't kill me!)

Walking in Singapore

Walking in the Singapore Grand Prix Track at Marina Bay

During the time I spent going around Singapore, I decided on one of those days to actually get an estimate of how many steps I did in a day. I don't usually do long walks. In fact, I believe that I was given feet by God to actually use it to operate the pedals of a car. Kidding aside, I do know the importance of exercising and I do like walking at times. 

Pedometer is all set at 0

So I borrowed a purchased pedometer in one of those everything $2 shops in Singapore and started my day with walking. It  is said that 10,000 steps were the recommended steps per day for a person to achieve good fitness. Personally, I think I am fit enough. But, to walk for 10,000 steps for a day and without any regular load of walking that much, I estimate to walk around just 3,000 steps per day, maybe even less. Well, I couldn't be too sure but, I recorded two days of my travel weekend with a 13,000+ steps on a Saturday and 14,000+ steps on a Sunday. That's a lot for someone like me who doesn't walk as much on any regular day.

They say 10,000 steps are said to be around 5 miles. For a more Asian conversion, that would be 8 kilometers. 

The estimated number of steps I made on Sunday's Race Day

At the end of the day, it felt good that I was going well over 10,000 steps. Thinking of how much carbohydrates I had to consume wasn't a problem, and feeling fit was always something good for the psyche. Plus, I was sure to have a good night's sleep. The aching however was terrible but tolerable at the feet. Funny how my calves, hamstrings, and glutes, hip muscles and back had a bit of aching through all the mobility and stability. But hey, mixing a daily chore and not noticing it as exercise, fitness could be easier like this.

Trellis Volleyball Update

Praying for a perfect play after my perfect short dig as the libero.

Trellis Volleyball team  update, we are in the semis. We lost to Rockwell last week after 3 sets. Later, we'll be having an important game that we need to win so that we get into the finals match of the PVC Invitational Men's Open. We go up against Combo X. Hope to win! Go Trellis!

Game is today (Saturday), October 6, 2012, at Club650 in Libis. See you!

Motorsport Weekend in Singapore

Today I wait for some intense action in a nearby asian country. The most accessible and most entertaining of all Formula 1 Asian hosts. Check out more detailed versions of the motorsports action in my other blog in www.flatoutivan.com Ciao!

UPWVT: 2 Wins a Day in PVC

So my weekends are full of games, and on Sundays, it is back to being a coach.

UPWVT won their two games during the 16th of September, 2012 against AUF in the morning and RTU in the afternoon.

This places our team well into the the semi-final round for the 2012 PVC Intercollegiate Women's Volleyball.

UP defeats AUF: 25-21, 25-15, 25-18
UP defeats RTU: 25-12, 25-21, 25-17

Team Trellis A Volleyball Scores over IEM in PVC Men's Open

My team, Trellis A, and I won against IEM in the 2012 PVC Invitational Men's Open Division last Saturday, 15th of September 2012. This happened after my floorball league which is featured before this blog post. We won in 5 sets with a 25-21, 25-20, 22-25, 22-25, 15-5 score. It was a close fight in each set. With the conclusion of this match, Trellis A manages to get into the semi-finals for this season's league. Yeah! We are in the semis!

Floorball Champions in UPFL2012: Blades of 4ury

Last Saturday, I can officially say I am a floorball player. I can't say I just did it for kicks anymore. Well, doing it for kicks was supposedly the plan. But when you win your first ever tournament and you are part of that important rotation in the team, everything changes a bit. You earn a new group of friends, you earn respect, and you start to owe something to the sport which should have just been done for fun. Things might become a bit serious.

Yes, serious. Because I seriously am part of the UP Floorball Season 3 Champion Team! The champion team, BLADES OF 4URY! And with that, here's our not so serious picture. How could we be serious? We just won the 2012 Season 3 UP Floorball league!

We went up against Superfly in the championship and scored a 3-1. 

                           

I had to thank the secretary-general of Floorball Philippines, Mr. Ralph Ramos for introducing me to the sport and sponsoring my floorball stick in this league. You can always get one from Sports 180 Degrees.

Sport It Everyday: Intro

So what do I sport everyday? Sports clothes? Well, yeah. That would be partly true.

But this isn't a fashion blog on sports, or on what I wear. That's not unless you think I'm fashionable enough, but I'd doubt that myself.

Sport It Everyday is a lifestyle sports and recreation blog of what I do everyday. I'm a physical educator and a graduate in Bachelor of Physical Education from the University of the Philippines Diliman.

What do I do? Teach sports, play sports, think sports, live sports... pretty much add a positive verb before sports. I'd rather that you know what I do in life through this blog.

Everyday involvement of sports. Sport it everyday!