The life of a student-athlete is a unique experience. A recruited student gets an athletic scholarship and plays varsity sport/s and will get all sorts of 'perks'- allowance, accommodation, tutor, medical, etc. A walk-on is someone who is not recruited, but plays on the varsity team. This means the team may no longer offer him a scholarship, but his year with the team will serve as an evaluation point that may merit him a scholarship the following season. He may start off as a student manager/off the bench, and may eventually win a starting spot the next year, depending on his performance. Then, there is the last kind, those that play varsity sports for the love of the game- regardless of being recruited or otherwise.
In UA&P, the athletics life is comparable to that of the NCAA Div. III schools. This means, the school and population size is less than 10,000. UA&P has 2,500 students, and to date, has only 1 athletic scholar- Claire Capisonda of the WBT. For it was only in 2009, headed by alumni Nicky Mapa who started the fundraiser for boosting the varsity scene- he envisioned funding for the recruitment of true student-athletes by providing more financial support to varsity sports. Hence, the qualification for the scholarship means that the potential recruit must be a student first. With the stringent grade requirements of UA&P, the search only produced a few, and only one qualified.
Claire Capisonda of the WBT was chosen because of her intelligence- on and off court. A 2009 honors graduate of LCCM Balagtas, Bulacan, she can also execute a-la AND 1 moves on the court, leaving players in disbelief- inventing her own ankle-breaking moves to piss-off the likes of CSB's and former Mythical 5 member Aice Dadal in their first WNCAA, this season.
According to my mini-interview with Claire, she was first recruited by Coach Julie to play for the UST Lady Tigresses, until she had a last-minute change of heart and decided to stay with UA&P. Also, she says that she's given a stipend for her living expenses, as she currently lives in a dormitory in Pioneer, Mandaluyong to be near the school. Originally, she lives in Bulacan.
Grade-wise, the girl is doing well, and is in 2nd year college. She said she's interested in taking up Management, but in this school- it is only in your 2nd year that you apply for the course you like. But I have no doubt that she will make it. She adds, all I have to do is follow the retention policy.
I don't know how the scholarship goes, but it seems to me that Claire may keep it as long as she makes the grade. Hence, it will be a fruitful 4-5 years for the WBT, plus she graduates with a Management degree from UA&P.
Definitely, the school should support this endeavor to help deserving student-athletes get quality education and compete at the highest possible level.
great to know we have a UNITAS scholar. Go dragons!
ReplyDeleteHi Mapster,
ReplyDeleteshe is the 1st athletic scholar of the program. Bear in mind that we have high standards as our athletes are treated as equals and have to comply with GWA. She graduated high school with honors at LCCM Bulacan. I believe she is now 3rd or 4th yr Management student.