I love this game! UA&P Athletics

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.