WITH the sound of the drums and cheers slowly returning on campus, the SBCA Pep Band is finally back after two long years. THE BEDAN HERALD interviewed Coach Luis San Juan, who shared about their preparation after the pandemic, current goals, commendable teamwork, and other stories to be told inside the team.

Embracing the New Normal

The pandemic significantly impacted the whole SBCA athletics community, and not just the Pep Band team. Coach Luis mentioned that “the team was non-existent during the lockdown since the Athletics Department was on hold.” As a result, the team had to stop their regular training since it was not advisable to practice face-to-face due to the health protocols. Coach Luis also emphasized that many students transferred schools. “Especially the cheer team, the squad members have been diminished. Luckily a lot of members from the Pep band still stayed in San Beda Alabang.” 

The current team’s training has also changed significantly from what it was before the pandemic. “Before the pandemic, since there were a lot of competitions, we trained like any other varsity teams – regular and hard,” said Coach Luis. However, after a series of lockdowns throughout the course of the previous two academic years, the team finally picked up where they left off and resumed training. But the new normal setup makes it difficult for them to train together since the classes for the semester are not yet full-on face-to-face.

Setting Goals for Success

With the anticipation for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) South 2023 rising, Coach Luis was asked what preparations are the Pep Band partaking in for the competition, “Not much at the moment. We are slowly building up the team again, so we are taking it one training day at a time.” The team is getting back to its regular routine until all members have had a chance to adjust since they were unable to undergo physical training and meetings for the past two years. 

He highlighted that because the cheerleading team needs them more, their team concentrates more on preparing for the Women’s NCAA. “But for the NCAA South, if we get to play at their games, we have members who are ready for that since they have been rearing to play drums again,” he added. At the moment, the team’s specific goal is to establish a wind section similar to what they have at San Beda University.

Leading the Team with Passion

Coaches play a crucial part in the success of the team by instructing and assisting the players in honing their talents. Regarding his involvement in the team, Coach Luis mentioned that rather than full-time work, he considers the Pep Band as a passion project. He motivates his team and constantly reminds them that even though they are not a competing team, they still have to train and think like any other athletes. “Luckily, despite us training like a varsity team, I try to make the team be like one big tropa,” he shares. Coach Luis further explained that he wants their team to appear confident and powerful in front of other school squads since they are the school’s walking billboards.

As a message to his team and the SBCA athletics department, Coach Luis said, “As for the Bedan community, I hope the school will help us in establishing the wind section because a lot of Bedan songs are best appreciated when there are both wind and drum instruments.” Coach Luis finished his remarks by saying, “To my team, we waited for two years, and finally, the drums are heard again in school. Though things are not really back to normal, let’s just take it one training at a time.”

The pandemic was surely tough for everyone, including the SBCA Pep Band and other athletic communities. But because of their perseverance, passion, and their coach’s never-ending support, adjusting to the new normal became easy for them. No matter how many hurdles they face, the team is still in high spirits and continuously bringing positivity to the Bedan community through their cheers and the beat of the drums.