Dayo
Bleacher Talk
January 28, 2007
Dayo
Have you ever heard of the term “dayo”? Unknown to many fans, it’s actually a common term in sports. “Dayo” refers to a visiting team or athlete who travels to compete in a place away from his home turf. Although it traces its roots from Tagalog, it’s also accepted here in the South.
I find the topic interesting especially today as three football teams of the Sacred Heart School-Jesuit (SHS-J) compete for the first time in school history in the RIFA Cup that is being held at the Colegio de San Agustin (CSA) campus in Makati. SHS-J is competing in three age groups: boys born 1995, 1996 and 1997. The 1996 team played yesterday while the 1995 and 1997 teams play today.
Traveling to play in different places is nothing new. The most popular and recognized version of the dayo concept is the NBA’s home-and-away format as well as the one practiced in big league football in Europe. Boxing is also another classic case where a hometown hero is always pitted against a “dayo.” But while the pros use this system as a means to earn money (yes, it’s a business), level the competition and carry the colors of a town, it’s a different case in the minor leagues like schools and regular sports clubs.
Dayo trips are organized by coaches and athletic directors primarily for “exposure” purposes. Coaches would like to have their players compete against athletes from a different place and at their opponents’ turf. Competing away from one’s home exposes a player and an entire team to a multitude of external and internal factors that help strengthen the athlete’s over-all stock as a player.
For starters, going away means not being “home,” and for kids with homesick issues, this could be a major problem. Being away makes the athlete and his teammates more independent and responsible since they watch every move they make being in unfamiliar territory. An always-ready case study on the matter is when us probinsyanos go to the “big city” of Manila to play against schools there. Manila is always perceived to be so big, so rich and so bossy that if an athlete goes into a Manila game with an inferiority complex, he’ll wilt even before stepping on the field.
As I write this column, I just discovered that the SHSJ 1996 team lost its first game, 0-3 to pre-tourney favorites HEDCEN. Reports from the parents in the field indicate that the boys played listlessly, were disorganized and didn’t play the way they always play. But this is so true for all first games away from home. It’s safe to assume that the boys were ready to play, but their minds were still coping with the fact that they were playing in Manila. This is the toughest obstacle to overcome on out of town trips: the dreaded first game syndrome. You just want to get over it fast! The good news is that the team defeated Ateneo de Manila (ADMU), 2-0, in its second game. Beating ADMU is a great display of recovery, and they now have to maintain this level of composure in their next games that will be played as I type away (against Southridge and CSA).
Playing “away” also exposes one to the playing style of other teams. When kept at home all the time, SHSJ will eventually get used to facing the likes of Don Bosco, Springdale and Hiroshi (City Central School). Playing in Manila opens the boys’ eyes to a different format, playing 7-a-side football in bigger fields amidst the tall buildings of the Makati skyline (where I’m writing this column) and in the middle of one of the richest villages of the country. The kids of Manila schools are also taller, bigger and generally “healthier” (can’t think of any other term for now).
One of the biggest benefits that will come out of dayo trips will come in the form of the tremendous strengthening of team bonding. The time spent on the field is only a fraction of the long periods of time that the boys will be spending together off the field. This is where bonding, chemistry and teamwork is molded and established. They walk together, go window shopping together, eat together, play Game Boy together and do just about everything else together.
And they’re not the only ones who bond more. Family bonding is also intensified much in the same way when a family takes a vacation. Parents of the athletes sit beside each other on these trips and also strengthen the ties that bind. One other facet of bonding that is most welcome are the new friendships that are established and renewed. When ADMU visited Cebu last summer, they were treated by the SHSJ football parents with the warm Cebuano hospitality for which we’re known: football games plus lechon, ngoyong and puso. The ADMU parents are also returning the favor now that the Cebuanos are in Manila (minus the lechon).
Did you say expensive? My answer to that is yes and no. Yes, it will cost a few thousands of pesos to go on a dayo trip. But no, don’t look at it as an expense. It’s an investment that you place to make the kids better and to give yourselves a break as a family, a team and as co-parents. And I haven’t even talked about the task to win games or the tournament. Not necessary for trips like this.
These days, dayo trips are a must. All sports programs must include this in their calendar of activities and families of athletes must set aside a budget for this. There’s so much to gain and nothing to lose.
And this is where I’d like to borrow a line from a TV commercial, “Tara na. Byahe tayo.” And change it to “Tara na. Dayo tayo!” (You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com.)
January 28, 2007
Dayo
Have you ever heard of the term “dayo”? Unknown to many fans, it’s actually a common term in sports. “Dayo” refers to a visiting team or athlete who travels to compete in a place away from his home turf. Although it traces its roots from Tagalog, it’s also accepted here in the South.
I find the topic interesting especially today as three football teams of the Sacred Heart School-Jesuit (SHS-J) compete for the first time in school history in the RIFA Cup that is being held at the Colegio de San Agustin (CSA) campus in Makati. SHS-J is competing in three age groups: boys born 1995, 1996 and 1997. The 1996 team played yesterday while the 1995 and 1997 teams play today.
Traveling to play in different places is nothing new. The most popular and recognized version of the dayo concept is the NBA’s home-and-away format as well as the one practiced in big league football in Europe. Boxing is also another classic case where a hometown hero is always pitted against a “dayo.” But while the pros use this system as a means to earn money (yes, it’s a business), level the competition and carry the colors of a town, it’s a different case in the minor leagues like schools and regular sports clubs.
Dayo trips are organized by coaches and athletic directors primarily for “exposure” purposes. Coaches would like to have their players compete against athletes from a different place and at their opponents’ turf. Competing away from one’s home exposes a player and an entire team to a multitude of external and internal factors that help strengthen the athlete’s over-all stock as a player.
For starters, going away means not being “home,” and for kids with homesick issues, this could be a major problem. Being away makes the athlete and his teammates more independent and responsible since they watch every move they make being in unfamiliar territory. An always-ready case study on the matter is when us probinsyanos go to the “big city” of Manila to play against schools there. Manila is always perceived to be so big, so rich and so bossy that if an athlete goes into a Manila game with an inferiority complex, he’ll wilt even before stepping on the field.
As I write this column, I just discovered that the SHSJ 1996 team lost its first game, 0-3 to pre-tourney favorites HEDCEN. Reports from the parents in the field indicate that the boys played listlessly, were disorganized and didn’t play the way they always play. But this is so true for all first games away from home. It’s safe to assume that the boys were ready to play, but their minds were still coping with the fact that they were playing in Manila. This is the toughest obstacle to overcome on out of town trips: the dreaded first game syndrome. You just want to get over it fast! The good news is that the team defeated Ateneo de Manila (ADMU), 2-0, in its second game. Beating ADMU is a great display of recovery, and they now have to maintain this level of composure in their next games that will be played as I type away (against Southridge and CSA).
Playing “away” also exposes one to the playing style of other teams. When kept at home all the time, SHSJ will eventually get used to facing the likes of Don Bosco, Springdale and Hiroshi (City Central School). Playing in Manila opens the boys’ eyes to a different format, playing 7-a-side football in bigger fields amidst the tall buildings of the Makati skyline (where I’m writing this column) and in the middle of one of the richest villages of the country. The kids of Manila schools are also taller, bigger and generally “healthier” (can’t think of any other term for now).
One of the biggest benefits that will come out of dayo trips will come in the form of the tremendous strengthening of team bonding. The time spent on the field is only a fraction of the long periods of time that the boys will be spending together off the field. This is where bonding, chemistry and teamwork is molded and established. They walk together, go window shopping together, eat together, play Game Boy together and do just about everything else together.
And they’re not the only ones who bond more. Family bonding is also intensified much in the same way when a family takes a vacation. Parents of the athletes sit beside each other on these trips and also strengthen the ties that bind. One other facet of bonding that is most welcome are the new friendships that are established and renewed. When ADMU visited Cebu last summer, they were treated by the SHSJ football parents with the warm Cebuano hospitality for which we’re known: football games plus lechon, ngoyong and puso. The ADMU parents are also returning the favor now that the Cebuanos are in Manila (minus the lechon).
Did you say expensive? My answer to that is yes and no. Yes, it will cost a few thousands of pesos to go on a dayo trip. But no, don’t look at it as an expense. It’s an investment that you place to make the kids better and to give yourselves a break as a family, a team and as co-parents. And I haven’t even talked about the task to win games or the tournament. Not necessary for trips like this.
These days, dayo trips are a must. All sports programs must include this in their calendar of activities and families of athletes must set aside a budget for this. There’s so much to gain and nothing to lose.
And this is where I’d like to borrow a line from a TV commercial, “Tara na. Byahe tayo.” And change it to “Tara na. Dayo tayo!” (You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com.)
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