Discipline, drive: The not-so-secret ways of the NU Pep Squad’s dynasty rise

MANILA, Philippines – “Your UAAP Cheerdance Competition champion… the NU Pep Squad!”

Since 2013, that phrase has been bellowed out not once, not twice, but nine different times. Yet, the status quo had not always been this way.

When the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe won its record-setting eighth CDC title in 2006, NU already had nine — no, not titles, nor podium finishes, but nine straight last-place crash-outs, eventually ballooning to a dubious, likely unbreakable record of 12 consecutive bottom-ranked efforts.

By 2012 in UAAP Season 75, the UP Pep Squad had caught up to UST with a record eighth championship of its own, capping off a three-peat run from 2010. Lost in the rightfully royal revelry of a new cheerdance dynasty, however, was a curious little detail.

There it was, little league laughingstock NU Pep, now in third place — a stunning breakthrough podium finish for an afterthought of a program.

No one knew at the time, of course, but that moment stood as somewhat of a cliched passing of the torch. Here was the comedy act once flamed for running around half-asleep on the court in blankets, now fully awake and aware of its untapped potential.

By 2013, with NU Pep now boasting a powerful backer, elite coaches and dedicated athletes, the improbable happened. From the ashes of 12 straight cellar-dwelling finishes rose one gleaming gold medal.

Then came another, and another, and another, and the rest was history.

Driven by a desire to be noticed, to be respected, the NU Pep Squad made the most of their newfound support and turned garbage into gold, the laughs to loud cheers.

Insatiable hunger for more

Since its first title, NU Pep only stuck to what it knew would be a title-winning formula: stay hungry for more.

Whether that’s through persistent recruitment, perfecting practice runs or careful nutrition planning, there’s no nook or cranny of athletic development the coaching staff would not look at and see if it demanded improvement.

From seven-time coach Ghicka Bernabe to current two-time titlist mentor Gab Bajacan, NU Pep’s development always revolved around hunger — hunger to be better, hunger to take more risks — and satisfying it on the way to one shot to win it all, with no do-overs nor second chances.

“What really sets our program apart from other cheer programs is we have a good management that supports us, not just financially, but in all other kinds of support they can give,” Bajacan said in Filipino after the championship.

“We truly have good athletes, whom we really recruited [from the grassroots level], and the best coaches, all the coaches. This routine wouldn’t be complete without the knowledge and wisdom they contributed to it.”

Near gymnastics venues of grassroots sports events like the Palarong Pambansa, Bajacan himself would man NU Pep Squad booths, handing out recruitment materials to young aspiring gymnasts even in far-off event hosts like Cebu.

“Those are the secrets of the NU Pep Squad and why their program is the way it is,” he continued. “It really comes down to support — if you lack support, how can you recruit athletes if no one is supporting you? How can you get coaches if the management doesn’t support the people you’re working with?”

An avid fan of the old champion programs when he was still a cheerleader in FEU, Bajacan could only sit speechless after realizing the speed that NU rose to overtake everyone else.

“I really idolized UP and UST. When I was in the back of a classroom in FEU, I used to dance their routines. That’s how much of a fanatic I am,” he recalled.

“What happened now is something I really didn’t expect because the ones counting tallies before were really FEU, UST, and UP. We in NU kind of just swooped in after, and I just can’t explain the feeling. It’s so surreal.”

Constant evolution

Like every successful sports program, NU Pep is never satisfied with its methods. Even with grueling, seven-days-a-week training lasting through the wee morning hours, Bajacan always feels that there are always better ways to maintain a championship team.

“We won’t settle and believe what we’re doing is effective. There are always mistakes in your system. You cannot expect that what you’re doing is perfect,” he said.

“You always have different people, different athletes, different generations, and what we do will depend on who we have. Before you can just be ruthless and lead that way, but now, you have to be more nurturing. Our sport always evolves and so must we.”

“We have to adapt, adapt, adapt. Growth never ends so we have to keep evolving. We have to keep moving the program forward.”

Now wading through uncharted territory as the most bemedaled program in CDC history, NU Pep continues to chart its own course and discover methods others have yet to find on their own.

History shows that no other cheerdance program has known loss quite like the NU Pep Squad. Now, it gets to win like no other can. – Rappler.com