What's In The Name? Team ACEtoryahe: An Extraordinary Tale.
In our "What's In The Name?" Team feature, ACEtoryahe of Tayasan, Negros Oriental shared an extraordinary tale about their very young and talented team.
"Estoryahe" is an expression from a popular local radio station in the Visayas where DJ's would say it in reference to a story that is far fetched out of the ordinary. And if the said story is pretty much hard to believe, he would say "Estoryaheee" as a joke. Team founder, Dennis Baylosis wanted the name to be more unique. Something that would grab attention and one that shows intensity, power, and dominance. Dennis changed "Es" to "ACE", and Team ACEtoryahe was born.
ACEtoryahe was established in 2011 when Dennis' cousins and nephews wanted to play Ultimate. After he created a team that was composed of youth close to him, they eventually held the first Tayasan Ultimate Frisbee Invitational in May of that year. On that very year, ACEtoryahe won their first championship trophy. Over the years, the team has won a few championships all over Negros and in 2015, Elementary Schools were included in the Tayasan Ultimate Program.
The team is composed of students and local youth around Tayasan. You can see that the team has a well-structured program as team ACE even has 1 senior and 1 junior captain on the team, and each captain has 3 support captains under them. They have their own secretary to help them, and Team ACEtoryahe also has a sub team of elementary student players called ACEtudyante. I mean, how cool is that!?
With the average age of team members around 14-15 years old, children in Tayasan are introduced to Ultimate at the age of 5 to 6 years old and being trained from February till May for the yearly inter-school league. 20 kids are chosen from this tournament to form the ACEtudyante team to play in the Tayasan Ultimate Frisbee Invitational, then out of these 20 kids, some are chosen to be trained for the main ACEtoryahe team.
ACE's main goal is the deterrence of drugs and alcohol to the youth of Tayasan. They also aim to teach younger kids the importance of an all-around development mentally and physically. teaching them lessons in personal values, friendship, cooperation, team work, leadership skills, respect, a sense of belonging and social interaction. Although these are just some of the internal goals of the team, ACEtoryahe is aiming to become one of the best teams in the region.
Ultimate in Tayasan is still in its infant stage if you compare it to other established sports like basketball and sepak takraw, but Ultimate's popularity in Tayasan has been improving every year, especially with the success of their programs like the Elementary School Ultimate that they are working on. Players have a strict attendance in training every weekend in order for them to earn free team jerseys and an all expense sponsorship for tournaments. The local LGU also welcomes Ultimate with open arms as its main purpose is the prevention of Drugs and Alcohol in their local youth.
The community in Tayasan is extremely supportive towards team ACEtoryahe and the sport as a whole. The yearly tournament is a part of the Tayasan annual fiesta where teams from Negros Oriental and Occidental frequently join. Parents need to be given a lot of credit when it comes to ACE, as they are encouraging their children not to waste their allowance on computer games, as well as discouraging alcohol and drugs at the same time. They are also taking a big part in guiding the players when they are participating in a tournament, especially Ricko and Gellord Callao who are always inspiring the kids on the sidelines and of course Rex Sandalo, the LGU driver who double up as the Team Physician who are always there to give his support to the team.
As for Dennis Baylosis, He is a blessing to the youth of Tayasan, most especially to his team and to all the kids who want to play Ultimate. His unconditional love and support to these kids make him fly from Australia (where he is now living and working) back to his home town every year just to be with his team and family. He will give everything for these kids. And that right there is pretty much an Extraordinary Act of Kindness.
Thank you, Dennis and Sue, for taking the time to share your amazing story with us.
Ladies and Gentlemen, This is
Team ACEtoryahe of Tayasan, Negros Oriental.
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