The Justine Dorog Story: The Humble Beginnings of MGCNLCA’s New Volleyball Head Coach
“Kalaban ko rin yung MGC[NL] noon.” Justine Dorog, the current MGC New Life Christian Academy (MGCNLCA) volleyball team head coach, recalls playing against MGCNL during her high school days.
The MGCNLCA volleyball team has had many accomplishments throughout the years, winning championships and being a well-known powerhouse in the sport of volleyball. One major reason for their success is their long-time coach Thelma Roxas, who has since stepped down and become the team consultant. Since the start school year 2023-2024, Premier Volleyball League (PVL) athlete Dorog has taken over as the new head coach of the team.
Kickstarting her career in grade five, Dorog started playing volleyball in her hometown Catmon, Cebu, where she also participated in various nationwide competitions. Only a year later, her elementary team qualified for Palarong Pambansa and represented Cebu, where she garnered the MVP and the Best Attacker Award. Her accolades led to her being recruited by Hope Christian High School in Manila.
Despite only being in her third year of high school, young Dorog had already begun training with the University of the Philippines’ volleyball team, which inspired her to spend her college years there. Her collegiate career lasted from 2015 to 2019, where she clinched championships in numerous competitions such as the 2018 Philippine Superliga Collegiate Grand Slam, along with both the 2016 and 2017 Founders' Cup Philippines. Dorog’s flexibility was also showcased in her beach volleyball stint during the UAAP Season 81, where she bagged the bronze medal.
Following her collegiate years, Dorog’s professional volleyball career began as she signed with the Cherry Tiggo Crossovers in the Premier Volleyball League from 2019 until 2022. In 2023, she transferred to the Quezon City Gerflor Defenders and served as their team captain. In the same year, she switched teams once more and signed with the Farm Fresh Foxies. Currently, she has chosen to focus on her coaching career as the assistant coach for the Foxies and the head coach for the MGCNLCA volleyball team.
“Yung sport naging passion ko na.” In her run as a player in the PVL, the Cebuano genuinely enjoyed playing but felt that she wanted to do more. Her first professional team, Cherry Tiggo, gave her the platform to speak out and become a leader. Even her more senior teammates looked up to her and sought her advice.
This experience then made her realize that she had the God-given ability to lead, share her thoughts, and impart wisdom to her teammates. Dorog thought to herself, “Why not share with others what volleyball has taught me?” Thus, she decided to become a coach, to teach and mentor others, using what she has learned throughout her career.
Despite her many accomplishments, Dorog’s volleyball journey was from from easy. Struggling with multiple injuries that hindered her from unleashing her full potential, she often had to change positions to “fill in the blanks'' of the team. Rather than viewing this as a setback, she chose to see it as an opportunity to prioritize her studies. Dorog decided to take up Sports Science as her college course because she recognized that she needed a fallback. With this college course and all the knowledge that she gained from being an athlete, she opted to shift to coaching.
“Later on na-realize ko na grabe nga yung nabibigay ng volleyball sa akin.” Growing up with siblings who also played volleyball, the sport became her passion, which paved the way for overflowing opportunities. Dorog is extremely grateful to God for all of these achievements, as He has been there for her every step of the way.