Cam wears a COMME DES GARÇONS HOMME PLUS jersey top from UNIVERS, and a SACAI white poplin and chiffon dress from HOMME ET FEMME. Photo by Kim Angela Santos, styled by Roko Arceo
This July, Vogue Philippines celebrates the inspiring people who train, mentor, and shape athletes with “Passing The Torch.” Discover the story of Cam Rodriguez, a football player, mental performance coach, and game analyst.
Nominated by Nona
When Cam Rodriguez first stepped on the football field, little did she know that she would play a role in its future. “I was a 10-year-old falling in love with the sport, but now, 20 years later, people look to me to continue growing the sport in the country,” she says. “I have this philosophy in life that if it’s not me, then who? If it’s not us, then who?”
Beliefs, she says, drive our decisions and actions. And her belief in Filipino athletes manifests in everything that she does as a football athlete, game analyst, mental performance coach, and co-founder of Ribbon Sports.
As an athlete, Cam began representing the Philippines at 12 years old and joined the youth national team at 14. At 16 years old, she embraced the new level of responsibility and professionalism as the youngest player on the senior women’s national team. “Every time I step on the pitch, I give my best,” she says.
Even now, in her 20th year of playing football, she feels that there is still much room for improvement. “I view sports as a mirror of life,” she says, expressing that she enjoys the growth from playing the sport. “The best thing that I get from being an athlete is coachability, meaning the openness to keep learning, to keep growing.”
She has grown into other roles as well. Recently, she tried her hand at sports broadcasting as a game analyst for the Philippine Football League. As one of the few female game analysts in the country, she has learned to embrace her voice. “My stint with PFL has really reinforced the belief that our words have power, and how we say things, especially to a wider audience, matters,” she says.
The same belief guides her as well in her role as a mental performance coach for the Ateneo Women’s Football Team: “Because I believe in the Filipino athlete, the words that I say follow that belief. For example, if they make a mistake, because I believe in them, instead of putting them down and saying negative things, I will frame it in a way that it’s grounded in my belief in them.”
As a woman in sports, Cam also believes that leveling the playing field for Filipina athletes is needed to change the game. “Dapat patas ang laban (the fight has to be fair), because we are worth it,” she says. “Filipina athletes can do it. What we just need are people who believe in us, and with that belief, all the actions that follow it.”
For Cam, believing in ourselves is also the key to growing. “We’re not born to be good athletes. Some are more talented than others, but you still need that hard work. In that respect, keep learning,” she says. “Live to tell the tale and be brave to keep learning from the different journeys and ventures that you enter.”
By Daphne Sagun. Photographed by Kim Santos of Kliq. Managing Editor Jacs Sampayan. Styled by Roko Arceo. Makeup by Joemel Reyes and Shay Kho of Estée Lauder Philippines. Hair by JA Feliciano. Produced by Bianca Zaragoza. Digital Associate Editor: Chelsea Sarabia. Digital Multimedia Artists: Bea Lu, Myc Priestley. Digital Content Writer: Celine Lagundi. Backdrop: Justine Arcega-Bumanlag.
