Chapter 6 -Reflections
So now that the dust has settled and all what do I think of the whirlwind ride that I've been through over the past 10 months? Hmmm, well one conclusion I can say is that the team did well mainly because of its strength of character. I'm quite upset at comments made that we won because of lunck and fate and what have you, but c'mon, we're not a bunch of crippled, bind and deaf people. I mean if we were, and we won, then I would agree with the statement. Did luck play a part? Of course it does. It does all the time, luck plays so much a part in sports, that's what makes sports sucha beautiful thing. But did we win because we were lucky? I don't think so.
Player for player, man for man, I would say SA and SR both have strong individual players. Team for team, I would say teams like HCI and SA have good team cohesion. I would not say that the VJ team stands out in any particular field, but rather one thing the team had was the incredible desire to put things right. Lets be honest, the 2005 campaign was a disaster, and the team wanted so much to put things right.
Which brings me back to the point of the team's strength in character. This was a team which would train in rain or shine, even when there was lightning all around, the team continued training. This was a team which would go and do intervals right after a full match. This was a team which trained close to 5 days in a row in the run-up to the final. And dats what defines the team of 2006. Desire. Just like how England won in 1966. Dare anybody say England was better than Pele's Brazil, Eusebio's Portugal, the Hungarians or even the surprise package of that tournament the North Koreans? Nope nobody could say that because England wasn't. But whatever they lacked in technical skills, they made up for it in their willingness to work hard. The team of '06 was not the strongest in the tournament, and were so lowly nobody even gave a damn when they won their first match 8-0. In fact the school even thought it was a fluke result. But that was just what drove the team on. Somehow this team reacted well to criticism, and it was the fuel which gave them that extra mile.
However, a lot of things can still be improved in the team. Despite having a strong base of juniors, there is still much work to be done, and less whining. If there was one thing which I thought the team had too much off was whining. Sometimes there was just a need to dig in and not make any noise. Nor question the coach. There was TOO much questioning.
But its alright, now that the journey has ended, all the negatives seem to fade away and only the positive remain. I'm gonna miss this team, a team which came through such odds to emerge as deserving champions. Sure people may say we were lucky. People will say that we did not deserve it. People will say that it was a fluke and next year we will be back to square one. And maybe they could be right.
But to the odd 30 of us who stuck through in the darkest of times, the gold medal is just a symbol, something that will gather dust and be tossed aside. What nobody can take away is our spirit, our will and our desire.
Nil Sine Labore - Nothing Without Labour
How true it rings.
Out.
Looking for a light
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Chapter 5 - Final Whistle
Just as the TJ defender kicked the ball for a goal kick, and Shi Ling controlled it, the final whistle went. I could not believe it. All I could say to myself was that we did it. I thought I would be overcome with emotion but I was not, just very very happy, smiling from ear to ear. I hugged JR for like the 3rd time in the match, and Miss Tan reached out her hand to grab, aiyah heck I just hugged her as well, hope her boyfriend does not mind. Mini was in the stands and I pointed to him, our "you did it, you're the man" sign. The crowd went wild, even if it were about a 100 odd people at most, but the chants of "we are the champions" echoed loud and clear in Jalan Besar.
And the girls? Well they were all tearing and stuff,perhaps overcome with relief more than anything else, that they had managed to reach their aim this year, that the comeback was finally complete. A lot of hugging and all, and they immediately went to shake the hands of the opponents, I remember after winning in 2002, it took us a good 15-20 mins before we even remembered to shake hands with our opponents. I rushed to get a school flag to them, and soon enough we sang the college anthem. Hand in hand with my coaching team we sang, proud of our little sisters who had done so well. I had imagined this image for so long, part of me could not believe it was happening.
I was then asked to lead the team in a lap of honour, which I reluctantly did, after some pleading with Vivian, I did not want to take any of the limelight away from the team, but oh well what the heck just run lar, how often can one do it anyway right? We took a team photo, and then out of nowhere Vivian attempted to Tau Pok me, which failed, mainly because of my low centre of gravity (finally! some use for it). Then she tried again, and this time I fell hard and the girls just piled on top of me.
Alright the thing about this Tau Pok thing is that its really dangerous if you don't know the limits. Within 5 seconds there were like 5 or 6 bodies on me, and I was gasping to breathe, so I kept shouting, "Give up give up! Get off! Get OFF!!". But the girls did not hear me I think, so it took a while to register before they finally got off, my calf was rather painful and I actually got astro-burned on the way down from the tackle. These girls really need a new way to show their appreciation for their coach.
Then it was the prize presentation, SAJC grabbed two awards, top scorer for Ceest (well deserved) and MVP for Joann (also well deserved). No denying this and no point trying to argue that we deserved these awards anyway cos the SA girls do deserve something for their efforts and their dedication, being the standard-bearers for the past 2 years, and I do believe for years to come. But well, ultimately the team got the one important award of the day, which was the championship medal. I tell you, Salome really has no idea how to celebrate the cup. Even Ho Peng Kee had to tell her to lift it and show it to the fans when she got it, but she did not hear him. Sigh, I thought that was quite disappointing cos' she was telling us to wait when the whole coaching team was practically begging her to lift the cup. But never mind, that was her way, point to note, if this ever happens again, I better tell the captain the thing to do. The girls gathered for a picture of them holding the cup, which was published on Lianhe Zaobao, and I was interviewed with some comments on the team.
As the crowd streamed out, it was time to head back to school, and I as I walked out of the dressing room, a million thoughts flew past me and I said "Goodbye room, hope to see you again next year". I know it sounds kinda spastic now, but I thought it was apt for the moment.
We got up the bus, and the journey back home started. And for the first time ever, the journey back home with the cup.
Chapter 6 - Final Reflections (stay tuned)
Out.
Just as the TJ defender kicked the ball for a goal kick, and Shi Ling controlled it, the final whistle went. I could not believe it. All I could say to myself was that we did it. I thought I would be overcome with emotion but I was not, just very very happy, smiling from ear to ear. I hugged JR for like the 3rd time in the match, and Miss Tan reached out her hand to grab, aiyah heck I just hugged her as well, hope her boyfriend does not mind. Mini was in the stands and I pointed to him, our "you did it, you're the man" sign. The crowd went wild, even if it were about a 100 odd people at most, but the chants of "we are the champions" echoed loud and clear in Jalan Besar.
And the girls? Well they were all tearing and stuff,perhaps overcome with relief more than anything else, that they had managed to reach their aim this year, that the comeback was finally complete. A lot of hugging and all, and they immediately went to shake the hands of the opponents, I remember after winning in 2002, it took us a good 15-20 mins before we even remembered to shake hands with our opponents. I rushed to get a school flag to them, and soon enough we sang the college anthem. Hand in hand with my coaching team we sang, proud of our little sisters who had done so well. I had imagined this image for so long, part of me could not believe it was happening.
I was then asked to lead the team in a lap of honour, which I reluctantly did, after some pleading with Vivian, I did not want to take any of the limelight away from the team, but oh well what the heck just run lar, how often can one do it anyway right? We took a team photo, and then out of nowhere Vivian attempted to Tau Pok me, which failed, mainly because of my low centre of gravity (finally! some use for it). Then she tried again, and this time I fell hard and the girls just piled on top of me.
Alright the thing about this Tau Pok thing is that its really dangerous if you don't know the limits. Within 5 seconds there were like 5 or 6 bodies on me, and I was gasping to breathe, so I kept shouting, "Give up give up! Get off! Get OFF!!". But the girls did not hear me I think, so it took a while to register before they finally got off, my calf was rather painful and I actually got astro-burned on the way down from the tackle. These girls really need a new way to show their appreciation for their coach.
Then it was the prize presentation, SAJC grabbed two awards, top scorer for Ceest (well deserved) and MVP for Joann (also well deserved). No denying this and no point trying to argue that we deserved these awards anyway cos the SA girls do deserve something for their efforts and their dedication, being the standard-bearers for the past 2 years, and I do believe for years to come. But well, ultimately the team got the one important award of the day, which was the championship medal. I tell you, Salome really has no idea how to celebrate the cup. Even Ho Peng Kee had to tell her to lift it and show it to the fans when she got it, but she did not hear him. Sigh, I thought that was quite disappointing cos' she was telling us to wait when the whole coaching team was practically begging her to lift the cup. But never mind, that was her way, point to note, if this ever happens again, I better tell the captain the thing to do. The girls gathered for a picture of them holding the cup, which was published on Lianhe Zaobao, and I was interviewed with some comments on the team.
As the crowd streamed out, it was time to head back to school, and I as I walked out of the dressing room, a million thoughts flew past me and I said "Goodbye room, hope to see you again next year". I know it sounds kinda spastic now, but I thought it was apt for the moment.
We got up the bus, and the journey back home started. And for the first time ever, the journey back home with the cup.
Chapter 6 - Final Reflections (stay tuned)
Out.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Chapter 4 - Game Time
The kick off whistle blew, and as imentioned previously we won the ball back almost immeditaely, Stef spraying the ball wide to Jolyn, who was turning to run, and the ball hit her back. Doh! One thing I respected TJ for was their ability to dig in and ensure that the opposition no matter how talented did not manage to break through, I mean c'mon if even the brilliant SA strike force could not get through, what more us?
But what I did not expect was for TJ to keep us backpedalling which was exactly what they did, with Rebekah coming close with a one on one with Farah. luckily enough, the youngster managed to keep her cool and save the ball, god only knows how the match would have turned out had Rebekah scored. Phew. This was an amazing journey from Farah, coming from being in Charmaine's shadow, to being calle dupon to be on duty for the last two but most important matches at the last moment, I don't envy her position that much I must admit.
Within the first 15 minutes of the match our left and right flanks were taken for a ride by the TJ wingers. Yasmin, no. 6 was doing brilliantly on her flank, and claudia was also finding space on our right flank. Jie Min and Grace were not performing and Mini over the walkie-talkie was obviously distressed. It seemed to be only a matter of time before TJ broke through.
However, the match was not exactly controlled by TJ, it was more of a ping-pong affair between the both of us, just that TJ had the better chances to convert. Jing Jing was tripped just outside the penalty and the girls lined up for the free kick. We had been practising some variations in the past week, and the time and opportunity was ripe to use it. Stef lined up behind the opposition wall, and Viv, Jing and Jolyn luned up for the free kick. Ok, good all was to plan, they were gonna execute the "Zanetti" (that was the code name given). Then suddenly I saw that Sheryl, the TJ captain picked up Stef's scent and had dirfted in her direction. Diana, TJ 9 asw that too and suddenly the opportunity was gone. It seemed as though our plan would fail. I comepletely balme msyelf for a lack of trust in the girls, as I thought they were still going to go ahead with the same move. But I just kept quiet knowing anything I said would indicate to the opposition what we were planning to do.
Jing Jing overran the ball with a dummy, and Vivian ran towards it. but instead of passing to Stef she curled one brilliantly over the wall, heading to the bottom left corner. But the TJ keeper came up with a brilliant save. In a split second Jaslyn was at the far post and she knocked in the rebound. 1-0. A great roar from the crowd, and I jumped like 2 feet in the air, and hugged JR. we were up and had gotten the first blow.
A turn of the tide indeed, the game started to settle down, and Salome started to clear the balls convincingly. At this point Mr Tan and Mrs Chan were already in the house. Mr Tan kept urging the girls to push up and compact the play, something which I had been telling the girls to practisce. We caught TJ offsied once with a brilliant push up by Audrey and I immediately looked at Mr Tan, who amde eye-contact and nodded. Mentor and mentee were in snyc, and I was so proud the girls were able to master such a play. Talk about pressure, and the crowd was roaring the team ahead. Close to half time, I checked and it was @ the 23min mark, 2 minutes to half time. A clearance by Salome on the long ball, which was glanced off the head off a TJ defender. As the TJ defenders waited for the ball to land, Jing Jing sneaked in at the far post and cnotrolled the ball brilliantly. She moved forward, it was one on one with the keeper, with the reds scrambling back to stop her. That moment seemed to take forever. Then Jing Jing struck the ball brilleiantly, high and to the side, it was hard for any keeper to save. 2-0. Again JR came up to me and we hugged. Brilliant!
The hlaf time whistle blew at the subsequent kick off and we rushed into the dressing room. The picture still remained in my mind, where the Reds were walking off the pitch in a disappointed mood I would think and the Victorians sprinted off into the dressing room, charged up with adrenaline.
Half time talk was short and sharp, I reminded them how close they were to the trophy, yet they could easily lose i in the half. I reminded them how hungry TJC was to win the cup as well, and how hard they had worked. TJC were a team of fighters without a doubt and I reminded the girls that they could easily score 3 back. the game was far from over. Mini told the girls to imagine themselves being 0-0 and I interrupted by saying that we were down1-0 and we needed to claw back. One cheer, and the girls sprinted back onto the pitch. Game on.
In the second half we charged forward, seeming to take more control of the ball, suddenly it seemd that our fitness was pushing us further and further ahead. jaslyn was switched back to left for a tired christl, whom I felt had a decent last game. Shi Ling came in. Ling is an absolute fighter. She is not the best player, but rest assured if you want somebody to harass the opposition and take them on, it was Shi Ling. She came on and started making good runs, using the blind spots well. Crosses kept coming in, Jolyn was having a great time running on the right but her crosses were just not strong enough. jaslyn on the other hand was putting the crosses in. Birlliant talent. But cross after cross came to no avail. There was even one where Shi Ling got to the ball first but she hit it wide. I kept shouting in frustration (no vulgarities amazingly) and a few indian guys in the crowd told me to relax. Of which I acknowledged. But how to? At the 24 minute mark I brouhgt in Eileen and Alex into the game. Eileen cos' she deserved it, for all her hard work and Alex cos' she has yet to get a game in the tournament. Honestly I was prepared for Alex not to play, cos' I never thought she was in the right mental condition to play. But I decided to take the risk. Alex was super blur and told me that she had never played at l;eft back before and did not know how to take a throw in. Somehow at this point I was convinced I did the right thing not to play Alex earlier on because she was so blur. But Alex works like a horse, and she deserved to step onto the pitch. 2-0 up with virtually no time left. Please please God please, I kept saying.
It was 25 minutes and still no final whistle. 27 minutes still no final whistle. The reserves already asked me if they could stand up, to which Ir eplied they could, but just to remember to flood the field if we won. 29 minutes, still no sign of a final whistle?? and each hald was only 25 minutes long. The crowd was getting anxious and I kept complaining to Miss Tan how time was up long ago.
We wasted another chance. The referee put the whistle to her lips. This was it....
Goal Kick!
What the heck?!?!
Chapter 5 - The Final Whistle
Out.
The kick off whistle blew, and as imentioned previously we won the ball back almost immeditaely, Stef spraying the ball wide to Jolyn, who was turning to run, and the ball hit her back. Doh! One thing I respected TJ for was their ability to dig in and ensure that the opposition no matter how talented did not manage to break through, I mean c'mon if even the brilliant SA strike force could not get through, what more us?
But what I did not expect was for TJ to keep us backpedalling which was exactly what they did, with Rebekah coming close with a one on one with Farah. luckily enough, the youngster managed to keep her cool and save the ball, god only knows how the match would have turned out had Rebekah scored. Phew. This was an amazing journey from Farah, coming from being in Charmaine's shadow, to being calle dupon to be on duty for the last two but most important matches at the last moment, I don't envy her position that much I must admit.
Within the first 15 minutes of the match our left and right flanks were taken for a ride by the TJ wingers. Yasmin, no. 6 was doing brilliantly on her flank, and claudia was also finding space on our right flank. Jie Min and Grace were not performing and Mini over the walkie-talkie was obviously distressed. It seemed to be only a matter of time before TJ broke through.
However, the match was not exactly controlled by TJ, it was more of a ping-pong affair between the both of us, just that TJ had the better chances to convert. Jing Jing was tripped just outside the penalty and the girls lined up for the free kick. We had been practising some variations in the past week, and the time and opportunity was ripe to use it. Stef lined up behind the opposition wall, and Viv, Jing and Jolyn luned up for the free kick. Ok, good all was to plan, they were gonna execute the "Zanetti" (that was the code name given). Then suddenly I saw that Sheryl, the TJ captain picked up Stef's scent and had dirfted in her direction. Diana, TJ 9 asw that too and suddenly the opportunity was gone. It seemed as though our plan would fail. I comepletely balme msyelf for a lack of trust in the girls, as I thought they were still going to go ahead with the same move. But I just kept quiet knowing anything I said would indicate to the opposition what we were planning to do.
Jing Jing overran the ball with a dummy, and Vivian ran towards it. but instead of passing to Stef she curled one brilliantly over the wall, heading to the bottom left corner. But the TJ keeper came up with a brilliant save. In a split second Jaslyn was at the far post and she knocked in the rebound. 1-0. A great roar from the crowd, and I jumped like 2 feet in the air, and hugged JR. we were up and had gotten the first blow.
A turn of the tide indeed, the game started to settle down, and Salome started to clear the balls convincingly. At this point Mr Tan and Mrs Chan were already in the house. Mr Tan kept urging the girls to push up and compact the play, something which I had been telling the girls to practisce. We caught TJ offsied once with a brilliant push up by Audrey and I immediately looked at Mr Tan, who amde eye-contact and nodded. Mentor and mentee were in snyc, and I was so proud the girls were able to master such a play. Talk about pressure, and the crowd was roaring the team ahead. Close to half time, I checked and it was @ the 23min mark, 2 minutes to half time. A clearance by Salome on the long ball, which was glanced off the head off a TJ defender. As the TJ defenders waited for the ball to land, Jing Jing sneaked in at the far post and cnotrolled the ball brilliantly. She moved forward, it was one on one with the keeper, with the reds scrambling back to stop her. That moment seemed to take forever. Then Jing Jing struck the ball brilleiantly, high and to the side, it was hard for any keeper to save. 2-0. Again JR came up to me and we hugged. Brilliant!
The hlaf time whistle blew at the subsequent kick off and we rushed into the dressing room. The picture still remained in my mind, where the Reds were walking off the pitch in a disappointed mood I would think and the Victorians sprinted off into the dressing room, charged up with adrenaline.
Half time talk was short and sharp, I reminded them how close they were to the trophy, yet they could easily lose i in the half. I reminded them how hungry TJC was to win the cup as well, and how hard they had worked. TJC were a team of fighters without a doubt and I reminded the girls that they could easily score 3 back. the game was far from over. Mini told the girls to imagine themselves being 0-0 and I interrupted by saying that we were down1-0 and we needed to claw back. One cheer, and the girls sprinted back onto the pitch. Game on.
In the second half we charged forward, seeming to take more control of the ball, suddenly it seemd that our fitness was pushing us further and further ahead. jaslyn was switched back to left for a tired christl, whom I felt had a decent last game. Shi Ling came in. Ling is an absolute fighter. She is not the best player, but rest assured if you want somebody to harass the opposition and take them on, it was Shi Ling. She came on and started making good runs, using the blind spots well. Crosses kept coming in, Jolyn was having a great time running on the right but her crosses were just not strong enough. jaslyn on the other hand was putting the crosses in. Birlliant talent. But cross after cross came to no avail. There was even one where Shi Ling got to the ball first but she hit it wide. I kept shouting in frustration (no vulgarities amazingly) and a few indian guys in the crowd told me to relax. Of which I acknowledged. But how to? At the 24 minute mark I brouhgt in Eileen and Alex into the game. Eileen cos' she deserved it, for all her hard work and Alex cos' she has yet to get a game in the tournament. Honestly I was prepared for Alex not to play, cos' I never thought she was in the right mental condition to play. But I decided to take the risk. Alex was super blur and told me that she had never played at l;eft back before and did not know how to take a throw in. Somehow at this point I was convinced I did the right thing not to play Alex earlier on because she was so blur. But Alex works like a horse, and she deserved to step onto the pitch. 2-0 up with virtually no time left. Please please God please, I kept saying.
It was 25 minutes and still no final whistle. 27 minutes still no final whistle. The reserves already asked me if they could stand up, to which Ir eplied they could, but just to remember to flood the field if we won. 29 minutes, still no sign of a final whistle?? and each hald was only 25 minutes long. The crowd was getting anxious and I kept complaining to Miss Tan how time was up long ago.
We wasted another chance. The referee put the whistle to her lips. This was it....
Goal Kick!
What the heck?!?!
Chapter 5 - The Final Whistle
Out.
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Chapter 3: Dressing Room and Kick-Off
So we then went into our dressign room for the day, the same dressing room which was used for the semis. We put our stuff down,and the girls soon went out for the mandatory warm-up. We only had a small space behind the goal post, so we did not have much space to warm up. Sigh. But we continued doing our snychronised warm-up in a disciplined manner. At the same time I kept glancing at the stands and saw how the TJ crowd had arrived in droves, super impressed with their school spirit. It was heartening to see that they had gotten behind their girls team, RESPECT. At the same time I looked at our side, which was relatively empty, and in fact there were more SRJC supporters compared to us. I walked over to the SRJC bench and walked over to Mr Nordin, the SRJC teacher in charge, who had developed a good friendship with me, as both of us had fought together for the tournament to be brought to an earlier date so the year 2s could play. He wished me luck, and something else, which I believe I should not say. Lets just say it was not a very teacher thing to say, though I understood where he came from. I promised him that I would acceed to his request and went back to the girls.
At this time the crowd was slowly trickling in, still in small number, but I told myself to shut up and focus on the match instead. guess it was not that I was hard-up for a crowd, just that something inside me wished for a crowd so the girls could know that they were being appreciated and supported by the school.
After stretching the girls did a few sprints, and we went back into the dressing room. I gave one last pep talk before the girls sang the school song. It was the loudest I have ever heard them sing, it was brilliant. At the same time, when we were out for warm up, the technical crew had helped to put up encouraging notes for the girls on the dressing room walls, well wishes from the supporters which Sara and I had planned a day after we qualified for the final. SAra had been busy getting people to fill in the post its for the girls.
Then it was time, the non 20 went out to form a guard ofhonour for the first 20, and Charmaine and the girls trooped out, with me and the coaching staff behind. But I was surprised when we went out to see that we were being held back. And all this while TJ were kicking around with the ball. After talkinh and negotiating with Julie we finally got our chance, and the team marched out of the tunnel, with Charmaine leading the team, I told her to raise the flag high as each of the rest touched the flag on the way out, to remind them what they were playing for. The roar of the crowd was brilliant as the team went out. This was what I had been visualising for the past 2 months.
Warm-up was fast, in fact too nfast and to be honest I was slapping myself for taking too long inside the locker room. Freak. but we went about our drills super quick and the first 11 went back into the tunnel for the official walk-out.
Then the music came on and the girls trooped out, given a standing ovation from all. I was proud not only of my players but also the TJ players, whom I knew had also faced a lot of obstacles on the way to the finals. No matter what people say, I still feel that the two teams, for all their efforts did deserve to march out for the final dat day. Of course most would have rather seen a SA-TJ final, that I know.
Back to the story one last shout of encouragement for the girls as they marched out, I made sure I called them all by name and encouraged them. Salome went for the coin toss and the team came in for one last cheer.
I was a nervous wrek by then, taking my place at the technical area, with JR and Miss Tan (team manager) behind me, and Mini in the stands communicating with me through the walkie talkie.The whistle blew, and TJ kicked off, in an instant Jing Jing sprinted to tackle the girl and we intercepted the ball within 2 seconds. Good sign?
At that point all I could do was watch I was helpless.
"Let's go VJ, let's go!"
Out.
So we then went into our dressign room for the day, the same dressing room which was used for the semis. We put our stuff down,and the girls soon went out for the mandatory warm-up. We only had a small space behind the goal post, so we did not have much space to warm up. Sigh. But we continued doing our snychronised warm-up in a disciplined manner. At the same time I kept glancing at the stands and saw how the TJ crowd had arrived in droves, super impressed with their school spirit. It was heartening to see that they had gotten behind their girls team, RESPECT. At the same time I looked at our side, which was relatively empty, and in fact there were more SRJC supporters compared to us. I walked over to the SRJC bench and walked over to Mr Nordin, the SRJC teacher in charge, who had developed a good friendship with me, as both of us had fought together for the tournament to be brought to an earlier date so the year 2s could play. He wished me luck, and something else, which I believe I should not say. Lets just say it was not a very teacher thing to say, though I understood where he came from. I promised him that I would acceed to his request and went back to the girls.
At this time the crowd was slowly trickling in, still in small number, but I told myself to shut up and focus on the match instead. guess it was not that I was hard-up for a crowd, just that something inside me wished for a crowd so the girls could know that they were being appreciated and supported by the school.
After stretching the girls did a few sprints, and we went back into the dressing room. I gave one last pep talk before the girls sang the school song. It was the loudest I have ever heard them sing, it was brilliant. At the same time, when we were out for warm up, the technical crew had helped to put up encouraging notes for the girls on the dressing room walls, well wishes from the supporters which Sara and I had planned a day after we qualified for the final. SAra had been busy getting people to fill in the post its for the girls.
Then it was time, the non 20 went out to form a guard ofhonour for the first 20, and Charmaine and the girls trooped out, with me and the coaching staff behind. But I was surprised when we went out to see that we were being held back. And all this while TJ were kicking around with the ball. After talkinh and negotiating with Julie we finally got our chance, and the team marched out of the tunnel, with Charmaine leading the team, I told her to raise the flag high as each of the rest touched the flag on the way out, to remind them what they were playing for. The roar of the crowd was brilliant as the team went out. This was what I had been visualising for the past 2 months.
Warm-up was fast, in fact too nfast and to be honest I was slapping myself for taking too long inside the locker room. Freak. but we went about our drills super quick and the first 11 went back into the tunnel for the official walk-out.
Then the music came on and the girls trooped out, given a standing ovation from all. I was proud not only of my players but also the TJ players, whom I knew had also faced a lot of obstacles on the way to the finals. No matter what people say, I still feel that the two teams, for all their efforts did deserve to march out for the final dat day. Of course most would have rather seen a SA-TJ final, that I know.
Back to the story one last shout of encouragement for the girls as they marched out, I made sure I called them all by name and encouraged them. Salome went for the coin toss and the team came in for one last cheer.
I was a nervous wrek by then, taking my place at the technical area, with JR and Miss Tan (team manager) behind me, and Mini in the stands communicating with me through the walkie talkie.The whistle blew, and TJ kicked off, in an instant Jing Jing sprinted to tackle the girl and we intercepted the ball within 2 seconds. Good sign?
At that point all I could do was watch I was helpless.
"Let's go VJ, let's go!"
Out.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Chapter 2 - Pre Match
It was 755am, and well a bit earlier than expected but I immediately decided to go have a bath. Whiteboard session was the day before so there were no match notes to prepare. Basically I was really free and only needed to wait till 1145 am to leave for school to meet the coaches for "working lunch" at 1pm.
I decided time was passing too slowly so I switched on the comp for some aimless surfing till about 10, when I decided to go and watch episode 22 of desperate housewives season 2. Yes I am addicted to it, so it was a good way to pass bout 1 hr of my time. But it was still about 1 hr before leaving so I just started walking around aimlessly in the house, those of you who have been to my place would know that the house is not the biggest plot of land, so I pretty much oscilated around the house looking at the fish and thinking about the match which was about to change all our lives. I kept thinking and flashing back on past finals and how it felt less stressful even though we were the underdogs. I then realised that being coach put a person in a "no man's land" type of position, where you do put in a lot of effort, sometimes more than the players, but ultimately the effect you have on the game is at a minimal. It was a totally new dynamic to me, but I think something that I like.
Alright back to the story, I decided to take a half hour nap. but again found myself staring at the ceiling, it was bloody impossible to do anything, I almost felt like watching the season finale of DH2, but decided I will save it hopefully as a reward at the end of the season. 1145 pm soon came, I had to pack so many things, camera, battery, handphone, clipboard, notebook, lucky pen, extra clothes, it was really amazing I did not forget anything.
The trip to school was boring, mainly read the Newpaper to keep me updated with all the crap in Singapore, crap news I mean. I arrived in school at 1245pm, just on time. JR was already there, watching a video on the old man u inside, and both of us just sat down and watched the video, though it was evident that he was just as agitated as me. Mini was late, tsk tsk, so we spent a bit longer trying to absorb the tape. The girls were mainly sleeping and lying down at the grandstand, looking steady not nervous or anything. Jolyn was in her windbreaker walking around, perhaps thinking about the match or something else, I was not sure, but I decided it was best to leave her alone. I spoke to Farah for like 20 seconds and she seemed to be in confident mood. Good sign.
Lunch was basically canteen food, very cheap and nice, and the three of us gave a toast to hopefully winning that day. Mini soon left for visualisation session while me and JR were looking through the enormous inventory list and making sure everything was present. In my excitement of seeing the school flag, I decided to wave it around outside the PE Dept only for it to hit the roof outside, so embarassing man. But we got the glucose ready, took out the radio, made sure the markers and magnets were in place and all.
Then the girls loaded their stuff on the bus, and we gathered for our session of prayer. As JR knelt beside me to pray I felt such a kinship with him. Mentor and mentee once more side by side as brothers. The school flag was aloft in that circle we had. That special circle that had carried us on for so far. I prayed so so hard to God, asking Him to help his servant one more time, asking Him to give us everything to watch our backs and smile on us, like He has been all this while.
Then I gave a talk to the girls to psyche them up, the cheer after that was the loudest I had ever heard echo in school, it was magnificent, and as Charmaine led the team in a line out, with the student population cheering them flanking them on as they entered the bus, it was a proud moment. One I will never forget and one I hope will repeat itself in time to come.
We got up the bus, and the taping began, taping of ankles that is. The SCs took up a bit of space but I was fine wif it, I mean they came to support us what more can you ask for? Mini helped with the taping, and the music played in the background. Everything seemed to be falling into place. A bit of a jam near serangoon, but finally the door opened to Jalan Besar Stadium.
We made our way to the North Gate and sat down, looking at the SA vs SRJC match. This was it. All of us had been working our asses off for this day.
Game on.
Chapter 3 - Dressing Room and the Kick Off
Out.
It was 755am, and well a bit earlier than expected but I immediately decided to go have a bath. Whiteboard session was the day before so there were no match notes to prepare. Basically I was really free and only needed to wait till 1145 am to leave for school to meet the coaches for "working lunch" at 1pm.
I decided time was passing too slowly so I switched on the comp for some aimless surfing till about 10, when I decided to go and watch episode 22 of desperate housewives season 2. Yes I am addicted to it, so it was a good way to pass bout 1 hr of my time. But it was still about 1 hr before leaving so I just started walking around aimlessly in the house, those of you who have been to my place would know that the house is not the biggest plot of land, so I pretty much oscilated around the house looking at the fish and thinking about the match which was about to change all our lives. I kept thinking and flashing back on past finals and how it felt less stressful even though we were the underdogs. I then realised that being coach put a person in a "no man's land" type of position, where you do put in a lot of effort, sometimes more than the players, but ultimately the effect you have on the game is at a minimal. It was a totally new dynamic to me, but I think something that I like.
Alright back to the story, I decided to take a half hour nap. but again found myself staring at the ceiling, it was bloody impossible to do anything, I almost felt like watching the season finale of DH2, but decided I will save it hopefully as a reward at the end of the season. 1145 pm soon came, I had to pack so many things, camera, battery, handphone, clipboard, notebook, lucky pen, extra clothes, it was really amazing I did not forget anything.
The trip to school was boring, mainly read the Newpaper to keep me updated with all the crap in Singapore, crap news I mean. I arrived in school at 1245pm, just on time. JR was already there, watching a video on the old man u inside, and both of us just sat down and watched the video, though it was evident that he was just as agitated as me. Mini was late, tsk tsk, so we spent a bit longer trying to absorb the tape. The girls were mainly sleeping and lying down at the grandstand, looking steady not nervous or anything. Jolyn was in her windbreaker walking around, perhaps thinking about the match or something else, I was not sure, but I decided it was best to leave her alone. I spoke to Farah for like 20 seconds and she seemed to be in confident mood. Good sign.
Lunch was basically canteen food, very cheap and nice, and the three of us gave a toast to hopefully winning that day. Mini soon left for visualisation session while me and JR were looking through the enormous inventory list and making sure everything was present. In my excitement of seeing the school flag, I decided to wave it around outside the PE Dept only for it to hit the roof outside, so embarassing man. But we got the glucose ready, took out the radio, made sure the markers and magnets were in place and all.
Then the girls loaded their stuff on the bus, and we gathered for our session of prayer. As JR knelt beside me to pray I felt such a kinship with him. Mentor and mentee once more side by side as brothers. The school flag was aloft in that circle we had. That special circle that had carried us on for so far. I prayed so so hard to God, asking Him to help his servant one more time, asking Him to give us everything to watch our backs and smile on us, like He has been all this while.
Then I gave a talk to the girls to psyche them up, the cheer after that was the loudest I had ever heard echo in school, it was magnificent, and as Charmaine led the team in a line out, with the student population cheering them flanking them on as they entered the bus, it was a proud moment. One I will never forget and one I hope will repeat itself in time to come.
We got up the bus, and the taping began, taping of ankles that is. The SCs took up a bit of space but I was fine wif it, I mean they came to support us what more can you ask for? Mini helped with the taping, and the music played in the background. Everything seemed to be falling into place. A bit of a jam near serangoon, but finally the door opened to Jalan Besar Stadium.
We made our way to the North Gate and sat down, looking at the SA vs SRJC match. This was it. All of us had been working our asses off for this day.
Game on.
Chapter 3 - Dressing Room and the Kick Off
Out.
Chapter 1 - The Night Before
I arrived home close to ten, after a dinner with JR, I was kinda worried seeing how the girls appeared to be rather relaxed, even having time to take dinner together as a team the night before the match. I thought to myself if this was the mood they should be in, but something inside me told me to just leave things as they were. Me and JR were super nervous on the way back home on 15, just thinkin and thinking about the next day and I remember telling JR how I wished that I could just fast forward time and get to the next day cos the nervousness was killing me. I told myself that I wanted to sleep late and be realli exhausted so the next time I woke up it would already be 8 or 9am.
Reached home, took a nice bath, and settled in, took my laptop out and decided to watch the Poseidon DVD which ended at about 1am. Ok, quite promising, quite late so I would be out for quite a while before waking up. Looks like I was wrong. at 320am, I was up again, did not have the best of sleeps/naps (whateva u call it) cos I was just tossing and turning thinking about the major gamble in terms of formation that we were about to take the next day. It was a decision 3 of us discussed at length and using various perspectives, before agreeing to take a calculated risk, and attempting to surprise the opponent.
I woke up at 325am, and after some tossing and turning, decided that it was futile, so I got online and just signed on to MSN, hoping to find some ppl I could talk to. But of cos naturally at 4am there was nobody but the UK ppl,who were on "away" mode anyways. So I got on you-tube to watch some comedies and stuff, attempting to while the time away, secretly hoping my eyes were tired enough to force me to go back to school again. Truth was that they were tired, just dat my adrenaline was pumping at a record pace.
At about 510am, I decided to try and sleep again. And this time after 5 mins, I was more or less asleep. Next thing I knew the sun was up. Time on the clock?
755am.
Chapter 2 - Pre Match (Stay tuned)
Out.
I arrived home close to ten, after a dinner with JR, I was kinda worried seeing how the girls appeared to be rather relaxed, even having time to take dinner together as a team the night before the match. I thought to myself if this was the mood they should be in, but something inside me told me to just leave things as they were. Me and JR were super nervous on the way back home on 15, just thinkin and thinking about the next day and I remember telling JR how I wished that I could just fast forward time and get to the next day cos the nervousness was killing me. I told myself that I wanted to sleep late and be realli exhausted so the next time I woke up it would already be 8 or 9am.
Reached home, took a nice bath, and settled in, took my laptop out and decided to watch the Poseidon DVD which ended at about 1am. Ok, quite promising, quite late so I would be out for quite a while before waking up. Looks like I was wrong. at 320am, I was up again, did not have the best of sleeps/naps (whateva u call it) cos I was just tossing and turning thinking about the major gamble in terms of formation that we were about to take the next day. It was a decision 3 of us discussed at length and using various perspectives, before agreeing to take a calculated risk, and attempting to surprise the opponent.
I woke up at 325am, and after some tossing and turning, decided that it was futile, so I got online and just signed on to MSN, hoping to find some ppl I could talk to. But of cos naturally at 4am there was nobody but the UK ppl,who were on "away" mode anyways. So I got on you-tube to watch some comedies and stuff, attempting to while the time away, secretly hoping my eyes were tired enough to force me to go back to school again. Truth was that they were tired, just dat my adrenaline was pumping at a record pace.
At about 510am, I decided to try and sleep again. And this time after 5 mins, I was more or less asleep. Next thing I knew the sun was up. Time on the clock?
755am.
Chapter 2 - Pre Match (Stay tuned)
Out.
First of all, this post is for the soccer guys, shit man, the fighting spirit I saw in these boys was amazing, sure there was an ounce of luckwith Andy's first goal and all, but champions need luck rite? They totally ran the opponents ragged in the 2nd half, and the comeback was breathtaking, I just broke down and cried at the final whistle, I dunno why, its almost as if it was 2002 again and I was gonna lift the trophy again. Oh well, doesnt matter, it was a real amazing sight, and something I will never forget. These madmen train 6 times a week, they deserve nothing less, because despite all the talent flowing in the team, they train like they are the worst players on earth, constantly striving to improve. They deserve nothing less.
Also, congrats to the new coaching team of melvin tan, lofty and the man himself Tan Yew Hwee, its funny how the girls team runs in the exact same fashion, Mini is melvin, the quiet analyst, JR the slightly noisy joker is Lofty, and I am of cos Tan, forever shouting my ass off. Haha.
But anyways, its not easy to be 2-1 down, and blowing a penalty which could have tied the game. But even after he missed it, captain Keefe continued fighting his ass off, and we won. What a brilliant captain. And now he's part of the VJO!
It was a brilliant final, and I shared it wif the best of friends. I dont believe what has transpired in the past 48 hours man.
brilliant brilliant brilliant
UNDISPUTED soccer jc in singapore
Only doubles this year, the beautiful game. SOCCER BOYS AND GIRLS.
U guys are brilliant.
Such different journeys. But a great similar destination ultimately.
God bless all of you.
Out.
Also, congrats to the new coaching team of melvin tan, lofty and the man himself Tan Yew Hwee, its funny how the girls team runs in the exact same fashion, Mini is melvin, the quiet analyst, JR the slightly noisy joker is Lofty, and I am of cos Tan, forever shouting my ass off. Haha.
But anyways, its not easy to be 2-1 down, and blowing a penalty which could have tied the game. But even after he missed it, captain Keefe continued fighting his ass off, and we won. What a brilliant captain. And now he's part of the VJO!
It was a brilliant final, and I shared it wif the best of friends. I dont believe what has transpired in the past 48 hours man.
brilliant brilliant brilliant
UNDISPUTED soccer jc in singapore
Only doubles this year, the beautiful game. SOCCER BOYS AND GIRLS.
U guys are brilliant.
Such different journeys. But a great similar destination ultimately.
God bless all of you.
Out.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Where do I start?
Ok this will be a largely random post, due to the nature of things, im dead tired but at the same time cant seem to sleep cos of the adrenaline rush hahaha.
Anyways to all who was behind me and have bee following, I wanna say THANK YOU. The comeback is indeed complete.
I wanna extend a big thank you to my Uni, priya, wei quan, phil for his constant motivation to stay focused. JR for evrything, Mr Lofthouse for his inspiration. Mr Tan for his guidance. Mrs Chan for her awesome support. The supporters and red shirts who came down today. To god, the one thing that carried me in my darkest days, my pillar of strength, my light and the greatest thing ever in life. And of cos to the girls, i would like to keep writing but somehow I think I will leave it first till its clearer haha.
To prat for his contribution, to pram for his help, to Fab for ocming down, to Din and Fam for coming for the final. To my dad, who witnessed his son's managerial debut, to the UK ppl like Damu and mel, to the aussie ppl like Prash. To the HC girls for their support, to the unknown ppl who drop by my blog and leave a msg of support i wnana tell u dat it kept me going.
Thank you so much.
And of cos to the most wonderful team of soccer girls. U guys are indescribable and I have completely run out of superlatives to describe you. Thank you so so much.
I am so relieved. So so relieved.
Thank you thank you thank you god.
Oh well dats all for now, i wanna reorganise my thoughts before i blog again. Cant wait to watch the video and all.
Out.
Ok this will be a largely random post, due to the nature of things, im dead tired but at the same time cant seem to sleep cos of the adrenaline rush hahaha.
Anyways to all who was behind me and have bee following, I wanna say THANK YOU. The comeback is indeed complete.
I wanna extend a big thank you to my Uni, priya, wei quan, phil for his constant motivation to stay focused. JR for evrything, Mr Lofthouse for his inspiration. Mr Tan for his guidance. Mrs Chan for her awesome support. The supporters and red shirts who came down today. To god, the one thing that carried me in my darkest days, my pillar of strength, my light and the greatest thing ever in life. And of cos to the girls, i would like to keep writing but somehow I think I will leave it first till its clearer haha.
To prat for his contribution, to pram for his help, to Fab for ocming down, to Din and Fam for coming for the final. To my dad, who witnessed his son's managerial debut, to the UK ppl like Damu and mel, to the aussie ppl like Prash. To the HC girls for their support, to the unknown ppl who drop by my blog and leave a msg of support i wnana tell u dat it kept me going.
Thank you so much.
And of cos to the most wonderful team of soccer girls. U guys are indescribable and I have completely run out of superlatives to describe you. Thank you so so much.
I am so relieved. So so relieved.
Thank you thank you thank you god.
Oh well dats all for now, i wanna reorganise my thoughts before i blog again. Cant wait to watch the video and all.
Out.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Hi all, its 4am now, and as usual I cannot sleep. Theres just too much adrenaline in me. I tried to watch TV till late, in today's case I watched posiedon on DVD till about close to 1 hoping that I would be tired enough so that when I woke up it would be the morning already. Well, technically I have achieved that, only problem being its much much too early in the morning. I woke up at about 325, and tossed and turned for bout 20-25 mins before deciding, crap I cant sleep, so let me just wake up and try and tire myself out for another hour before sleeping(trying to) again.
So, we are finally at the finals. The match we have been waiting for for the longest time. The story we have on uor way here has been so amazing I think Jack Neo should buy the rights to it soon. But oh well, its not complete yet, cos as I said, this whole thing could still go to waste if we fail to produce the goods at the end of the day.
The girls looked relaxed enough though, going for a short team dinner yesterdae till 2015, it was me JR and Mini who were so anxious, and have been anxious throughout, which is so surprising considering we have been through 10 national finals altogether between the 3 of us. Funny huh? JR was super nervous, well probably still is, thinking about thte game, and both of us were just quiet on the way home yest on the bus, thinking about what was to come.
I guess when u dont have direct control over the whole thing, you just feel that much more nervous huh? I dunno man. Its all very puzzling to me.
But what's important is the fact that its been an awesome journey that comes to its climax in exactly 12 hours time. Thank you god for smiling upon us all this while, we couldnt have gotten this far without YOU. THANK YOU GOD.
Its 0412hrs now, not much success in trying to make myself feel sleepy, thanx to an irritating running nose. Crap.
But thats all for now, stay tuned and hang tight.
Out.
So, we are finally at the finals. The match we have been waiting for for the longest time. The story we have on uor way here has been so amazing I think Jack Neo should buy the rights to it soon. But oh well, its not complete yet, cos as I said, this whole thing could still go to waste if we fail to produce the goods at the end of the day.
The girls looked relaxed enough though, going for a short team dinner yesterdae till 2015, it was me JR and Mini who were so anxious, and have been anxious throughout, which is so surprising considering we have been through 10 national finals altogether between the 3 of us. Funny huh? JR was super nervous, well probably still is, thinking about thte game, and both of us were just quiet on the way home yest on the bus, thinking about what was to come.
I guess when u dont have direct control over the whole thing, you just feel that much more nervous huh? I dunno man. Its all very puzzling to me.
But what's important is the fact that its been an awesome journey that comes to its climax in exactly 12 hours time. Thank you god for smiling upon us all this while, we couldnt have gotten this far without YOU. THANK YOU GOD.
Its 0412hrs now, not much success in trying to make myself feel sleepy, thanx to an irritating running nose. Crap.
But thats all for now, stay tuned and hang tight.
Out.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Giving tuition is realli interesting, well the kids are interesting, but hearing stuff from the parents is so much more that. So far, stuff I have been hearing have mostly been about the kids, but the funny thing, sometimes I'm like a counsellor, as therapist cos the parents use me as an outlet tot alk about their frustrations about work, and about each other even. Wah jia lat, soemtimes its really weired when u hear X talk about her husband, and Y talk about his wife. I mean its rarely anything positive, and the reality is they mostly blame each other for their children's failure to perform. Ouch.
And for me, as much as I wanna say something, I just keep my mouth shut cos the one thing I have learnt is dat sometimes ppl just want others to listen, they dont need advice, solutions or whateva, they just need someone to understand and empathise. Oh well, so I guess I just provide a listeing ear and EVRYTHING flkows out.
Which leads me to my next question about couples, married or not, and how sometimes after they have been married for a while, they may take things for granted and not wanna solve things. Which I mean is not wrong, I mean what do I know about all this rite? I guess its cos of dat Im glad I have Uni, cos she always tries and solves things, always wanting to talk things out, and be proactive, instead of childish SOB me who sometimes likes to let things settle and eventually blow over. Hmmmm, on hindsight its not a very good habit.
But i guess being married and all, sometimes theres just a need for space.
Hmm, just random thoughts I think, one of the few times I am no talking about soccer. And I shan't attempt too, not today.
Out.
And for me, as much as I wanna say something, I just keep my mouth shut cos the one thing I have learnt is dat sometimes ppl just want others to listen, they dont need advice, solutions or whateva, they just need someone to understand and empathise. Oh well, so I guess I just provide a listeing ear and EVRYTHING flkows out.
Which leads me to my next question about couples, married or not, and how sometimes after they have been married for a while, they may take things for granted and not wanna solve things. Which I mean is not wrong, I mean what do I know about all this rite? I guess its cos of dat Im glad I have Uni, cos she always tries and solves things, always wanting to talk things out, and be proactive, instead of childish SOB me who sometimes likes to let things settle and eventually blow over. Hmmmm, on hindsight its not a very good habit.
But i guess being married and all, sometimes theres just a need for space.
Hmm, just random thoughts I think, one of the few times I am no talking about soccer. And I shan't attempt too, not today.
Out.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Man, I tell u I am running on adrenaline and adrenaline only, close to alling sick cos of yesterdae's events.
The semi-finals was scary, I was actually shaking in the bus, thinking about it, JR too was super anxious, he was feeling nervous from Monday. But well we came out 1-0 winners, after a lackadasical first half, we picked up the pace in the 2nd but to no avail. Oh well, surprisingly SA got knocked out via penalties and the TJ team spilled onto the field like they had won the world cup. Well cant take anything away from them, they gave the defending champions and unarguably the best team in the tournament a run for their money so KUDOS to the TJians.
Then Jing Jing injured her wrist and taking Charmaine's dad's advice, I headed straight to the hospital to get an x-ray. Thank you god, thanx for saving me from another moment of foolishness, thank you thank you thank you. I was almost gonna cry in the taxi thinking how our main striker was gonna be out for the finals as well. Thanx to Charmaine also for coming along and keeping me company throughout.
Went home and within a few hours phil and mang were over, watched Blade trinity, where wesley snipes and company kicked triple H's butt, befor ethe champs league started. Well after the sending off, the joga bonito game din realli materialised, but having phil and mang around was fine cos its all good as long as the company is good rite?
Anyways slept at 5 plus woke up at 10 plus, still tired like shit. Went for a video review session today wif JR, then it was time for the guys semis, which wasa joy to watch, and dat back for training which was just a relaxing one btw.
I was so tired I was asleep for most of the bus ride. Shit, and now i give myself one more hour b4 conking out man.
Anyways, now as I said, im running on pure adrenalin, 3 more trainings, just 3 more, before the big day, the one day I never saw coming at the start, but where I'm finally at? Can we do it? Well its all in the hands of the girls and dat of God. I hope he keeps watching on us like he has for the pass 5 matches.
Cmon girls, one last hurrah, one more push, just one more.
Summon everything inside u, eery sinew of energy, stop listening to the fatigue, and the distractions,. focus focus focus, lets make it our time.
The great comeback is finally at its final chapter.
Happy ending or great tragedy?
STAY TUNED.
Out.
The semi-finals was scary, I was actually shaking in the bus, thinking about it, JR too was super anxious, he was feeling nervous from Monday. But well we came out 1-0 winners, after a lackadasical first half, we picked up the pace in the 2nd but to no avail. Oh well, surprisingly SA got knocked out via penalties and the TJ team spilled onto the field like they had won the world cup. Well cant take anything away from them, they gave the defending champions and unarguably the best team in the tournament a run for their money so KUDOS to the TJians.
Then Jing Jing injured her wrist and taking Charmaine's dad's advice, I headed straight to the hospital to get an x-ray. Thank you god, thanx for saving me from another moment of foolishness, thank you thank you thank you. I was almost gonna cry in the taxi thinking how our main striker was gonna be out for the finals as well. Thanx to Charmaine also for coming along and keeping me company throughout.
Went home and within a few hours phil and mang were over, watched Blade trinity, where wesley snipes and company kicked triple H's butt, befor ethe champs league started. Well after the sending off, the joga bonito game din realli materialised, but having phil and mang around was fine cos its all good as long as the company is good rite?
Anyways slept at 5 plus woke up at 10 plus, still tired like shit. Went for a video review session today wif JR, then it was time for the guys semis, which wasa joy to watch, and dat back for training which was just a relaxing one btw.
I was so tired I was asleep for most of the bus ride. Shit, and now i give myself one more hour b4 conking out man.
Anyways, now as I said, im running on pure adrenalin, 3 more trainings, just 3 more, before the big day, the one day I never saw coming at the start, but where I'm finally at? Can we do it? Well its all in the hands of the girls and dat of God. I hope he keeps watching on us like he has for the pass 5 matches.
Cmon girls, one last hurrah, one more push, just one more.
Summon everything inside u, eery sinew of energy, stop listening to the fatigue, and the distractions,. focus focus focus, lets make it our time.
The great comeback is finally at its final chapter.
Happy ending or great tragedy?
STAY TUNED.
Out.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
oWell, finally the term is over. Least to say, things have been pretty interesting, though I now vow never to try and rush an assignment over the weekend, its realli too stressful, not to mention that I have much too much stress these past few days.
But overall I would give it 9/10, definitely better than my previous Uni experience, for all its pomp and grandeur. Things are well, they're not easier, but they are a lot more understandable, and somehow the relevance of the whole thing is esspecially appealing. And I think the best reward anyone can get from their course or degree is applying the skills and realising it works. And it does totally. The company is also fantastic, of course its a bit overwhleming sometimes being surrounded by the top sportsman in the country (No 1. badminton player in spore, and 3-time sea games gold medallist) to say the least. BUt I realised that they're just like anybody else, albeit just with more high-profile lives, not that they wanted it anyways. Everybody there is totally interested in the course, and very much into it, its realli wonderful.
So well, now its time to take a break, and concentrate on the team, time to pu it 200-300% more energy into the team than ever before. I'm glad I have a coaching team now in these closing stages, with GK coach mini, and asst. coach JR at the sidelines, plus Miss Tan as team manager, I realli think we're an awesome team, and even if we don't get anything out of this, the fact that we worked together is better than anything else.
Well, I gtg out and go and buy some audio visual material, haha no its not DVDs just some hardware for taping later. Last question which I will talk more about when the time is right. s a question to all think about it.
Is social cohesion and task cohesion better in a team? (no depends answers and no a bit of both answers)
Think about it.
Out.
But overall I would give it 9/10, definitely better than my previous Uni experience, for all its pomp and grandeur. Things are well, they're not easier, but they are a lot more understandable, and somehow the relevance of the whole thing is esspecially appealing. And I think the best reward anyone can get from their course or degree is applying the skills and realising it works. And it does totally. The company is also fantastic, of course its a bit overwhleming sometimes being surrounded by the top sportsman in the country (No 1. badminton player in spore, and 3-time sea games gold medallist) to say the least. BUt I realised that they're just like anybody else, albeit just with more high-profile lives, not that they wanted it anyways. Everybody there is totally interested in the course, and very much into it, its realli wonderful.
So well, now its time to take a break, and concentrate on the team, time to pu it 200-300% more energy into the team than ever before. I'm glad I have a coaching team now in these closing stages, with GK coach mini, and asst. coach JR at the sidelines, plus Miss Tan as team manager, I realli think we're an awesome team, and even if we don't get anything out of this, the fact that we worked together is better than anything else.
Well, I gtg out and go and buy some audio visual material, haha no its not DVDs just some hardware for taping later. Last question which I will talk more about when the time is right. s a question to all think about it.
Is social cohesion and task cohesion better in a team? (no depends answers and no a bit of both answers)
Think about it.
Out.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Wasnt at training for most of the time today, was at Serangoon wif charmaine trying to take a look at our potential semi opponents. Hmmm, but I still think JR did a decent job at things, I think we are now at a stage where its hard to work on new things, so its realli about grinding it out, 2 more hours of soccer, 5 more trainings before this grand adventure ends.
So we will be facing a rejuvenated SRJC side, a side that has improved tremendously. They have very good technical players, so me and the coaching team will have to think realli hard about how to get a result. Although we beat them 4-0 the last time around, it realli counts for ABSOLUTELY nothing cos in knock out situations the form book goes out of the window. In fact they are the ones hungry to exact revenge and dump us out of the competition.
But wateva it is we cannot afford to take things lightly. Sure things have been looking rosey, luck seems to be on our side, but ever since the unfortunate injury to Charmaine, I somehow feel realli worried, worried a Boro will happen, where they rode on their luck all the way only to be hurled back to planet earth in the final of the UEFA cup. Well, for us its not even the final, its still semis, and I just cannot accept it if we go out of the semi finals, simply because I have never lost a national semi final in 6 attempts as a player. 14 goals scored, none conceeded, 4 played 4 wins. But it will count for NOTHING, if we get a result in the semis. Going to the final and playing the 3rd/4th place is simply unacceptable to me.
Its funny that I never seem to be happy. I remember setting myself a semi target at the start of the year. But somehow, after going so far, why stop now? The final is waiting, for many of the girls, it will be the greatest sporting stage they will ever grace, but they are still one stop away.
The clock is ticking down, one more training to get things rite. 1 good whiteboard session to set the tone. We have to do this.
So girls, this is it, the final 2 hours of football in the competition. Lets bring it up one more level, we can do this.
God pls be with me and with the team. I need you more than ever.
Out.
So we will be facing a rejuvenated SRJC side, a side that has improved tremendously. They have very good technical players, so me and the coaching team will have to think realli hard about how to get a result. Although we beat them 4-0 the last time around, it realli counts for ABSOLUTELY nothing cos in knock out situations the form book goes out of the window. In fact they are the ones hungry to exact revenge and dump us out of the competition.
But wateva it is we cannot afford to take things lightly. Sure things have been looking rosey, luck seems to be on our side, but ever since the unfortunate injury to Charmaine, I somehow feel realli worried, worried a Boro will happen, where they rode on their luck all the way only to be hurled back to planet earth in the final of the UEFA cup. Well, for us its not even the final, its still semis, and I just cannot accept it if we go out of the semi finals, simply because I have never lost a national semi final in 6 attempts as a player. 14 goals scored, none conceeded, 4 played 4 wins. But it will count for NOTHING, if we get a result in the semis. Going to the final and playing the 3rd/4th place is simply unacceptable to me.
Its funny that I never seem to be happy. I remember setting myself a semi target at the start of the year. But somehow, after going so far, why stop now? The final is waiting, for many of the girls, it will be the greatest sporting stage they will ever grace, but they are still one stop away.
The clock is ticking down, one more training to get things rite. 1 good whiteboard session to set the tone. We have to do this.
So girls, this is it, the final 2 hours of football in the competition. Lets bring it up one more level, we can do this.
God pls be with me and with the team. I need you more than ever.
Out.
Friday, May 12, 2006
Thursday, May 11, 2006
What can i say?
We din deserve to win or even draw todays match to be honest. KUDOS to the HC Girls, they realli did well and should have won the game actually, i feel damn bad for this result. But we cant do anything now, but to trudge on to the next matches, stumbled on some ppl saying dat we are damn pro, but i think also stumbled on ppl saying we are just plain lucky and SA are the better team. Actually I totally agree wif them.
And I will continue to agree wif them, cos this is what we need, this whole soccer campaign has been borne out of proving ppl wrong, out of ppl looking down on us, out of being the underdog, out of being criticised and wanting to rise from it. The team needs this sorta criticisms I think, cos it helps to push us on, so to all the critics out there, we would not be where we are without you helping to push us on, so thank you --> note, I am not sarcastic at all, I mean it.
Now its on to the semis, and I am already feeling the anxiety now. Today I went berserk at the match. bleargh.
We need to train even harder, and stay focused, close the chapter and move on.
Out.
We din deserve to win or even draw todays match to be honest. KUDOS to the HC Girls, they realli did well and should have won the game actually, i feel damn bad for this result. But we cant do anything now, but to trudge on to the next matches, stumbled on some ppl saying dat we are damn pro, but i think also stumbled on ppl saying we are just plain lucky and SA are the better team. Actually I totally agree wif them.
And I will continue to agree wif them, cos this is what we need, this whole soccer campaign has been borne out of proving ppl wrong, out of ppl looking down on us, out of being the underdog, out of being criticised and wanting to rise from it. The team needs this sorta criticisms I think, cos it helps to push us on, so to all the critics out there, we would not be where we are without you helping to push us on, so thank you --> note, I am not sarcastic at all, I mean it.
Now its on to the semis, and I am already feeling the anxiety now. Today I went berserk at the match. bleargh.
We need to train even harder, and stay focused, close the chapter and move on.
Out.
Monday, May 08, 2006
Ok let me get it all out.
Barring a very unfortunate series of events we are as good as thru to the semis, of cos cannot take anything for a given, so we must do our best in our last match against HCI, no lettin up Az, no letting up.
Today was a nice day, we went to Jalan Besar for the match, man that place is fantastic, we actually got our own dressing room! Even though it was only for a few mins, it was as someone kindly pointed out like the scene from the movie Miracle. I was like a kid in the toy store, walking through the tunnels, into the dressing room, where they had hangars for the girls, a physio chair, benches, and then walking out to the brilliant pitch, with my own technical area and bench! Wat a feeling, it was surreal, some ppl helped me take lotsa pics and videos cant wait for it to be put on the comp.
We won the match, but I still think we are not playing to our fullest potential, still aplying in 2nd gear for most of the game, people actually came to watch, UNI was der! All geared up after a day at the gym, proud of you yang! And 2-3 other ppl, but it was ok, we din care, Mrs Chan came down, Mr Tan was there, so the presure was on us to perform, wif the principal there and all, find of the year scored 2 goals, and so did that constant workhorse Stef. Debuts were given to Shu Yu, Deb and also TX. Im so proud to see them run on the pitch, these girls are th UNSUNG heroes, always putting in their best no matter what, and they deserved their call up.
I also wanna pay tribute to my coaching team Mini and JR, thanx guys for helping out, it felt so good to have 3 parts of the team being given individual attention, u guys rock man, and u do all this for frendhsip and the love for the game. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart guys, glad to noe after 4 long years, WE ARE STILL A TEAM.
Also to lofty, this man is a bloody legend, sometimes i feel very pai seh when he speaks of me in all the positivities cos I dont deserve it. Lofty is the man lar, when we beat SA, and I told him the result, he just grabbed me and hugged me. haha, and I hugged him back, it was a brilliant feeling. He is a brilliant man. Stef and the rest of the guys reading this who were under Lofty for TSD, u were in the rpesence of a great man, and I mean his mere words of encouragement is enough to make the girls glow. Thank you Mr Lofthouse, for blessing me which your guidance, when I could not have it 5 years ago.
We went back, and just relaxed, me and JR took on the girls in Basketball, of which I now owe them well most of them a drink, and the girls made me a sandwich! Or at least viv di I think, I mnoe this sounds funny, but I realli realli appreciate the gesture cos it realli makes me feel like I mean something and dat I belong. Before I left the girls were in high spirits, and Wai Yen, Jas and Alex were lying on the basketball court looking at the stars. Beautiful, as I left school today, I felt good, like I have achived something, smoething so much bigger than a soccer team.
Now its back down to business, one more game guys, DONT LET UP and DONT WASTE IT. we've come too far to have to turn back, so lets keep working harder, work work work work.
We can do this.
Out.
Barring a very unfortunate series of events we are as good as thru to the semis, of cos cannot take anything for a given, so we must do our best in our last match against HCI, no lettin up Az, no letting up.
Today was a nice day, we went to Jalan Besar for the match, man that place is fantastic, we actually got our own dressing room! Even though it was only for a few mins, it was as someone kindly pointed out like the scene from the movie Miracle. I was like a kid in the toy store, walking through the tunnels, into the dressing room, where they had hangars for the girls, a physio chair, benches, and then walking out to the brilliant pitch, with my own technical area and bench! Wat a feeling, it was surreal, some ppl helped me take lotsa pics and videos cant wait for it to be put on the comp.
We won the match, but I still think we are not playing to our fullest potential, still aplying in 2nd gear for most of the game, people actually came to watch, UNI was der! All geared up after a day at the gym, proud of you yang! And 2-3 other ppl, but it was ok, we din care, Mrs Chan came down, Mr Tan was there, so the presure was on us to perform, wif the principal there and all, find of the year scored 2 goals, and so did that constant workhorse Stef. Debuts were given to Shu Yu, Deb and also TX. Im so proud to see them run on the pitch, these girls are th UNSUNG heroes, always putting in their best no matter what, and they deserved their call up.
I also wanna pay tribute to my coaching team Mini and JR, thanx guys for helping out, it felt so good to have 3 parts of the team being given individual attention, u guys rock man, and u do all this for frendhsip and the love for the game. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart guys, glad to noe after 4 long years, WE ARE STILL A TEAM.
Also to lofty, this man is a bloody legend, sometimes i feel very pai seh when he speaks of me in all the positivities cos I dont deserve it. Lofty is the man lar, when we beat SA, and I told him the result, he just grabbed me and hugged me. haha, and I hugged him back, it was a brilliant feeling. He is a brilliant man. Stef and the rest of the guys reading this who were under Lofty for TSD, u were in the rpesence of a great man, and I mean his mere words of encouragement is enough to make the girls glow. Thank you Mr Lofthouse, for blessing me which your guidance, when I could not have it 5 years ago.
We went back, and just relaxed, me and JR took on the girls in Basketball, of which I now owe them well most of them a drink, and the girls made me a sandwich! Or at least viv di I think, I mnoe this sounds funny, but I realli realli appreciate the gesture cos it realli makes me feel like I mean something and dat I belong. Before I left the girls were in high spirits, and Wai Yen, Jas and Alex were lying on the basketball court looking at the stars. Beautiful, as I left school today, I felt good, like I have achived something, smoething so much bigger than a soccer team.
Now its back down to business, one more game guys, DONT LET UP and DONT WASTE IT. we've come too far to have to turn back, so lets keep working harder, work work work work.
We can do this.
Out.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
I havent been this tired in a super long time, and its sunday somemore, yesterdae was election duty, which stretched to about 13 hours in total, though it was manageable thanx to the reasonable company I had, a good supervising officer, and a reasonable venue. In a funny twist of fate, I was on duty at Pasir Ris Crest Sec, which was right in front of Jolyn's house. Sheesh man, by 8 at night I was wishing I had taken her offer of dinner,instead of slogging it out. The uniform is too thick man, much too thick, I coildnt tahan, had to take it off everytime I took a break.
But it was quite interesting looking at the whole counting and voting process so closely, too bad my constituency at the time was Pasir-ris Punggol, which is the 2nd largest constituency with about 178 000 thereabouts, so counting took damn long, and so there we were, 5 guys and a girl in uniform, courching over a handphone trying to listen for the results. Finally, the results were announced and we were off.
A few things stood out for me yesterdae.
The country's force is going down the drain when in a recee of the compound before deployment the one thing the officers looked out for was a place to smoke.
You've been recalled for reservist too early when the rest of the ppl around you look realli old, and everybody keeps asking if your still in NS.
I dont mind ppl talking in chinese around me, I can still understand, but when they speak in Hokkien I'm totally pooped and seriously no offence to anybody but the language sounds ah sounds quite crewd, cos evry other syllable is stressed, and raw.
I thought my stamina is damn poor, but the rest of the guys even worst sia, realli look super shack after like 5 minutes.
Adidas pls come and make police uniforms, i need dri fit material man. Cannot tahan.
Ok i gotta go and get a start on work.
Out.
But it was quite interesting looking at the whole counting and voting process so closely, too bad my constituency at the time was Pasir-ris Punggol, which is the 2nd largest constituency with about 178 000 thereabouts, so counting took damn long, and so there we were, 5 guys and a girl in uniform, courching over a handphone trying to listen for the results. Finally, the results were announced and we were off.
A few things stood out for me yesterdae.
The country's force is going down the drain when in a recee of the compound before deployment the one thing the officers looked out for was a place to smoke.
You've been recalled for reservist too early when the rest of the ppl around you look realli old, and everybody keeps asking if your still in NS.
I dont mind ppl talking in chinese around me, I can still understand, but when they speak in Hokkien I'm totally pooped and seriously no offence to anybody but the language sounds ah sounds quite crewd, cos evry other syllable is stressed, and raw.
I thought my stamina is damn poor, but the rest of the guys even worst sia, realli look super shack after like 5 minutes.
Adidas pls come and make police uniforms, i need dri fit material man. Cannot tahan.
Ok i gotta go and get a start on work.
Out.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Its been a realli long time since I did not have to rush off from training for either school or tuition, so today was a welcome relief, saturday its rushing again for GE duty (yes have to wear dat stupid uniform again), monday its rushing off for lesson, wed rush off for lesson, itll be onli next thursday where I dont have to rush off again. Bleargh.
But anyways I had a nice time today after training, talking to the girls till dark, nowadays the relationship wif the girls is realli cordial at best, cos I am realli in the zone nowadays trying to get things done. I scold them a lot lar, sometimes too much I know, most of the time I think they do not realli deserve it, I have to realli reconsider things at reflect at the end of the season about this.
Anyways I remember back in the day when we used to talk cock on the pitch, me, mini syarif, daniel, justin will just talk and talk sometimes I just felt like talking till we saw the first few ppl streaming into school the next day. We had so much to talk about and so much in common it was brilliant. I still remember when me and mini were in the wrestling phase and we decided to have a wrestling match on the pitch with syarif as the ref, wat the heck were we thinking.
So today sitting down with Jolyn, Christl, Charmaine, She Fong, Si Hui, Salome and Alex and Shi Ling, it realli brought back a lot of memories, I dont realli think we can connect completely at a certain level, but there was some connection btw all there, the mature 15 year old Jolyn, the blur and naive Salome, street smart Charmaine, and ever tickled Alex, and of cos the cockster me, and my partner in crime JR. And yes we were all bonded, I realised through that one thing which transcended all ages, that was our love for a team and our love for the game. And somehow we just talked for close to an hour from things like elections, to SMU girls, to handsome soccer players,to double jointedness and of cos Alex's jokes. Hahahahaha, I was laughing at her most of the time lar to be honest no offence Smith but thats just the way we like you so stay the same yeah?
Conversation flowed openly, and time passed by quite nicely, and as I walked away from the field at bout 8 plus, I had an immense sense of satisfaction, dunno why. Its like it reminds me why these group of girls mean so much to me. And having JR there was brilliant on its own, in his short stint wif us, he has realli helped a lot, its so much easier to do stuff and to organise wif him around, there is more of a balance in place. Realli helps. It does feel like we're back in that same uniform talking cock and playing carrom at the loft. I notice the soccer guys have an extremely rapid rate of getting out of school, I rem sometimes JR and Ben would only leave like 9 plus for home, only to be back by 7 the next day. I remember we used to say ...."See u in X hours!"
Oh well, enough for the day, tom is a long day, cos a lot a lot of admin stuff to settle lar.
Out.
But anyways I had a nice time today after training, talking to the girls till dark, nowadays the relationship wif the girls is realli cordial at best, cos I am realli in the zone nowadays trying to get things done. I scold them a lot lar, sometimes too much I know, most of the time I think they do not realli deserve it, I have to realli reconsider things at reflect at the end of the season about this.
Anyways I remember back in the day when we used to talk cock on the pitch, me, mini syarif, daniel, justin will just talk and talk sometimes I just felt like talking till we saw the first few ppl streaming into school the next day. We had so much to talk about and so much in common it was brilliant. I still remember when me and mini were in the wrestling phase and we decided to have a wrestling match on the pitch with syarif as the ref, wat the heck were we thinking.
So today sitting down with Jolyn, Christl, Charmaine, She Fong, Si Hui, Salome and Alex and Shi Ling, it realli brought back a lot of memories, I dont realli think we can connect completely at a certain level, but there was some connection btw all there, the mature 15 year old Jolyn, the blur and naive Salome, street smart Charmaine, and ever tickled Alex, and of cos the cockster me, and my partner in crime JR. And yes we were all bonded, I realised through that one thing which transcended all ages, that was our love for a team and our love for the game. And somehow we just talked for close to an hour from things like elections, to SMU girls, to handsome soccer players,to double jointedness and of cos Alex's jokes. Hahahahaha, I was laughing at her most of the time lar to be honest no offence Smith but thats just the way we like you so stay the same yeah?
Conversation flowed openly, and time passed by quite nicely, and as I walked away from the field at bout 8 plus, I had an immense sense of satisfaction, dunno why. Its like it reminds me why these group of girls mean so much to me. And having JR there was brilliant on its own, in his short stint wif us, he has realli helped a lot, its so much easier to do stuff and to organise wif him around, there is more of a balance in place. Realli helps. It does feel like we're back in that same uniform talking cock and playing carrom at the loft. I notice the soccer guys have an extremely rapid rate of getting out of school, I rem sometimes JR and Ben would only leave like 9 plus for home, only to be back by 7 the next day. I remember we used to say ...."See u in X hours!"
Oh well, enough for the day, tom is a long day, cos a lot a lot of admin stuff to settle lar.
Out.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Ok most ppl who know me well enough, know that I love reality TV shows, so here I would like to rank my top 10 favourite reality TV shows of all time. I dunno why some people think reality TV shows stink, maybe cos they spotted the more crappy ones, which I agree are a dime a dozen, especially nowadays, where everybdy is jumping on the bandwagon. So let me start.
10 - Extreme Makeover - Home Edition
10 - Extreme Makeover - Home Edition
This show is brilliant lar, I just wish it were my house, slash flat instead, though its hard to believe they get so much done in so little a time. But I dig the story cos of the human side of things and how it changes people's lives, seriously for me the reaction of the families when they see their house is realli brilliant.
9 - Homewreckers
One of the few nice shows on MTV, its about pulling a revenge prank on a victim, and the guy goes in and totally, as in realli totally wrecks his room, there was one episode where he turns one of the victim's room into a toilet, as in everything is changed, the tiles, the lights, a urinal was installed, and it stank like shit. Wah priceless man if can get this type of service in Singapore.
8 - The Apprentice
I think this shows is brilliant, and Trump's advice, though egoistic most of the time, does make sense, and watchign the boardroom arguments are priceless,
Oh yes, and since everybody is already reading this damn thing, let me verbalise certain thoughts I have, and yes you should spread this around as well.
This is of cos in relation to JC Girls soccer, of which I am sure most of my viewership is from.
1) Pls try and push your teacher ICs to push CCAB for soccer to be included in the A div SSSC itenary. Girls soccer I mean, cos I assure you, and all of us know dis anyway, dat once there is a gold at stake, suddenly everybody will pay extra attention to it (typical Singaporean mentality). Softball only has 6 schools taking part every year for quite long already, of which 66% of the schools will get medals, so why not rite wif 9 schools? The schools convener for boys soccer was in VJ dat day and he spoke to head of PE over our side, and already said that its a distinct possiblity dat next year may see the sport being played in the A Div.
2) If you have any friends in other schools which may be interested in having a girls team(maybe schools like AJC, ACJC, TPJC, what have you), please tell them to push for setting it up, having more girls teams would strengthen the claims of wanting to set up the A div comp. If you need any help wif it, pls contact me or some of the seniors in VJ via the thingey on your right.
3) Do take part in the street soccer comps and open competitions, so u get a good chance of seeing where u stand in the bigger scheme of things, trust me I was amazed at the standard of play of the girls in last december's street comp, it was surreal, they move(ok some look) like guys. We got our asses kicked in the 2nd round last year, but it was well worth the experience, to me dat is.
And of cos lastly all the best to everybody in the comp. Think long term in this, winning or losing is not as impt as setting a good program in place or the batches to come.
Oh and one more thing, for those who have interest, go look for videos of US women's soccer, no dont try through youtube, not much there, but just a random search on a reliable search engine, I was watching a video on their training camp, and they actually do pull ups, and they are extremely extremely disciplined. Scary.
Out.
This is of cos in relation to JC Girls soccer, of which I am sure most of my viewership is from.
1) Pls try and push your teacher ICs to push CCAB for soccer to be included in the A div SSSC itenary. Girls soccer I mean, cos I assure you, and all of us know dis anyway, dat once there is a gold at stake, suddenly everybody will pay extra attention to it (typical Singaporean mentality). Softball only has 6 schools taking part every year for quite long already, of which 66% of the schools will get medals, so why not rite wif 9 schools? The schools convener for boys soccer was in VJ dat day and he spoke to head of PE over our side, and already said that its a distinct possiblity dat next year may see the sport being played in the A Div.
2) If you have any friends in other schools which may be interested in having a girls team(maybe schools like AJC, ACJC, TPJC, what have you), please tell them to push for setting it up, having more girls teams would strengthen the claims of wanting to set up the A div comp. If you need any help wif it, pls contact me or some of the seniors in VJ via the thingey on your right.
3) Do take part in the street soccer comps and open competitions, so u get a good chance of seeing where u stand in the bigger scheme of things, trust me I was amazed at the standard of play of the girls in last december's street comp, it was surreal, they move(ok some look) like guys. We got our asses kicked in the 2nd round last year, but it was well worth the experience, to me dat is.
And of cos lastly all the best to everybody in the comp. Think long term in this, winning or losing is not as impt as setting a good program in place or the batches to come.
Oh and one more thing, for those who have interest, go look for videos of US women's soccer, no dont try through youtube, not much there, but just a random search on a reliable search engine, I was watching a video on their training camp, and they actually do pull ups, and they are extremely extremely disciplined. Scary.
Out.
Hello all, today, ok well yesterdae was such a long day, and I slept my earliest in a long long while. Was watching secret bible week program with my brother, when I realised dat I was too tired, so I jst put a pillow over my head and the next thing I knew it was pitch dark and it was 0350am, shit man, I woke up and suddenly thought about the exorcism of emily rose, when she kept waking up at 315am, and of cos scared the shit outt myself when I remembered her creepy voice when she was speaking in tongues, very weird.
But anyways, thanx to those ppl who dropped by to leave a msg, appreciate it, do know that it was just a lament and not meant to target any school in particular, sorry I dont roll like dat, the last time I had such feelings was as a naive 14 year old rugby player in RI, when we absolutely hated ACS ppl, and only when I came to VJ and later to NS did I realise that they were realli nice ppl, ruggers included.
So ppl who came from the******place.blogspot and -s************ons.blogspot, dont get me wrong lar, its just an observation and all, and plenty of ppl did observe the same thing, just dat I chose to put it down in black and white. Please take it wif a pinch of salt. ***e****r is a realli helpful tool, and if one were to be as frequent a blogger as me, it helps to see who exactly has been around in the blog, looks like this webbie has been realli flying around in cyberspace eh?
But anyways, I think for now its enough being hated by your own team, not realli in the mood to be despised by other schools. I mean I can live wif it, but not realli in the mood. Anyways, dont want my big mouth to get my school in trouble, or hated or wateva, had enough of dat in boys' soccer already. I think the only person who can do dat to perfection is Jose Mourinho, I read a blog entry about him, and how he stood up to shake the hands of the man u bench BEFORE fulltime. Actually cant blame him, United played like crap dat day, they kinda deserved to lose by such a score.
Haha, I have always been a firm believer dat most of the great ppl in the world, especially nowadays, have a slightly minstepreted/negative trait in them, which somehow allows them to rise above the rest. funny rite? Here all of us, striving to be angels and trying to do the right thing...
To the ppl who dropped by again, thanx for dropping by and saying your peace I respect your comments and the fact that you choose to say it to me, instead of just bitchin behind my back, though everybody IS of cos entitled to dat.
Out.
But anyways, thanx to those ppl who dropped by to leave a msg, appreciate it, do know that it was just a lament and not meant to target any school in particular, sorry I dont roll like dat, the last time I had such feelings was as a naive 14 year old rugby player in RI, when we absolutely hated ACS ppl, and only when I came to VJ and later to NS did I realise that they were realli nice ppl, ruggers included.
So ppl who came from the******place.blogspot and -s************ons.blogspot, dont get me wrong lar, its just an observation and all, and plenty of ppl did observe the same thing, just dat I chose to put it down in black and white. Please take it wif a pinch of salt. ***e****r is a realli helpful tool, and if one were to be as frequent a blogger as me, it helps to see who exactly has been around in the blog, looks like this webbie has been realli flying around in cyberspace eh?
But anyways, I think for now its enough being hated by your own team, not realli in the mood to be despised by other schools. I mean I can live wif it, but not realli in the mood. Anyways, dont want my big mouth to get my school in trouble, or hated or wateva, had enough of dat in boys' soccer already. I think the only person who can do dat to perfection is Jose Mourinho, I read a blog entry about him, and how he stood up to shake the hands of the man u bench BEFORE fulltime. Actually cant blame him, United played like crap dat day, they kinda deserved to lose by such a score.
Haha, I have always been a firm believer dat most of the great ppl in the world, especially nowadays, have a slightly minstepreted/negative trait in them, which somehow allows them to rise above the rest. funny rite? Here all of us, striving to be angels and trying to do the right thing...
To the ppl who dropped by again, thanx for dropping by and saying your peace I respect your comments and the fact that you choose to say it to me, instead of just bitchin behind my back, though everybody IS of cos entitled to dat.
Out.
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