Looking for a light

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.

posted by Me @ 12:12 AM