Its been a long time since I posted something here. Just write some stuff about my Takraw experience since now I am a bit Takraw-sick as I am in France.
I was never a talented player in anything. When we were in Year 1, all the takraw players are grouped into regus. The top 3 regus will represent SH. As for me, I was grouped into the last regu. For me, this is not a new experience as it felt like the days of playing chess in CHS. I badly wanted to improve and play but I do not know how and I dont have the natural flairs of the rest of the Year 1s in which many are already playing. I am not fast enough, touches not good enough, tactical sense = 0, court sense = 0, service not consistent, saves like shit and no flexibility. Nothing about me suits a takraw player or a sports player.
Shall not blame myself for not playing more team sports when I was younger and instead spent most of my time playing with board games (which I still love now), mainly chess (all kinds...). But well, I know I am very passionate about this sport and I want to excel in one sport in NUS. Also, I believe that everyone starts at the same level for takraw as no one has played this sport before.
The captain for that year: JieSheng told me to train hard and I will succeed one day.
After the first IHG in which we lost to TH in the semis, I still do not feel much as I am not at all involved. I was telling myself again and again, do I have what it takes to be a takraw player. I did doubt myself at that time. It was not easy to be confident and go ahead and do it as I know myself that I am not naturally talented in sports and all I have is the brute force determination which I got from army.
I started to ask Hieu to teach me the basics of takraw. He taught me here and there. In my 2nd Year, I trained harder on my basics: Juggling, head receive, Leg receive etc. I even played safe serves. I went to play in as many competitions or friendlies that i know: IFG, community centre or with other hall players during the 2nd year holiday. I did eventually made it to 1st reserve but not 1st 3 for my hall.
I went to IVP to train with the Inter-Varsity Players and failed to be selected. Frankly, I was rather depressed after I failed to be selected for both the hall and IVP team. I felt that I had trained for 2 whole years for nothing. Many times, my self conscious even told me how many people will laugh at how lousy I am given how much I train.. So once again, I ask myself: Is this worth it?
Even so, I just kept juggling and juggling until I finally hit over 200 juggles (at a go). I also succeeded in doing High-Lows for 13-15 times and left leg juggle for 15 times. Soon I even mastered juggled while walking around the court, at most dropping the takraw ball once or twice. I know my basics are near complete and I have to move on to high skills by building on my basics.
During my 3rd Year, I started to train on all my weakness, receives and movement in court, playing safer, communication etc. I will put in extra hours to train by myself(secret training!!) All this while, I will kept asking Hieu or search on net or try to understand things by myself why I made certain errors. Luckily, given my strong basic, I know why and how to correct myself etc. This year, I was selected for IVP. Finally =)
Even in IVP, I was still considered one of the weaker tekongs. A 3rd Year student who is still average is quite bad, I often thought. So I just kept trying and trying. Asking the coach for as much tips and pointers while refining my moves, basics and techniques. Things which dont come easy will always be remembered forever. Haha~
In hall, I am also not automatic 1st 3 tekongs. In fact, if one of the player did not go for internship, I will still be first reserve. I know I have to do it and work harder to prove myself. Thanks to the captain who trained my weakness effectively with his trainings. Besides, I honed my own tactical skills and court movement through 3 years of constant observation and understanding. I learnt how to judge an opposition's weakness as fast as possible, where the ball will go when the opponent touches the ball (since I know my movement is not v fast, I must hone my this skill), what kind of player the opponent is, how to receive the type of balls given to me, how to set for my team, etc. Besides, I improved on my team tactical knowledge through lots of videos and observing how better players judge and react too.
The day of IHG came. I was with same regu as the captain and vice captain. I must really thanks the vice captain whom I felt has been a great leader. I felt trusted by him. This is very important and a great effect on me. I compromised my powerful serves for save serves but in the end, he told me to practise my powerful serves. Never once did he say that as a result of missing a few powerful serves, I cant use them. He trust I can bring all my powerful serves over which is lacking in hall play.
Our IHG group stages were with the 2 strong opponents. In fact, on paper, we are considered the underdogs and this is really the group of death. One of them is the all time defending champion. 8/19 players from the IVP team which includes the Vice Captain is from Eusoff hall. As for the other hall, Temasek hall, they have the captain of IVP and 1 of NUS top 3 tekong(my position). Also their hall captain is ranked in front of me in IVP. As you can see, it is a tight group.
The first match is against the defending champion. Our first regu, Shaojie, weisong and joel won EH's first regu in a nail biting match by 2 straight sets (2/3). Next up is my team's match. It is my first IHG. The crowd is awesome. Our hall supporters are cheering after a rousing 1st game victory. My heart was in my mouth but I tried to calm myself down and looked up at who will my opponent be.
My opponent is NUS's best tekong together with one of the top few feeders. I remember that just before I stepped into the court what Shaojie said to me: "CK! 3 years! You trained for 3 years. Go out, beat them and show the world how good you are!"
I was really on fire.
I start to cool down and focus on the game. I go through my head all the tactical knowledge that I have prepared prior the matches. The first thing I do is to try out the opponent's previous weakness. My opponent seems to be able to get the ball but with some difficulty. Next, I tested their match weakness. Not long after 4-5 serves, I found 3 weakness spots. Hence throughout the entire game, I just kept aiming this 3 spots. 2 substitutes were used by the opponent and my regu wrapped up the game in 2 straight sets. Against an opponent of such quality and with all the halls in NUS looking at the game, I felt really "high" =X. I remembered a KR player running to see the score and his jaw dropped when he saw that we are leading by a large margin. Soon, I saw my court surrounded by many people (even halls from other groups).
I vividly remembered the moment I serve the last ball to one of the spot and the opponent failed to bring the ball back. All hell broke lose and the entire sheares takraw team rushed up the court to hug us. All of us were screaming as if we won the finals. Hieu was rushing out and hugging me for so long. Thanks coach for always believing in me. I nearly cried as it is always my dream to play and win the best team. Besides, it was the first time since many many many (to the point that no one remembers) years that our hall, sheares hall won eusoff hall. Everyone was very proud, excited and confident.
My next game with TH is against their weakest team and wrapped up the game fast. I was kind of lucky to meet their weakest team also as my team was considerably exhausted after the win with EH.
The week after, we had the semis with KE which we won narrowly. Their style was just too unorthodox and we nearly paid hard.
My finals with EH again. This time I am up against another strong tekong, one of the best strikers, best feeder. The tekong is really very very good. His serves were very fast, with lots of spin but it is very one dimensional. I knew how to deal with this kind of serves after analysing many types of serves. The key is that this kind of serves is very difficult to place and it can only be properly received by head which is my strongest point. Hence I stood very close in front. Normally one will just stand in front of the circle but I took 2 steps in front of the circle to properly receive his serves. It was really a tough fight. We lost the first set and through great determination, we won the 2nd. We lost the last set and SH lost to EH. I must say this is one hell of the best match I have ever played as I have gave my very all. Nothing left really. No regrets. All my tactics were nearly used up and I even used my strong serves(Before the end of the 1st set of the finals, I have been using baby serves all the way). Now I see what the vice-capt means =)
Did I miss out the taunting part? Oh, in this IHG, the taunt is incredible. Supporters were amazed that the players after receiving the point will go to the net and WHOOSH towards the opponent or shouting: COme on tekong.. here here.. =P
Well, I did cry after the game. The last ball came to me and I cant receive it as it was really too spin and too fast. I tried my best. At that point, I was quite disappointed with myself. I cried. Tears just fell uncontrollably and I bent down. I was stopped by my teammates and we handshaked with the opponent and thank the supporters. I return to one corner to continue crying. =P But well, soon after that I became quite OK! Maybe I knew I have already given my all and no regrets ya! =D
I was never a talented player in anything. When we were in Year 1, all the takraw players are grouped into regus. The top 3 regus will represent SH. As for me, I was grouped into the last regu. For me, this is not a new experience as it felt like the days of playing chess in CHS. I badly wanted to improve and play but I do not know how and I dont have the natural flairs of the rest of the Year 1s in which many are already playing. I am not fast enough, touches not good enough, tactical sense = 0, court sense = 0, service not consistent, saves like shit and no flexibility. Nothing about me suits a takraw player or a sports player.
Shall not blame myself for not playing more team sports when I was younger and instead spent most of my time playing with board games (which I still love now), mainly chess (all kinds...). But well, I know I am very passionate about this sport and I want to excel in one sport in NUS. Also, I believe that everyone starts at the same level for takraw as no one has played this sport before.
The captain for that year: JieSheng told me to train hard and I will succeed one day.
After the first IHG in which we lost to TH in the semis, I still do not feel much as I am not at all involved. I was telling myself again and again, do I have what it takes to be a takraw player. I did doubt myself at that time. It was not easy to be confident and go ahead and do it as I know myself that I am not naturally talented in sports and all I have is the brute force determination which I got from army.
I started to ask Hieu to teach me the basics of takraw. He taught me here and there. In my 2nd Year, I trained harder on my basics: Juggling, head receive, Leg receive etc. I even played safe serves. I went to play in as many competitions or friendlies that i know: IFG, community centre or with other hall players during the 2nd year holiday. I did eventually made it to 1st reserve but not 1st 3 for my hall.
I went to IVP to train with the Inter-Varsity Players and failed to be selected. Frankly, I was rather depressed after I failed to be selected for both the hall and IVP team. I felt that I had trained for 2 whole years for nothing. Many times, my self conscious even told me how many people will laugh at how lousy I am given how much I train.. So once again, I ask myself: Is this worth it?
Even so, I just kept juggling and juggling until I finally hit over 200 juggles (at a go). I also succeeded in doing High-Lows for 13-15 times and left leg juggle for 15 times. Soon I even mastered juggled while walking around the court, at most dropping the takraw ball once or twice. I know my basics are near complete and I have to move on to high skills by building on my basics.
During my 3rd Year, I started to train on all my weakness, receives and movement in court, playing safer, communication etc. I will put in extra hours to train by myself(secret training!!) All this while, I will kept asking Hieu or search on net or try to understand things by myself why I made certain errors. Luckily, given my strong basic, I know why and how to correct myself etc. This year, I was selected for IVP. Finally =)
Even in IVP, I was still considered one of the weaker tekongs. A 3rd Year student who is still average is quite bad, I often thought. So I just kept trying and trying. Asking the coach for as much tips and pointers while refining my moves, basics and techniques. Things which dont come easy will always be remembered forever. Haha~
In hall, I am also not automatic 1st 3 tekongs. In fact, if one of the player did not go for internship, I will still be first reserve. I know I have to do it and work harder to prove myself. Thanks to the captain who trained my weakness effectively with his trainings. Besides, I honed my own tactical skills and court movement through 3 years of constant observation and understanding. I learnt how to judge an opposition's weakness as fast as possible, where the ball will go when the opponent touches the ball (since I know my movement is not v fast, I must hone my this skill), what kind of player the opponent is, how to receive the type of balls given to me, how to set for my team, etc. Besides, I improved on my team tactical knowledge through lots of videos and observing how better players judge and react too.
The day of IHG came. I was with same regu as the captain and vice captain. I must really thanks the vice captain whom I felt has been a great leader. I felt trusted by him. This is very important and a great effect on me. I compromised my powerful serves for save serves but in the end, he told me to practise my powerful serves. Never once did he say that as a result of missing a few powerful serves, I cant use them. He trust I can bring all my powerful serves over which is lacking in hall play.
Our IHG group stages were with the 2 strong opponents. In fact, on paper, we are considered the underdogs and this is really the group of death. One of them is the all time defending champion. 8/19 players from the IVP team which includes the Vice Captain is from Eusoff hall. As for the other hall, Temasek hall, they have the captain of IVP and 1 of NUS top 3 tekong(my position). Also their hall captain is ranked in front of me in IVP. As you can see, it is a tight group.
The first match is against the defending champion. Our first regu, Shaojie, weisong and joel won EH's first regu in a nail biting match by 2 straight sets (2/3). Next up is my team's match. It is my first IHG. The crowd is awesome. Our hall supporters are cheering after a rousing 1st game victory. My heart was in my mouth but I tried to calm myself down and looked up at who will my opponent be.
My opponent is NUS's best tekong together with one of the top few feeders. I remember that just before I stepped into the court what Shaojie said to me: "CK! 3 years! You trained for 3 years. Go out, beat them and show the world how good you are!"
I was really on fire.
I start to cool down and focus on the game. I go through my head all the tactical knowledge that I have prepared prior the matches. The first thing I do is to try out the opponent's previous weakness. My opponent seems to be able to get the ball but with some difficulty. Next, I tested their match weakness. Not long after 4-5 serves, I found 3 weakness spots. Hence throughout the entire game, I just kept aiming this 3 spots. 2 substitutes were used by the opponent and my regu wrapped up the game in 2 straight sets. Against an opponent of such quality and with all the halls in NUS looking at the game, I felt really "high" =X. I remembered a KR player running to see the score and his jaw dropped when he saw that we are leading by a large margin. Soon, I saw my court surrounded by many people (even halls from other groups).
I vividly remembered the moment I serve the last ball to one of the spot and the opponent failed to bring the ball back. All hell broke lose and the entire sheares takraw team rushed up the court to hug us. All of us were screaming as if we won the finals. Hieu was rushing out and hugging me for so long. Thanks coach for always believing in me. I nearly cried as it is always my dream to play and win the best team. Besides, it was the first time since many many many (to the point that no one remembers) years that our hall, sheares hall won eusoff hall. Everyone was very proud, excited and confident.
My next game with TH is against their weakest team and wrapped up the game fast. I was kind of lucky to meet their weakest team also as my team was considerably exhausted after the win with EH.
The week after, we had the semis with KE which we won narrowly. Their style was just too unorthodox and we nearly paid hard.
My finals with EH again. This time I am up against another strong tekong, one of the best strikers, best feeder. The tekong is really very very good. His serves were very fast, with lots of spin but it is very one dimensional. I knew how to deal with this kind of serves after analysing many types of serves. The key is that this kind of serves is very difficult to place and it can only be properly received by head which is my strongest point. Hence I stood very close in front. Normally one will just stand in front of the circle but I took 2 steps in front of the circle to properly receive his serves. It was really a tough fight. We lost the first set and through great determination, we won the 2nd. We lost the last set and SH lost to EH. I must say this is one hell of the best match I have ever played as I have gave my very all. Nothing left really. No regrets. All my tactics were nearly used up and I even used my strong serves(Before the end of the 1st set of the finals, I have been using baby serves all the way). Now I see what the vice-capt means =)
Did I miss out the taunting part? Oh, in this IHG, the taunt is incredible. Supporters were amazed that the players after receiving the point will go to the net and WHOOSH towards the opponent or shouting: COme on tekong.. here here.. =P
Well, I did cry after the game. The last ball came to me and I cant receive it as it was really too spin and too fast. I tried my best. At that point, I was quite disappointed with myself. I cried. Tears just fell uncontrollably and I bent down. I was stopped by my teammates and we handshaked with the opponent and thank the supporters. I return to one corner to continue crying. =P But well, soon after that I became quite OK! Maybe I knew I have already given my all and no regrets ya! =D
posted by c402 | 2/12/2009 10:53:00 PM
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