Squash Trials
Thursday, January 21, 2010
4:54 AM
By yeeharkk
After another hectic and extremely tiring week at school, with piles and piles of homework waiting to be completed, I decided to post on the most important feature of the week, of my week, the Squash School team trials.
The trials took place in the afternoon during training, which falls on Tuesday and Thursday. The table was drawn, where everyone had to play with one another, with each loss will earn 1 point, a 3-2 win will earn 2 points, a 3-1 win will earn 3 points and a 3-0 win will earn you 4 points. As such, out of 11 players, including 2 DSA Sec 1s, only 7 will be chosen. Winning more matches, wins you more points, but winning it faster is a better way to get selected.
When I talk about the squash trials, there's a message that I want to put across within it. Before I talked about the hidden message I will be talking about, I shall elaborate on the squash trials. The matches were under way, and the Coach paired me with a 2a4 friend, Jing Shiuh. Jing Shiuh always wanted to beat me and he showed great determination. On the first set, he tried his best, but was eventually defeated 11-9. After a confusion, the coach told us to change the scoring system, where you have to serve to win the point. after a hard-fought set, I won 9-7. The Coach wanted us to play best of 3 games, but then we were asked to play best of 5 instead. Fatigue reigned in our mind. We played on and he lost 11-8. I gained 4 points from my opponent but the result did not matter to me, as the scores were tight and he fought to the end. To end the trials on Tuesday, I lost 3-0. I fought hard against the Sec 2 best from 2o3, Lee Chin Ann, with the 3 sets ending on 11-9, 11-8 and 11-5. The last set with me succumbing to fatigue.
On Thursday, I had to play 3 matches. The first match was against Sean from 2p1, the second against Nicholas from 2p2 and the last match against Kah Win from 2a4. I played soccer before the trials, and drained a whole lot of my energy. I had no strength to play the game, and lost the first 2 sets 11-8, 11-6. I fought back to win 1 set 12-10, but eventually lost 12-10. It was a game I could have won. After the game, I replenished my energy with lots of water. In order for me to get into the squad, I had to win the next few matches. I played with Nicholas, who was not in form that day. He was lethargic and didn't go for every ball and played loose balls. I won comfortably 3-0, but faced a tough, uphill battle against the somewhat second or third best in the Sec 2 batch. In a hard-fought first set, I lost the last point that gave away the set with an unforced error to end the set with a score of 11-9, and same followed suite for the next set. I refused to lose, I mustered all my resilience, and won the next set 11-8. My opponent was tired, he had just a small ounce of energy left. I took full advantage of this situation and made a comeback with the scores of the next two sets 11-3, 11-5. In a tough 5-set match, I upped to my tally of points to 12.
With the obvious hints lying here and there, the squash trials have thought me something. This is the importance of having an EP3. The difference Hwa Chong makes by culturing us not only to perform well in academics, but also sports, culturing us to be the future leaders of our nation. EP3s contains the moral value that Hwa Chong is trying to inculcate into us. The spirit of determination, resilience, the spirit of never giving up. That is the moral of the story.
As I stated quite clearly and hinted it quite obviously, I have emphasized and further repeated that determination is all that really matters. In the end, it's all down to your determination, resolution and your resilience. Take Naruto for example. Naruto is a character who has no talent whatsoever. All he has is his determination. He has the resolution to beat his rival, Sasuke. Take Rock Lee in Naruto. He is exactly like Naruto. However, he has the conviction to prove that hard work is more important than genius. Quite clearly, it applies to squash, it applies to all EP3s, the determination to fight.
This is a fact. The game is neither won or lost when the last point is not played. The ball is round, it is full of possibilities. Anything can happen in a game, even the slightest touch on the ball can make the difference. No matter what type of shot was played against you, no matter how difficult it may be, you will still be able to win the game. As you know, the Adidas slogan is "Impossible is Nothing". This is actually emphasising the importance of determination. In the game, anything can happen. Impossibilities will become possibilities.
I shall use another example. This example is from the soccer league, the Barclays Premier League. At first, a challenge to break into the Big 4, 'Arsenal', 'Chelsea', 'Man U' and 'Liverpool', was deemed impossible. What is happening now? Liverpool (currently 6th) is struggling to maintain a good form, Aston Villa (currently 7th) , Tottenham (currently 4th) and Manchester City (currently 5th) are flying high. Anything is possible. Any of these teams can break into the Big 4. Many Pundits have also written off Arsenal from the title chase after they lost to Chelsea 3-0. However, despite being 11 points away, they manage to climb all the way to the top, with half of the season gone. What does this tell us? Anything is possible. You just have to show the character, the determination within ourselves.
Anyone has the ability to be successful, it is a matter of whether they want to use their determination to pave their way to the top.
This also taught me that we have to optimistic and positive. After this, I feel that I am both a half-full and half-em
pty person. Half-full has a positive connotation whereas half-empty has a negative connotation. Despite me learning to be more optimistic, I still fill I am also half-empty. This is like a metaphor to show that I am still capable of learning from my mistakes. as half-empty has a negative connotation, it is some what like saying that I have many faults. That gives me the thought that i am supposed to learn from my mistakes. I also think that I am half-full. This positive connotation somewhat states that I have merits. This allows me to think that I should improve on them. Being a half-full and half-empty person, I feel that I am fallible, having mistakes. This is related to my squash game as I have to constantly improve on my stronger areas of my squash game and also constantly improve on my weaker areas in my squash game. Thus I describe myself as a half-full and half-empty person.
I feel privileged to be able to understand the importance of EP3s. This is what I have learnt from my EP3. What did you learn from your EP3 and do you agree that EP3s are important?
Yee Hark
The trials took place in the afternoon during training, which falls on Tuesday and Thursday. The table was drawn, where everyone had to play with one another, with each loss will earn 1 point, a 3-2 win will earn 2 points, a 3-1 win will earn 3 points and a 3-0 win will earn you 4 points. As such, out of 11 players, including 2 DSA Sec 1s, only 7 will be chosen. Winning more matches, wins you more points, but winning it faster is a better way to get selected.
When I talk about the squash trials, there's a message that I want to put across within it. Before I talked about the hidden message I will be talking about, I shall elaborate on the squash trials. The matches were under way, and the Coach paired me with a 2a4 friend, Jing Shiuh. Jing Shiuh always wanted to beat me and he showed great determination. On the first set, he tried his best, but was eventually defeated 11-9. After a confusion, the coach told us to change the scoring system, where you have to serve to win the point. after a hard-fought set, I won 9-7. The Coach wanted us to play best of 3 games, but then we were asked to play best of 5 instead. Fatigue reigned in our mind. We played on and he lost 11-8. I gained 4 points from my opponent but the result did not matter to me, as the scores were tight and he fought to the end. To end the trials on Tuesday, I lost 3-0. I fought hard against the Sec 2 best from 2o3, Lee Chin Ann, with the 3 sets ending on 11-9, 11-8 and 11-5. The last set with me succumbing to fatigue.
On Thursday, I had to play 3 matches. The first match was against Sean from 2p1, the second against Nicholas from 2p2 and the last match against Kah Win from 2a4. I played soccer before the trials, and drained a whole lot of my energy. I had no strength to play the game, and lost the first 2 sets 11-8, 11-6. I fought back to win 1 set 12-10, but eventually lost 12-10. It was a game I could have won. After the game, I replenished my energy with lots of water. In order for me to get into the squad, I had to win the next few matches. I played with Nicholas, who was not in form that day. He was lethargic and didn't go for every ball and played loose balls. I won comfortably 3-0, but faced a tough, uphill battle against the somewhat second or third best in the Sec 2 batch. In a hard-fought first set, I lost the last point that gave away the set with an unforced error to end the set with a score of 11-9, and same followed suite for the next set. I refused to lose, I mustered all my resilience, and won the next set 11-8. My opponent was tired, he had just a small ounce of energy left. I took full advantage of this situation and made a comeback with the scores of the next two sets 11-3, 11-5. In a tough 5-set match, I upped to my tally of points to 12.
With the obvious hints lying here and there, the squash trials have thought me something. This is the importance of having an EP3. The difference Hwa Chong makes by culturing us not only to perform well in academics, but also sports, culturing us to be the future leaders of our nation. EP3s contains the moral value that Hwa Chong is trying to inculcate into us. The spirit of determination, resilience, the spirit of never giving up. That is the moral of the story.
As I stated quite clearly and hinted it quite obviously, I have emphasized and further repeated that determination is all that really matters. In the end, it's all down to your determination, resolution and your resilience. Take Naruto for example. Naruto is a character who has no talent whatsoever. All he has is his determination. He has the resolution to beat his rival, Sasuke. Take Rock Lee in Naruto. He is exactly like Naruto. However, he has the conviction to prove that hard work is more important than genius. Quite clearly, it applies to squash, it applies to all EP3s, the determination to fight.
This is a fact. The game is neither won or lost when the last point is not played. The ball is round, it is full of possibilities. Anything can happen in a game, even the slightest touch on the ball can make the difference. No matter what type of shot was played against you, no matter how difficult it may be, you will still be able to win the game. As you know, the Adidas slogan is "Impossible is Nothing". This is actually emphasising the importance of determination. In the game, anything can happen. Impossibilities will become possibilities.
I shall use another example. This example is from the soccer league, the Barclays Premier League. At first, a challenge to break into the Big 4, 'Arsenal', 'Chelsea', 'Man U' and 'Liverpool', was deemed impossible. What is happening now? Liverpool (currently 6th) is struggling to maintain a good form, Aston Villa (currently 7th) , Tottenham (currently 4th) and Manchester City (currently 5th) are flying high. Anything is possible. Any of these teams can break into the Big 4. Many Pundits have also written off Arsenal from the title chase after they lost to Chelsea 3-0. However, despite being 11 points away, they manage to climb all the way to the top, with half of the season gone. What does this tell us? Anything is possible. You just have to show the character, the determination within ourselves.
Anyone has the ability to be successful, it is a matter of whether they want to use their determination to pave their way to the top.
This also taught me that we have to optimistic and positive. After this, I feel that I am both a half-full and half-em
pty person. Half-full has a positive connotation whereas half-empty has a negative connotation. Despite me learning to be more optimistic, I still fill I am also half-empty. This is like a metaphor to show that I am still capable of learning from my mistakes. as half-empty has a negative connotation, it is some what like saying that I have many faults. That gives me the thought that i am supposed to learn from my mistakes. I also think that I am half-full. This positive connotation somewhat states that I have merits. This allows me to think that I should improve on them. Being a half-full and half-empty person, I feel that I am fallible, having mistakes. This is related to my squash game as I have to constantly improve on my stronger areas of my squash game and also constantly improve on my weaker areas in my squash game. Thus I describe myself as a half-full and half-empty person.I feel privileged to be able to understand the importance of EP3s. This is what I have learnt from my EP3. What did you learn from your EP3 and do you agree that EP3s are important?
Yee Hark
5 Comments:
REMAIN OPTIMISTIC AND PERSEVERE, YEE HARK!!!!!!
Oh and English Drama imparts many life values and it absolutely is not slack. Hmmm
1. PERSEVERANCE
Cliched as it seems but it is true. The constant rehearsals are mind-numbing and exhausting. And it can go on for hours without breaks. But still, thank god for the presence of awesome friends to make up for all the fatigue.
2. STAGE FRIGHT
Unbelievable right. Loud, provocative me once being a victim of stage fright? Well, thats 2008 and 2009. Drama has told me to discard all my self inhibitions and to just do it.
:):)
FTH
Brilliant post, Yee Hark. (:
Perhaps as you know, I am in shooting, and many just scoff it as a slack sport where you 'stand there and exercise your finger'.
That is true, perhaps, but then, do sports have to be all about getting sweaty and running, or swinging? Sport is generally defined as an activity where you use physical prowess in a competitive nature.
So anyway, shooting teaches you to train and discpline your body. One thing unique about shooting (other than the fact that we have air-con, :x) is that we stay still for nearly two hours. This is perhaps why we all dismiss shooting as a slack sport, but in my opinion it proves the exact opposite. Your body screams to move, or your mind pounds on your muscles to move, but you are mentally trained to control yourself and stay still, eventually training your body (and not just your index finger). (:
And good luck in all your Squash endeavours!
Ryan.
Good post, though the part about the half -full and half-empty thing is really unclear to me.
I am in Robotics and I have to admit it rocks. Though it is quite slack sometimes, during the competition period we stay overnight to complete our work! It is mentally challenging. Besides we must have discipline to know when to stop slacking and to start working.
Secondly, I am also in fencing. Fencing is a very tiring sport. We have thick suits, heavy helmets and heavy swords too. I am fencing using the epee (a-pay), the heaviest sword among the three. And we do not always have air-con like air rifle. We are required to keep our knees bent throughout the match. And when we lunge, our right knee must at a 90 degree angle. Thus we can easily get a cramp. Furthermore, if our knee is not facing directly forward, the force of the lunge can easily break our knees. (yes, it is quite common)
I hope you don't think I am a slacker. ( I have council and science Olympiad too)Visit my blog to learn more about my activities in SLC.
Samuel Ng
Dear Samuel, for your information, the half-full and half-empty is just a way I carry myself to be able to improve my game constantly. As I had explained above, being half-full is somewhat optimistic, which carries a positive connotation. As it is positive, it is somewhat like my merits. I use it so I can continuously improve my strong points. The exact opposite, half-empty is used by somewhat more pessimistic, which carries a negative connotation. As such, I feel that it is like my weaknesses and try to work on them. It is just a way I carry myself to improve my game.
Dear Yee Hark, I fell that Art Club exercises our creativity. Its allows us to make use of both the left and the right brain through the art of designing. Most people think that Art Club is just drawing and a way to waste time, I beg to differ. In Art Club we learn not just drawing, but also sculpturing, graphic designing and other forms of art. This trains us both physically and mentally.
Alex
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