Basketball and I

written in 2000 and 2001
Primary
When I was 10, one day, my Chinese teacher who also taught P.E. went round classes hunting for tall girls. "YOU, come down for basketball training" and from then on, I was introduced to basketball! Together with the rest, we were taught the fundamentals of the game. I learnt very fast and enjoyed the praises from the teacher. I could still remember the tournament we participated in. We wore sleeveless blue white collar jersys and fought with quite a number of schools. The scotching sun, the falling leaves, the gaint-sized opponents and the forever panting for breath. We were not very organised but we did our best. I thought I played the forward position then and it was very tiring. The sense of achievement emerged only when we won the second placing in 1983.The first and the only trophy for me in those primary school days. Soon I became complacent and thought that even with fewer trainings I could still cope well. At that time, Chinese Orchestra (which was my main interest then) took up much of my time. When I finally found out that I neglected it too much, I decided to heed my parents' advice to concentrate on one eca only and spend more time for the preparation of the coming PSLE.


Secondary
When I went to secondary school, I chose Chinese Orchestra as my eca without much hesitation. I still like basketball but due to parents' objection, I only joined the interclass matches. I was asked to join the school team after a two year break. I was eager and for the first time I made my own decision.My parents did object and my the other eca stressed me out a lot too. In the end, I gave up Chinese Orchestra and concentrated fully on basketball. The days then were not that smooth either. Our coach left and we were left to train alone. Our seniors did try to get their outside coach to teach, but many factors led to the failure in doing so. Though faced with so many obstacles, the team had been very close . My playing position had now changed. I took over the captainship in my last year there. It was not an easy task. We had arranged a number of friendly matches ourselves. We took them very seriously as those were rare chances. Nobody in the team would want to absent themselves and very often, almost everyone put basketball as one's priority. What we learnt was that we would not despise ourselves even though we were always left alone. Those years, we cried, we laughed, we disheartened, we pressed on. Now only the silver and bronze medals in the cupboard could bring back these memories.


JC
I thought I would not have contact with basketball anymore when I went to JC. I was asked by my teammate to appeal with her through basketball. I was not that keen but I did not reject. Soon, I joined the training there and my interest in basketball was pushed to another greater height. I played as centre for I was the one of the tallest. My coach, Mr Sim, though he could not turn up for most of the trainings, we still managed to learn much from him when we talked to him during our free time. My captains were very demanding and we were perpetually tortured by them willingly. They stretched our physical limits to the maximum that we often grumbled in front and behind them. However, deep inside, we shared one common goal, and that was to maintain the national top titles which our seniors had done for the past 12 years. We were under tremendous pressure when there was not a single combined school player in our team. We trained real hard and very very hard. We ran 3km for warm up with weights around our ankles and wrists; We dashed up and down the 4 levels high staircase . We did 500 skipping; We used medicine balls instead of bean bags for shuttle run; We challenged the steep slope outside school and We did hundreds and hundreds of shooting.We did all the impossibles just to make sure we had no regrets during competition. In the process, we came up with our own cheers and we sorted different ways to boost our morale. We clinched the national second again! Till now, I could still remember vividly the determination, perserverence and cooperation we displayed.

University
In the university days, I was devoted to the running of my department society. It was when the inter-faculty games were held that I was back to play basketball again. We came in first for two years. After winning the last medal in 1993, my role in basketball as a player came to an end.
Work
In 1995, I was given an opportunity to teach baskteball. In the initial stage, I faced problems in buidling a rapport with my players but as the time went by, things got better. The senior players were always willing to help and mutual understanding developed. Besides being a coach, I was also a mentor and friend to them. There were misundertandings and disputes but there were laughter and joy too. Since then ,training camps and chalets were held annually and it had become a informal way for reunion and gathering. Whenever I saw the older players coming back to help out,making sure the younger ones were equipped with the necessary skills, those were my moments of glory and sense of achievement. They have touched me and hope that I have touched them in one way or another too.



My role in basketball will change from a coach to a faciliator and a manager from the year 2001. I am looking forward to contribute to the team in a different way.