FINALLY!!!! I am able to successfully find the time to post
down my long-awaited reflections regarding the NTU Inter-Hall Cheerleading
Competition which happened…. Iike back in February hahahaa. I know that it was
4 months ago but better late than never right? So here goes!
I took up the coaching position for Hall 8 Royals because
one of the seniors contacted me via Whatsapp and asked if I was free to coach.
Due to my busy and unpredictable work schedule, I hesitated to commit and told
him there would be certain times where I may not be able to make it for
training. If there was anyone else, feel free to consider them first, I told
him. Perhaps it was a misreading and I
was seen to be keen but not able to commit fully and hence, I was immediately
added into the Whatsapp group conversation with the Hall 8 Royals captains. I
was surprised because I had thought my hesitancy to commit would be an
indication of being a no-no for the coaching position. Regardless, based on the
turn of events, I was suddenly signed up for one season. With certain
misgivings, I went down to ulu NTU and met up with the team for the first time
in August. I was lucky to have a team filled with very receptive and open
players (God knows I have heard stories where the senior batch had clashes with
the coach and it wasn’t a pleasant experience for the entire team). Weeks and
months flew by and personally, coaching has been no easy feat. Travelling
between home, work and NTU was crazy and I did not fancy the frequent amounts
of Uber/ Grab fees I had to pay due to the late-night trainings. In addition,
hall coaches are paid a pittance for the number of hours we put into travelling
and training the hall players. Many people have advised against taking up the
coaching position. However, the captains and the senior who contacted me
couldn’t find anyone else and hence, I caved in. Plenty of halls have co-coaches
and I greatly admire the fact that the responsibilities were split. I tried
finding someone to coach with me but to no avail (Perhaps I’m just not that
great to work with, ah wells :<) and hence, I bravely soldiered on.
With the ROYALS flyers!! The theme for IHCC 2016/17 was Video Console Games and we picked Assassin's Creed. We initially wanted The Suicide Squad which was legit a Console Game but it was rejected by the organising Committee because it wasn't a popular one and our chosen mascot clashed with another hall's theme who wanted to use Harley Quinn as well. To resolve all issues, both halls ended up avoiding Harley Quinn.
As I work long hours on the weekends, there were times when
I felt so tired from work that I had to force myself to take a cab (again, the
high cab fees from Serangoon to Boon Lay omg…) and travel to Hall to watch them
train. As I have no one else to rely on and the overly-responsible side of me insists
that I need to at least be there personally to ensure training goes as smoothly
as planned, I would still drag myself down for most of the trainings. The
intensity picked up nearing competition period and I am so UTTERLY GLAD AND
GRATEFUL that the seniors were cooperative and initiative. They helped to
coordinate training schedule and ensure that the training plan I give them is
successfully implemented. Videos were sometimes uploaded to the Whatsapp group
for me to see and observe – especially when I was unable to attend trainings
due to work-related matters. Lastly, although the music f*cked up, one of the
seniors knew how to mix the songs so that it was edited to suit our needs.
THANK YOU JESUS HALLELUJAH!! Someone actually knows how to mix music for the
team and we can easily edit the music in real-time as compared to getting an
outsider to do the music. That was the one thing I stressed most about
throughout the journey because the skillset of editing music was ENTIRELY out
of my league.
Our awesome mascot! He was so dedicated! Making sure to come down for the last few weeks of training and joining in the full runs even though he didn't always have to! Again, thankful and beyond blessed! (:
All in all, I’m glad that the entire journey was smooth in
general, with the help of the awesome seniors in ROYALS. Although there were a
few bumps on the way, we managed to iron them out. There was no internal drama
and even if there were certain unhappiness brewing amongst the team players, I
successfully managed to dig it out from them and brought it to light. Many of
the hall players feedback and mentioned that my greatest accomplishment as a
coach is that I am able to push them beyond their self-imposed limits, gave
them the confidence to try stunts, trouble-shoot any technical stunt issues and
make an entire training effective and efficient. In fact, some of them
mentioned that I was one of the best coaches they ever had. I was deeply
humbled by their comments but I told them that a good coach is merely defined
by the players they produce. That is a statement I truly believe in. It is
after all, a case of mutual trust and respect. I told them I was a good coach
because I had great players who are coachable, committed and respectful and
they made it an enjoyable and fulfilling season for me to coach. Just as they
were glad to have me, I was as truly glad and thankful that I had them. Was I
fierce to them at all throughout the journey? HELL YES. I stamped out any
negativity and lack of confidence the players have. What enraged me was the
fact that some of these seniors have been in hall cheer for quite some time and
yet, they are afraid to break boundaries or are hesitant to try new things for
fear of failing. I told them that there is no ‘try’ or ‘I cannot’ in my
dictionary, there is only ‘do’ and ‘I CAN’. I believe that was my greatest
success as a coach, which was to help them find the confidence they lack and
deserve to break their self-imposed boundaries. Lastly, I always felt that
because one is on a coach level, players often (perhaps intentionally and/ or
unintentionally) keep a distance. That is fine with me because I have been on a
player level before, and I do know that I myself keep a distance with the coach
out of respect. However, there are times when I feel that the team is too
‘peaceful’ for my liking. There will ALWAYS, ALWAYS be some form of discontent
amongst players and it is up to the coach to sieve it out and address it,
especially if the issue can be addressed by an authority figure to ensure
greater cohesiveness within the team. I FINALLY managed to sieve it out during
one of the informal chit-chats with some of the seniors after training. It had
to do with one of the attitudes of the members. She was not very committed and
was often deemed as overly-bossy when it comes to her stunts. I felt it was
important to talk to her on a personal level to find out what was actually
going on and then, address the team as a whole to clarify the misunderstanding.
Competing in an open team, I have met countless of coaches who live by the code
‘anything personal should be kept outside the mats’. I agree, but we are humans
and humans have emotions and thoughts and feelings. It is almost impossible to
not bring feelings onto the mats. If we don’t do so, then why do we call
playing sports as a form of ‘passion’? ‘Passion’ generally means a strong,
fervent emotion you feel for or towards something. Hence, it is ultimately the
coaches’ responsibility to sieve out discontent and be objective when dealing
with such matters. Yes, we can’t make everyone happy but we can make everyone come
to a common understanding and adopt certain strategies/ coping mechanisms to
mitigate the issue. Support should also be given to both sides to let them know
that the coach is not biased, and yet, not aloof but sympathetic towards both
sides. THAT is being unbiased yet supportive of ALL team players. I know of
certain coaches who were aware of internal team politics but chose not to
interfere or hold a superficial conversation to appear like they are willing to
address the problem but deep down, they already have their misgivings and
pre-conceived notions and just want to simply gloss over the issues. Trust me,
I have my fair share of such experiences. *rolls eyes* On a more positive note,
I did learn from these personal experiences and they do help me when I coach.
OMG we just spammed photos like crayyy. This was taken when they were busy presenting the Hall awards and winners and because we thought we were not going to win anything, we just spam photos. Lo and behold! We actually DID win something hahahah...
Oh, but I digress slightly. Being a 16-man team, Hall 8
ROYALS was the smallest hall to participate in this year’s IHCC and I was fully
prepared not to win anything. I just wanted the team to do right by themselves
and go all out, hit an ASU (All Stunts Up) and not have any regrets once they leave the
competition mats. It wasn’t a perfect ASU with an early dismount, and an
incomplete stunt at the end, but everyone pulled through! ‘MAKE A 16-MAN TEAM
SOUND LIKE A 35-MAN TEAM!’ That’s what I told them and they really cheered
their hearts out! They were so loud and Hall 8 residents were also very
supportive! So, deeply heartened to see the Hall 8 culture culminate into such
a strong force on the day of competition itself! ❤ It ended with us winning BEST HALL SPIRIT AWARD!
While our overall placing wasn’t that good, we had a plaque to take photos with
and remember this season by. And for that, I’m supremely satisfied!
Our plaque for Best Hall Spirit! :D Forgive the eyebags. On a side note, it adds testament to the many late nights I had to pull through LOL. >.<
If you look closely, one of my eyes was red due to lack of sleep the night before. This picture was taken on the day itself of IHCC. So, incredibly thankful I had Shuz to be my substitute boyfiee for that day as I ran around making sure everyone was on time with the schedule and rehearsals. Thank you! <333
Hands-hands with my old partner and coach, Winston! (:
Stunting with another previous base OWEN THE POTATO hahhaaha... And of course some people like to fool around and ruin the picture -.-
Feed-forward into this season 2017/18, I will still be
taking on the position of coach but with the future in mind. I can’t forever be
taking on the coaching position and its high time someone trains young blood to
get them to take over the coaching position for the following and successive
seasons. Hence, despite wanting to only coach for one season, I decided to stay
on to coach and hopefully, coach someone who I can fully trust to lead the team
in future seasons (Sigh, me and my overly-responsible side ensues. Sometimes, I
really wish I can be a little less obsessive with my sense of duty and responsibility.
Like I would definitely have led a much less stressful life and be happier. UGH
:<) The journey will continue to be tough, what with my Masters and my
increasing workload, but I sincerely hope, just like last season, I will be
able to pull through and fulfill the goals I set out for ROYALS this season
successfully. WISH ME LUCK! (:
NTU IHCC SEASON 2016/17 DONE AND DUSTED! Onward and upward! <3
xx
Loves
Nices
