Jun 22, 2017

NTU IHCC 2016/2017

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

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