The First Time

On August 2024, Kiera participated in a local tournament called Four Season International Badminton Championship 2024 organised by Philip Teh. Historically, his tournaments were notoriously known for delays. It was for this reason we did not pay any heed to it initially.

However just after the closing date, during her routine training in LJYBA, she was asked to partner Wong Wen Khang in the mix doubles open category. This was her maiden pairing for mix doubles in a competition. They were very much a scratch pair with no training time as they submitted their names at the eleventh hour. Simultaneously, her doubles partner, Eva Tham also asked her to join the U18 doubles category. To top it off, she also signed up for the U16 singles category for a good measure. Just like that she participated in three categories for the first time!

We were also worried about the gruelling schedules of her draws, whether she could last all three different categories despite playing the 30 points system. Indeed this tournament recorded many first time for her. The competition carried on for two days consecutively. In the end, very much to our surprise, not only did she survive the tournament without cramps nor injuries, she also came out Champion beating all her opponents in all three categories.

The one that we never thought they could go all the way to win was her mix doubles open category. Despite never played with Wen Khang before, they combined very naturally and her defensive play was like never before. The highlight was the semi-finals match vs the favorite pair. Kiera and Wen Khang came back from behind 12 – 24 and ended up winning 30 - 27. What a match this was. (Video highlights below).

The take away from here was, this tournament has given me a new perspective about mix doubles pairing (which was overlooked before). It became a revelation that could possibly elevate her doubles training hereon. Reasons as follows :

1. The strength and speed of a boy partner pushes the girl to match the tempo of the game;

2. The opponent especially the boy targets the opposing girl mostly. Therefore, the girl partner has to be solid defensively and will bring out the best in her game.

Summary of First Time

1. Mix Doubles in a competition;

2. Three categories in a competition;

3. Champions in all three categories : Mix Doubles Open, Girls Doubles U18, Girls Singles U16

TRANSFORMATION Part 2

1. Diversity in Training Programs

The best way to illustrate diversity is from this analogy. Most players want to be comfortable naturally. Take driving a car for example. Initially it is challenging. After 50 hours or so, it becomes automatic. After that, more time spent driving doesn’t improve performance. If you want to keep improving, you have to keep driving in challenging situations like new terrain, higher speeds or in difficult weather. Therefore, in order to improve, a player has to be pushed beyond their comfort zone. Explore a number of badminton academies. Different academies and coaches provide different ideas, approaches and training programs. Also watch the chemistry between the coaches and the players. If the child is unhappy or bored, it is probably time to find another club.

Ever since Kiera started swinging her racquet, she has had base training with me and my wife and assisted occasionally by her two older brothers whom were former Pjba state players. Whenever we had time or during holidays when clubs and academies were closed, we would take her to court to train and spent game time with her.

When Kiera was 10yo, she started training with an external coach arranged by her primary school. Gradually through recommendations, she switched school and joined Artsport. Later, we managed to get her in the Selangor Badminton Association to train with the state team. As she was progressing, we decided to supplement her with another academy ie. Sports Arena in Cheras Mahkota where they had a group of KLba and SBA players training there. Artsport later decided to form a separate group for the Elite players which later attracted some Pjba, KLba and SBA players. The group grew steadily and Kiera was one of the remaining pioneers there until today.

In mid 2022, at 12yo, I foresaw it will be difficult for her to get a place in the U14 category because SBA had a strong girls team in that category. There is a possibility she may not be eligible to play for 2023 JET. Therefore I decided to buy insurance and pursue the doubles category instead. Doubles require 8 players (away to non-host venues) and up to 12 players (if SBA host JET) - in the hope that she will have better opportunity to be in the doubles team in case she cannot get into singles. We decided to pair Kiera up with Felicia Ho who was then training with LJYBA. Therefore, Kiera joined LJYBA for this purpose and had to split her training days equally between Artsport and LJYBA while still attended SBA trainings.

The other reason why we went with LJYBA was because coach Lee Jian Yi was also in the panel of voluntary coaches for SBA. Obviously, by being in his academy, we belief Kiera's interest will be looked after as well. If at all.

Sometime in the 3rd Qtr or 2023, we added additional gym (coach Rosli) and physical training sessions (LJY on Sunday sessions) for fitness, agility and strength building into her training program. Therefore, I belief her progress would have, in all likelihood came from the diversity in her training programmes over the past 2 to 3 years. You can see it depicted in the colored bar chart below, a summary of her training hours (by months).

TRANSFORMATION PART 1

In 2023, a 13yo Kiera was rank 6 in GSU14 category despite showing glimpses of her potential by being the only one upsetting SBA top rank Lim Yew Ern during SBA ranking. (Lim Yew Ern remained unbeaten throughout the ranking matches.) However Kiera was still besieged by inconsistencies in the first half of 2023 and fared poorly in JET1 & JET2 although she was a year junior than her U14 opponents she lost to. However, she underwent a metamorphosis starting mid 2023 when she began to get the better of her peers in various private tournaments, MSSD and MSSS. Her results were posted prior to this. By end of 2023, she was already matching the levels of Chanice Tan. Her breakthrough came when she became the first in her batch to break Siti Nuramina’s 3 year unbeaten record during Selangor Closed which then shot her up as rank 1 in SBA GSU14 category. By Feb 2024, in JET1 Group B, she was runners up in GSU14 and won the GDU14 title with Eva Tham. In Apr 2024 JET 2 Kelantan, she bettered her record by emerging champions in both GSU14 and GDU14. We were pleasantly surprised as well. How did Kiera do it coming from rank-6 to rank-1 in a mere six months? I was mulling over this for some time to search for answers as well. After some months, I came to the conclusion that her transformation was not something that happened during this period but over a longer period and contributed by combination of factors which I will share more in coming posts.

1. Diversity in Training Program

2. Robust Badminton Ecosystem

3. Performance Knowledge

TOURNAMENT RESULTS JUNE 2023 - APR 2024

 

Apr 2024 Affin 100Plus Junior Elite Tour (Leg 2 Kelantan) Group B
GSU14 – Champion
GDU14 – Champion (Kiera/Eva)

Mar 2024 Affin 100Plus Junior Elite Tour (Leg 1 Selangor) Group B
GSU14 – Runners Up
GDU14 – Champion (Kiera/Eva)

Mar 2024 NCT Junior Badminton Championship (Qualifying Round 3)
GDU15 – Champion (Kiera Sba/Chloe Pjba)

Mar 2024 Four Season Badminton Championship (3^rd Round)
Women Singles Open – Semi Finalist

Feb 2024 MAXXIMA Junior Challenge Badminton Championship
GSU14 – Semi Finalist
GDU16 – Semi Finalist (Kiera/Eva - Injured)

Jan 2024 ICE Badminton Open
GSU13 – Runners Up

Dec 2023 Selangor Closed
GSU13 – Champion
GDU13 – Champion (Kiera/Eva)

Dec 2023 MSSD Olimpik Muda
GSU13 – Champion
GDU13 – Runners up

Nov 2023 SSA Badminton Circuit Grand Finals
GSU13 – Champion
GSU15 – Champion

Nov 2023 Allianz Junior Badminton Championship Grand Finals
GSU13 – Semi Finalist
GDU13 – Semi Finalist (Kiera/Eva)

Oct 2023 Tops Arena Empire Badminton Junior Championship
GSU13 – Champion
GDU13 – Champion (Kiera/Eva)

July 2023 MSSS – Klang
GSU15 – Semi Finalist
GDU15 – Semi Finalist (Kiera/Felicia)

July 2023 MSSD – Puchong
GSU15 – Champion
GDU15 – Runners up (Kiera/Sudikhsha)

July 2023 Shuttle Flash Badminton Junior International Championship
GSU13 – Semi Finalist

July 2023 SSA Badminton Circuit 5^th Round
GSU13 – Runners up
GSU15 – Champion

June 2023 Skyworth Badminton Championship
GSU14 – Champion

Performance Progression of a Player

 

I spoke to one parent in a recent tournament Kiera had participated in. We shared various topics including club trainings which he emphasised to explore various academies instead of reliant on one. The old adage came to mind, “familiarity breeds contempt…” I had been an advocate of this since my boys were playing competitively in their junior days. I try to observe that they dont fall too deep in their comfort zone. To give them fresh perspective in training, they always have training diversity with variety of coaches at different academies.

He continued to share, as a player develops further to higher levels, trainings should be complimented with regular sparring and competitions to actualise what they have trained. Some don’t see it that way but he seemed to be a firm believer of this and opined that the mentality of a player during training is different than when they are in a match with a stake at hand. When there is a small wager to spice up the match and usually this will bring up the intensity and quality of the match than they normally would during training. Tournaments with cash winnings often spur players into competitive mentality and precisely the reason why I wanted Kiera to participate in private tournaments periodically.

Its not so much for the cash winnings although it is nice to have, instead it is part of her training process or a check point if you will, to gauge where about she has progressed in the field of competition. Whenever there is a good challenge (win or lose), I would record it on video and analyse it. Her shortcomings will be highlighted and brought to the attention of her coaches to address specific areas in her game that needed correction and improvements.

Secondly, the private tournaments were intended as a precursor, preparation and readiness before a major tournament. It is akin to a trial exam as it were, a rehearsal and familiarization of the actual tournament. This run-in was intended to get her used to competition mode. Its a mental thingy to build her confidence and hopefully assist to overcome her anxieties, fears and doubts as the tournament days draws near.   

Therefore, the result of these private tournaments may be secondary. Instead, the focus is to build up her form and peak her at the right time, or at least an attempt to this effect. Therefore, at times she has to learn to accept her losses first so as this could induce her to reset herself in the next coming tournament psychologically and make a comeback. What we certainly do not want is to peak too early and her form goes downhill from here.

For the third part, I have conceptualize a typical players’ performance progression in a graph below.

This graph depicts a progression of performance over time, represented by the blue curve line. As long as a player trains consistently over time (without interruption of injury or long layoffs), the player’s performance progression should develop in the way of the blue line. I have identified three levels of relative progression as represented by three rectangular boxes ie. elementary, intermediate and advance levels respectively. In each of the levels, a player’s actual performance will experience ups and downs as I call it “Range of Performance” and the range should oscillate along the blue line.

There is a possibility of overlap in each range of performance too, but for illustration purposes here, a player with a distinct level of performance should not deviate too much from the respective rectangular boxes. It is therefore imperative for a player/coach/manager to understand how to manage a player’s form within the respective rectangle and to work the player close to the blue line if not higher during tournament periods.

The other part which is equally important succeeding to this is to plan a players’s yearly calendar using the concept of periodization. That will be in another article (if I can find the time to write again.)

Afraid of your own shadow

 

When I saw her name in the draw, I was frozen. My mind went blank momentarily. I read the draw again to see if my eyes were playing tricks on me. They were not… it was indeed her that I will be playing against in the second round. As reality sat in, I felt like crying. “Why oh why do I have to play against her of all people?

She had beaten me once before, 8 months ago. Although we were younger then but her height towers over me like David and the Goliath. She not only has the height but her body size was imposing and struck me as a fearsome opponent. My knees turned vegetable standing side by side with her. I cant help it. That was how phobia I was playing against a large opponent.

In December 2021, Selangor Badminton Association has organised a closed tournament to select a team of players to represent Selangor State Team for 2022 in the girls under 12 year old category. All I had to do was to reach the Quarters final to be admitted into the team. But she was in the way. She was my biggest stumbling block. If I falter again, I will be out of the team and had to wait for another year to attend the selection process again.

My dad tried to talk some sense into me that my game has improved very much since the MCO as I was diligently doing physical exercises during those months when we were locked in at home. My dad even drew a badminton court next to our home on an alley complete with a net. We trained daily in this makeshift court.

Be that as it may, I just could not get this fear out of my mind. You are afraid of your own shadow, he would say. You have already admitted defeat even before the game begun. I knew my mind set was not right but I needed a big mental overhaul. My dad constantly send positive messages into my head. He played you tubes of her game for me to study her strengths and weaknesses in her previous matches. Gradually I noticed she too had ups and downs in her game too. I gradually could see some optimism.

As I underwent my routine trainings, my mind never left to rest on this coming match. I trained hard like a girl on a mission. I did all the physical exercises, shuttle feeds the coach has given me. Yet I could not delay this match anymore as the days drew near. I had to face the music no matter what. My coaches gave me a great boost saying that I could beat her this time. That really helped my confidence. Thank you so much Jia Qi. She is like a big sister to me.

On the match day, my mom and dad took me early to the club for a 30 minutes court warm up. This has helped me calm my nerves as I could feel my rhythm. Our names were called and this is it! It was a 30 point match. The match started well for me as I led. I was calm and my nets were tight followed by couple of lobs back to her court. Her returns were untidy and awarded me points. After a healthy lead into the final third, she upped her game. She started to pressure me and forced me to commit some unforced errors. She caught up to level with me. I had to quickly do something different. I changed and played some net shots caught her off guard and I managed to finish the game with her closely behind by a few points. I was relieved and elated I have finally avenged my defeat 8 months ago. My parents and my team mates congratulated me. I could not belief it that I have finally beaten the player I dreaded most.

This was my most satisfying win not because I was a good player but I had overcome my mental frailties and self fear. Its in the mind as they say. How true it is. This has helped me in my future matches as well. I will always remember what my dad told me, you were only afraid of your own shadows. Go get her!

History of BSU12 National Junior Circuit

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