DECEMBER REVIEW

December has broken yet another record having spent a total of 109 training hours vs (72 hours in November and 54 hours in October). Taking full advantage of the final holiday weeks, the on-court hours has spiked up since July 2012 as seen from the graph. We had to cancel the final two weeks of tuition classes to allow the boys keep pace with their daily training demands. We can sense the resoluteness of the coaches as they work tirelessly to contend with the feisty activities.

With all the hard hours ploughed in especially over the past six months, the boy’s badminton is beginning to come of age. We begin to see a prelude of what seem a semblance of a lithe badminton player with correct coordinated flair, especially Aaron – yet there is still plenty of work to be done.

As I mull over our new resolution, in the mean time, the boys will have to brace themselves for the new academic year in 2013. Our challenge will be to balance between their hectic tuition hours vs badminton training hours. I am cringing now and will have to take one day at a time. 

DIALLING DOWN THE PACE



Aaron (R) paired with cousin Nicholas Ong (L) from the UK who visited us for 2 days



One day Aaron broke his silence with a question to me. “Daddy, why I cant enter semi finals like kor kor?” I could see that he has been quite worked up about it. I begin to understand more about Aaron’s inner workings. It seems like he has the ambition but still hasn’t acquired enough tools in his war chest to take him there. He was like playing for tomorrow with yesterday's armoury. It could get pretty frustrating and would probably explain why he threw difficult games away.

Perhaps we didn’t realize that we have put our hopes a little too high for little Aaron to live up to. He needed to after all, like every one else, go through the process of development in his own time. However I was glad he asked that timely question because we will now dial down our volume to match his own pace.

Furthermore, in future tournaments, being an artful player he is, we advised him to cut down his fanciful but risky play and focus on the basics to reduce unforced errors. We continue to believe in him as he is such a talent to watch.



Doubles Sparring Aaron/Nicholas vs Ryan/Me at Bt Jalil Golf & Country Club



Wrist Strengthener Upgraded

           

Before - with Variable Weight Adjuster

After - with G5 Grip & Flexy Shaft

                                           

13th INTER-MBA TOURNAMENT 2012




Aaron with his YY Arc Saber

 

2012 came to a close with the final Tournament in our calendar, the 13^th Inter-MBA held in MBA Taman Megah. For the first time, the boys will be contending in the Intermediate level having just stepped up to this level 2.5 months ago. All the zealous training this year has culminated to this penultimate test.

Nicholas Lim, the boys’ 10 year-old cousin who spent his holidays with us for a few weeks competed in the basic-level pool of 21 contestants. He won his first round against an 8-year-old boy but lost in his second round to a stronger opponent who eventually made it to the semi-final.

Aaron’s badminton was like an art - playing perhaps his best game I have ever seen. Prior to the tournament, both my wife and I have been giving him lots of pep talk to prepare him mentally to approach his games in a positive way. He had a fairly easy passage in the first round but fell in the second round although he was slightly better technically. His lack of experience showed when he was trailing by 3 to 4 points in the second half. He got desperate and made several unforced errors which cost him his game.





Ryan lost by only one point

 Ryan had a bye in the first round. He managed his game steadily to win in his next two rounds to enter quarter-finals. His quarter-final opponent was seeded 4^th in this tournament of 37 contestants. They were equal stroke for stroke with Ryan leading narrowly 15-14 before the break. The boys were neck to neck again until the game was tied at match point 29-29. It ended with Ryan overshot his forehand drive and handed the game to his opponent. Ryan was in tears as he was so close to upset a seeded player. However, being in the top 8 out of 37 players is already quite an achievement having been in intermediate level after just 2.5 months and we can take comfort that he is just a tad short for 3^rd or 4^th best.  











Results Boys Singles Basic Level

1^st Round :             Nicholas Lim vs Lye Jun Min                            30-25

2^nd Round :            Nicholas Lim vs Tan Man Peng                       12-30

Results Boys Singles Intermediate Level

1^st Round :             Aaron Wong vs Tan Wei Tze                              30-21

2^nd Round :            Aaron Wong vs Nicholas Hew                          27-30

1^st Round :             Bye

2^nd Round :           Ryan Wong vs Ngeow Dey Ren                        30-22

3^rd Round              Ryan Wong vs Tan Kai Hong                             30-23

Quarter-Final         Ryan Wong vs Chew Kuan Leong (4)              29-30

NOVEMBER - TOURNAMENT MONTH

November had seen another record of 25 training days which averaged just below 6 times a week. This was almost like a full time occupation largely due to the school holidays and more significantly the encouragement by the MBA coaches.

As expected, it was a bustling month for the boys, having completed three tournaments with mixed results but more importantly, it had given the boys some valuable experiences to learn from. They were also unexpectedly plagued with the sinister stomach flu. The convalescence had put a slight dent on their tight training schedules but that did not dampen their spirits to focus on preparation for their tournaments.

The intensity of training had taken its toll on Ryan as his thigh muscles began to sore. Despite the discomfort, he put up with it bravely and was very absorbed in his trainings, on and off the court. Although he faired reasonably well in the Tournaments, his footwork remained painfully slow. I am convinced, if that part of his game could be sorted, it will release the shackles from his feet and raise his game a few notches higher.

Aaron was like a dark horse which could make or break a game in a tournament. The fragile state of Aaron’s management faculty, still required lots of therapy. We were hopeful to steer him in the right direction and gradually turn him into a champion material when he matures with his badminton.

As December approached, there was an air of excitement because the boys were anticipating their early Christmas presents from the UK when mummy returns from her holidays together with little Kiera whom we missed so much. 

Bt Jalil Golf & Country Club Junior Badminton Championship 2012

Ryan taking a breather with his No.1 fan Nenita

This is the first tournament at our home club. The boys will have to vie in the under-12 boy’s singles category which had only eighteen contestants.

Aaron had an easy passage in the first round against Zhung Long but in his second round, he faced a formidable player in an 11 year old Koh Sian Hern. Sian Hern is a regular tournament player which Aaron could not match in all departments. Disappointingly, Aaron just broke down and threw his second set away. I lectured him for hours on end on his defeatist behavior. This was not the first time he had done it and it Iooked like I have much to work on his mental fragility.

Ryan on the other hand had a more difficult first round with Wong Hong Yuan as both players were evenly matched. However, I could see that Ryan was fitter than his opponent. During the break, I advised him to put more pace in his game and the strategy worked as he won his game comfortably. In his second round, Ryan also managed to play at his best to breeze past Felix Choo in straight sets to enter semi-finals. His next opponent, Baush Koh in the semi-finals was the tournament favorite and overpowered Ryan. He went on to beat Aaron’s victor, Koh Sian Hern in the final to become champion eventually.

Ryan had one more match to play for 3^rd and 4^th placing. Unfortunately he could not match the strong Titan Teau and lost again to take 4^th placing. Despite his defeat, I had all praise for Ryan as his performance was the best I have seen in all his tournaments. This is despite a slight groin pull he was carrying with him. As reward, he took home a consolation prize, a tube of shuttle cock sponsored by Dunlop.

Results Boys Singles Under-12

1^st Round :             Aaron Wong vs Zhung Long              21-5, 21-6

2^nd Round :            Aaron Wong vs Koh Sian Hern          4-21, 0-21

1^st Round :             Ryan Wong vs Wong Hong Yuan    23-21, 21-13

2^nd Round :            Ryan Wong vs Felix Choo              21-10, 21-14

Semi-Finals :          Ryan Wong vs Baush Koh                 5-21, 8-21

3^rd/4^th Placing :      Ryan Wong vs Titan Teau                 5-21, 10-21

HOOI YEE SPORT

HYS Junior Badminton Championship was held in Sports Affair Badminton Hall in Taman Segar Perdana, Cheras. It has 16 new teraflex rubber courts. This year, the tournament attracted many contestants from other states as well as badminton academies and schools teams. In the under 10yo category in which both the boys will be competing in, there were 82 entries.

Aaron’s misfortune took for the worst this week. As if his injured toe was not enough, he was stricken by a bout of stomach flu at the eve of the tournament. Having vomited twice after dinner on Thursday evening, he was sent to the clinic on Friday morning to be treated. Just when we thought he could make it for his match in the late afternoon, he vomited again just before his game. Sadly, it was not to be for poor Aaron as he was forced to concede a walkover.

Ryan managed to play his second round match after receiving a bye in the first round. His opponent was a bulky Tay Kar Heng. In the first half of the match, both were equally matched with Ryan leading narrowly 15 – 14. After the break, Tay played strongly executing base line smashes. Ryan had no answer to his strong smashes and bowed out tamely 19 – 30. Ryan could have played with more varied strokes to move that mass of a boy but unfortunately he was not experienced enough to size up his opponent.

A day after his match – on Saturday afternoon, the viral attack unleashed its fury on Ryan, with severe vomiting just as Aaron had suffered a day earlier. Everything he took just came right out. The boys had to abandon all training until they fully regained their strength again. I remained the last man standing since all three of us had dinner from the same ill-fated restaurant. Honestly, if I had a choice, I would gladly trade places with them and free them from their inopportune misery.

Results Boys Singles Under-10

1^st Round :             Aaron Wong (Bye)

2^nd Round :            Aaron Wong vs Ervin Tan                 Walk Over

1^st Round :             Ryan Wong (Bye)

2^nd Round :            Ryan Wong vs Tay Kar Heng           19-30

 

SPONSORSHIP INVITATION

We would like to invite sponsors to fund the boy's training programs and to upgrade their rackets (4 pcs), peripherals, shoes etc. An approximate basic training expenses for the boys will run into the region of USD12,000 per year. This excludes outbound trips for friendly matches and tournaments. All contributions will be 100% invested into both Ryan & Aaron's badminton journey for 2013. Therefore, your kind generosity in any way will be much appreciated. 

Kindly e-mail to colinwongkl@gmail.com for further information about the boy's training requirements.


The boy's School Team Jersey has arrived courtesy of  IOI Group's Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng Foundation. 



Superstition Bug

Aaron's Right Toe - why oh why?

The old wife’s superstition bug had bitten me or shall I say “beaten” me.  Have you ever encountered a paradoxical situation where the more you don’t want it to happen, the more it will happen?

I was cautioning Aaron to be mindful of keeping himself free from injuries. He is such a slapdash player,  I became paranoid of his welfare knowing that he is in the middle of a tournament month. Guess what? My worst fear came true. Today (Monday) he was limping out of the tuition centre with his toe skin torn. I went into overdrive! I cornered him demanding an answer how on earth he got such a freak injury? I realised later, no matter how I reprimanded him, I resigned to the fact that this week, he will lose some  training hours and worst of all, he may have to skip Hooi Yee Junior Tournament this Friday.  

If only I didn’t mention this at all, it would not have happened. Then again, it could have been worse? It really is beyond me to dwell into the powers of the unknown but here and now, it’s a race against time.

KEJOHANAN BADMINTON TERBUKA REMAJA BAKTI/MSSKL 2012



Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium in Cheras

The BAKTI/MSSKL Junior Open Badminton Championship is an annual event jointly organised by the Association of the Wives of Ministers and Deputy Ministers (BAKTI) and the Kuala Lumpur School Sports Council (MSSKL) sponsored by Li Ning and MILO. This year, the tourney has attracted about 1,400 boys and girls from all over Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah & Sarawak from age group 8 to 16 years old. This is an excellent barometer to measure where the boys stand in terms of ranking at national level.



Ryan in action during his third round match

Aaron was among the 92 boys in the under-9 singles category. He made it to third round where he faced a strong Alvin Chia Wei Ler. Unfortunately, he scraped his knee early in the match while retrieving a drop. After the interval, a teary Aaron was emotionally broken and threw the remaining of the match away 6 - 30. Alvin went on to win another 3 rounds to enter the finals but lost.
 

Ryan’s under-10 singles category had a total of 108 participants. He had an easy first and second rounds winning convincingly. In this third round he faced a formidable Wah Jia Wei who was technically stronger. Ryan succumbed to his superior strokes and lost the match 17 – 30. 



Coach Andre giving some pointers during the break

In the under-10 doubles, both Ryan & Aaron lost in their first round to Aqil Zaqwan & Muhd Hariz. Both pairs were fighting point for point with the score 14 - 15 in favour of the malay pair before the interval. Unfortunately, they could not get their act together in the second half of the game when the jazzed up opponent played aggressively to wrap up the game 30 – 21.  


Despite finishing in the top 32 in the singles categories respectively, the gap between the top players and where they are at now were miles apart. So much for reality check but I think the result was fair. They could have bowed out earlier if they had been drawn with seeded players. The ones that made it to semi-finals were National Grand Prix Circuit junior players whom were registered with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM). Coach Budi told the boys to work hard so as in one year’s time, they too can bridge the gap with the top junior players.   


Results Boys Singles Under 9
1st Round :  Aaron Wong vs Harroshan Singh     30 - 22
2nd Round : Aaron Wong vs Ng E Hern              30 - 21
3rd Round : Aaron Wong vs Alvin Chia Wei Ler     6 - 30

Results Boys Singles Under 10
1st Round :  Ryan Wong vs Ng Zhen Yang         30 - 23
2nd Round : Ryan Wong vs Ivan Loo                  30 - 10
3rd Round :  Ryan Wong vs Wah Jia Wei           17 - 30

Results Boys Doubles Under 10

1st Round : Ryan Wong/Aaron Wong vs Aqil Zaqwan/Muhd Hariz    21 - 30

TIPS FOR THE TOURNAMENTS

1)   Always hold your racket head high.         

2)   Always watch your opponent movements carefully.

3)  Hit the shuttle early. Don't wait for the shuttle to drop too low to the floor.

4)   If you are playing singles, serve long.

5)   Serve over the head of the opponent to force him bend back to reach the shuttle.

6)   Always run back to the middle of the court after you hit the shuttle.

7)  Make your opponent move around the court; don't hit towards him.

8)  Aim at their backhands. Most players will have trouble returning a good shot.

9)   If you are not sure where to place the shuttle, hit it to the base line.

10) Better to place the shuttle accurately than to smash.

11) Use overhead shots instead of back hand shots as much as possible.

12) Don’t be tense. Relax and play with Rhythm.

13) Avoid mistakes. Get more points from opponent’s mistakes to win the match.

October – Graduated Into Intermediate Level

As expected, the coach had promoted the boys to Intermediate level in October. I had to upgrade them to a 3-times a week training package. I might as well since my wife took a long holiday to the UK and therefore had less hand to take the boys up in personal training.

Interestingly the level of training in Intermediate level was more rigorous. Both Intermediate and Advance level received attention from the head coach Pak Budi Rijanto. The hours were also extended to 3 hours per session sometimes 4. Aaron just turned nine on 7^th Oct was not used to the grueling demands of this new training regime. He suffered fainting and vomiting spells. Ryan initially had mild muscle pulls on his legs too. I began to accept that Pak Budi’s Indonesian style of rigorous training had become their primary badminton diet and I had to relegate my coaching to a supporting role.

It was quite a challenge to squeeze out the time from the boys weekly academic tuition schedules. In the end, they had to sacrifice some of the tuition classes in favour of their increased badminton trainings. The boys put up with it because Pak Budi was urging them to double up their efforts in training and they knew they have only but three weeks to prepare for the tournaments.    

I also began focusing the boys on doubles sparring. I imparted as much knowledge as I could to them in this short period of time. They have much to learn about how to cover the court efficiently and develop an understanding between them. They still lacked fluidity on defensive and attacking formation as well as shuttle placement techniques.

Pak Budi had a particular eye on Intermediate players because players at this level were easier to shape and mould. He spoke to me about exposing Aaron to overseas tournaments. He had Aaron in mind to fill in under 9 category for the Junior Tournament held in Miri, Sarawak on 16^th November. Much as I was honoured by the invitation, I regretted that I had to turn it down because Aaron already had to be in his compulsory Church Camp in preparation for his first Holy Communion on the same date.

Aaron meets new friend from Kwek Chiew Peng Academy

Then, on the 28^th October, MBA had a visit from Total Badminton Academy, Port Dickson established by an ex-Thomas cupper Kwek Chiew Peng to play friendly matches with our advanced players. Coach Budi urged both our boys to join in as well. Aaron played singles whereas Ryan later paired up with Aaron in the doubles. Although the boys lost to their more battle hardened opponents, it was a good eye opener for them on the standard of play which the boys will be expecting in the coming BAKTI tournament.

Meeting With MBA Head Coach




L : Head Coach Pak Budi, Coach Andre & Coach Tony

 

In October, MBA invited parents to meet with the coaches over dinner to discuss the progress of their child. It was also an opportunity to meet their newly appointed head coach, Pak Budi Rijanto whom had over 30 years of badminton experience behind him. He was previously a senior coaching staff for Badminton Association of Selangor. This move was lauded because both my wife and I could get close and personal with him to share his thoughts on our boys.

He was candid about how serious we want our boys to progress as it involved lots of sacrifices on the part of parents and players. To progress, he put parents first, followed by the player, then came the coaches. If the parents dropped off their kids for coaching like a tuition class and rely 100% on the coaches to turn their kids to play like Lee Chong Wei, then, forget about it, he put it bluntly

In fact, most of the attendants were parents of players from advance level. Many of these parents were former players themselves and are passionate about the sport. Understandably so, as they were more equipped to guide their kids to be better players.

As the first logical step, Pak Budi encouraged the parents to aim for Bukit Jalil Sports School. BJSS boasts to have the best academic and training facility to produce world class athletes with brains. It was said that not anybody can be admitted into BJSS. Instead, the school will select those who is worthy to be admitted into BJSS. More about BJSS here…

http://www.bjss.edu.my/page.php?pageid=23

In order to get the attention of BJSS, the main stream route is to be selected to represent under-12 state competition called “Majlis Sukan Sekolah Negari” or MSSN. Let all be warned that the competition level especially in the boy's category is extremely competitive.

Pak Budi spoke to me that if I was up for it, he will prepare Ryan from next year on. As Ryan will be 11 years old then, we have only a year to turn him into a state level player. His advice was to expose both the boys to as many tournaments as possible. If opportunity permits, he will recommend MBA to send selected junior players to compete in overseas junior tournaments. Finger crossed.

Doing sit-ups under the watchful eyes of Pak Budi

Pak Budi also touched on the career path as a professional badminton player and life after competitive badminton. He explained a career in badminton is just like any career in other fields. If you are passionate about badminton, you can do many things and it can be equally rewarding as in any other careers. Many ex-player turned successful coaches eg. Datuk Misbun Sidek earned RM30k per month when he was with Badminton Association of Malaysia. Some international coaches eg. Park Joo Bong was even earning more when he was the chief coach in Japan. Many ex-players and back-up players came out of BAM to start their own badminton academy and business as well.

Finally, we asked Pak Budi’s opinion on how realistic it was to turn our boys worthy to be selected into BJSS. He could see that our boys had high work rate, coupled with our support and guidance, he expressed optimism and worth to take a shot. Though it was an encouraging note for us but we were well aware of the tough roads and many uncertainties ahead. Nevertheless, we will do our best to make this journey with the boys a memorable one. 

Look What Has Arrived?

A postage arrived from UK. Looks like its from Auntie Soo Chin, my wife's sis. A pair of cool dry fit jerseys and wrist guard for the boys. Thanks Auntie Soo Chin. These are very nice indeed. Will definately wear it for the coming Tournaments.

    

Nice Dry Fit Jerseys

Some Add Ons For The Boy's Humble Cause

My Sports Life

Let me tell you briefly about my sports life. Unlike my wife, I am what they call in an old adage, “Jack of all trades, and Master of none.”

I vividly recalled since my early primary days, football has been my staple diet for sports. I remembered my mother’s rants as my Bata school shoes lasted only a few months before she had to buy another pair for me again. I also played badminton seasonally normally at communal courts such as Rukun Tetangga, at the back lane of my friend’s house and at open car parks. Badminton was come and go, depending on who the group of friends were, but football has always been like “any time, any place, you name it.”

This took me up to secondary schools when my buddy friend urged me to try out hockey. I remembered I bought a hockey stick with him at Thrifty Super Market in Section 14 as it was called then. The “must-have” stick then was the Karachi King 3 Star made in Pakistan. Pakistan was on top of the world then in Hockey. I was more like just accompanying him and later got selected into the under 15 and under 18 school team. I also tried to get into the school team for football but the coach rejected me because I was wearing glasses. So my secondary school life was all about hockey and of course leisure football. I used to follow British football division 1 as it was known then. The 1979 FA cup final between Arsenal and Man Utd was permanently etched in my mind. This classic match here…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_FA_Cup_Final

When I got into the university, my friend urged me to take up squash. I suspected the motives were due to some girls taking up the game as well. Although I continued playing competitive hockey in the University, squash was my social activity with my friends. I still remembered the Australian siblings, Brett and Michelle Martin were World No. 1 then which I never failed to follow.

After graduation, I started my working career and golf was introduced to me. Golf was starting to get popular in the early nineties with countless golf clubs booming all over the country. Golf in the corporate world was like the next thing to do after talking business. Large multinational petroleum Companies threw lavish golf tournaments annually with lots of goodies to give away. I got crazy with my group of equally crazy friends. Whenever there was a golf date, it doesn’t matter where and when, rain or shine, we will be there even if it means getting up at 5am in the morning. I have even kept my scores in all the games I played in. It was during this cross roads that I was forced to forgo my racquet games because it was affecting my golf swings.

Naturally, I enrolled for membership at Kelab Golf Kuala Kubu Bharu and later Bukit Jalil Golf and Country Club. Golf became my weekend ritual. So the tanner you become, its a dead give away that you been under the blazing sun. The joke then about handicap was the better you are at golf, the lower your handicap is and that number represents the number of just how many working days you put in your office per month.

Then, sometime in 2006, my dormant hobby as a car enthusiast suddenly came alive with the sport of drifting started to pick-up its popularity. The Nissan Silvia turbo-charged coupe dominated drifting competitions and I instantly fell in love it.

Having acquired one Nissan Silvia S15 myself, I began to immerse myself into this new playground. Together with like minded owners, we began our foray into acquiring skills and knowledge about rear wheel drive handling dynamics, modification and power upgrades. Although I was still able to break away for my golf games occasionally but  inevitably, it gradually waned. Although I don’t drift competitively with my car but I had interest in the sport and attended many locally organized drifting events. I also followed many other motorsport programmes such as F1, Japan Super GT, Australian V8, BTCC, WRC, and European DMT. GT1 etc. It wasn’t until I met Kenneth Lau, the owner of Pitworks that I began to involve myself in competitive racing, go-karting, gymkhana and time attack. More here…

http://gunner93.multiply.com/journal

For me, motorsports racing has its limits. It requires big budget and unfortunately I was not in that league. However, I remain an ardent car enthusiast until today.

As Ryan and Aaron grew up, their weekend activities began to demand more attention. I still play golf by invitation but the lengthy time in which the game took meant that I have more often than not turned the game down.

Strangely, for the past two years, I found myself started to pick up my badminton racquet again. Courtesy of my company’s sports club, I started playing badminton every Thursday evenings with my colleagues. That was the time my wife and I began to introduce the game to the boys. When they were selected into their school badminton team, it suddenly dawned on me that they too deserved to excel in the sports they love. Unlike us, the boys have the whole future ahead of them. We decided to take this journey together with them and see where it leads to. So that was how this blog came to be.

Hanson Badminton Team (L to R) Brandon, Eric, Yours Truly, Jason, Uncle, Nazri (crouching), Sophia & Yee Suk  (Absent Alex Lim)

Pieces of Jigsaw Coming Together

Have you ever assembled jigsaw puzzle before? Especially the ones with more than 1000 pieces? If you have, I can share with you that training Aaron is just like assembling jigsaw puzzle. Obviously you will start to group together similar grain of colors and then trial fit as many pieces as you can. You may not see the results yet but you know you have to be patient and keep at it.  There will be times when a few pieces will fit together. Then a cluster of them will fit with another cluster. Gradually, a tiny section of the picture will come together nicely. That was how it was with Aaron.

Quiet in his ways, Aaron suddenly came alive after just two and the half months. He now was able to place a net shot and then return a base line in succession. If you give him a half court, he can return a cross court drop or a cross court smash. He can even do a back hand flick across the net. On a good day, he could be stretched for shots that he normally could not take. Heck, he even attempted some deceptive strokes. I started to wonder how did he put all these together?

Could it be the holistic approach that has contributed to this paradigm shift in his game? How come Ryan’s progress in contrast was painstakingly slow? We used to focus on strokes in the first 2 months. When my wife had to undergo a minor surgery in mid September, she could not join us in our training sessions. Therefore, I had to improvise our training method a little by getting the boys to move around the court  more while I fed shuttle on all 4 corners. While one was training, the other would pick the shuttles and they took turns. After just two weeks on this drill, the pieces of the puzzle suddenly came together so beautifully for him.

It could well be his diligence and his attentiveness that brought out the talent in him. He went about obediently with his trainings, took our comments and advice without fuss and went about as instructed.  What a coach’s delight to get to train a player like him. The time is right now for him go into tournament to test his abilities. It would be an injustice for him not to start winning any medals.

September - Taking Stock

Wrist Strengthening

Mum used to do this too

The boys were back at MBA training every Sunday evenings. My wife felt that the boys needed a change - to strut their stuff among their group of peers. After two months of polishing rough diamonds, there was a telling gap with the rest of the basic level group. I sense that the head coach would very likely upgrade them to Intermediate level in a matter of time. This was good progress but it also meant that the boys will be exposed to a new level of competition among the new cohort.

September was another record with 14 training days. We continued to supplement their formal training with our own brand of personal touches in Bukit Jalil. I also made a point to come back from work in the evenings to take them both to Taman Wawasan for a jog, push-ups and rope skipping. They kept score of it and now could get up to 15 push-ups, jog two rounds in the park and skipped up to 50 times. Our approach was more holistic, gradually dabbling into their minds steering them towards self motivation and positive thinking. I also picked up something new in the area of sports psychology from the net and attempted mental visualization exercises.

Our emphasis for the first three months was to improve shuttle placement, correct footwork and building strength. Aaron has acquired all three well and was applying them in his game now. Already Aaron has beaten Ryan regularly and he has also given me some hard time chasing his shots on court. He however lacked match temperament and control especially when he was under pressure. Ryan’s footwork technique remained poor. He makes good stiff shots but at the expense of the flexibility to place the shuttle. I was determined to further polish him up with more court movement drills and shuttle placement.

Incidentally, at Bt Jalil, the boys found a new sparring friend, a 9 year-old girl whom had started badminton since she was 5. She has a personal coach and she plays for her school. She has good footwork and overhead strokes which will be a good for the boys to spar with. We also learnt that she will be participating in the annual BAKTI Badminton Junior Open Championship on 1^st November 2012. My wife insisted that I checked this out. Last year, this tournament attracted 1,566 participants age 16 and below from all over Malaysia. This is going to be a good measuring stick where our boys will stack up against  the rest of the country.

Towards the end of September, as the school final exams approaches, we shifted focus towards their academics. I can’t wait to resume training the boys again after their final exams in October. We have only three short weeks to prepare them for BAKTI Badminton Junior Open Championship on 1^st November. Thereafter, Hooi Yee Junior Badminton Championship on 16th November and Bukit Jalil Golf & Country Resort will organize a Junior Badminton Tournament on 24^th November.

Quantity or Quality?

Ryan threw at me some thoughts about insufficient court hours put in for him in MBA. He must have learnt that some of his peers were already training in MBA more than once a week. I knew one of them had been on a three day per week programme and had promoted to Intermediate level. A few of the advance level boys were training almost everyday like the No.1 and No.2 ranked boys in his school.

I knew immediately it was peer pressure. However, like any school going kids, the reality was that we had to balance their badminton schedules and studies. Little did he know that both he and his brother have also put in much court hours in Bt Jalil. I explained that without changing the way he plays, even if he plays 7 times a week he will not achieve much improvement. I reasoned out to him that he had to change his mental restriction. Instead of giving excuses, he should push himself more in training. I wanted him to realize that his level of expectations were not the same level as ours. He has to put his pride aside and admit that he has been blocking himself mentally from learning badminton.

I have spoken to the boys before. To play competitive badminton was different from enjoying leisure badminton. There will be lots of sacrifices and pain that comes with competitive badminton. We have been spending lots of time, attention and money to improve their badminton skills. If they had chosen leisure badminton, we would devote our time on something else. I ended by throwing the question back to them. “Do you want to play competitive badminton or play badminton for fun.” Their answer was obvious.

Here are the court hours KPI the boys had put in between 2011 and 2012 (as at Sept). Note 2012 has not factored in off-court training hours e.g. jogging, night drills, foot work skips, swimming etc.

2011                 2012

  90 court hours               128 court hours

As at September 2012, they have already put in 40% more court hours compared to last year. By year end they would have exceeded 100%. Will they be twice as good as they were last year? Lets complete the last quarter of training and we shall see.

Nagging Injuries

Others may not know it if we don’t talk about it. However once the subject is opened up, it becomes a hot topic of endless lamenting. My long term ache has been my left waist which has been for years now. I think this was more due to the ergonomics of bad sitting posture in my desk job. I also sustained a left hamstring pull for more than 4 months now due to a futsal game. It’s nagging and did not go away. My weekly badminton sessions probably aggravated it even more. I also sustained a sprain on my right sole saphenous area also resulted from the same futsal match.

My wife also had long term aches on her back spinal cord and abdomen probably due to her severe physical trainings and straining matches when she was younger. Over the past year or so, her left knee pain became acute especially after badminton matches. She feared it could be the thinning of her knee cartilage and could be a long term problem despite various treatments.

My boys may not understand it now because I always insisted them to do sufficient muscle stretching before every training session. I hope by instilling this habit in them will minimize their bodily injuries whether they realize it or not. Inflicting injuries at our age takes a long time to treat and heal. Someday, when they are older, perhaps they will begin to understand why their old man always nags at them on this.

Our Weapon of Choice

Here are our badminton racquets we are currently using…

1)            Pro Kennex CarbonPro 787 Patented strung with Protech 0.7mm 24Ibs – my wife’s long time favorite racquet very even balanced.

2)        Pro Kennex CarbonPro 727 Patented strung with Protech 0.7mm 24Ibs – everybody’s training and bashing racquet.

3)          Yonex Aerotus 65SP Japan strung with Protech 0.7mm 25Ibs – used by Aaron after he broke his racquet supplied by MBA. This is a G4 3U racquet which may not be suitable for him but he is a man now isn’t he.

4)          KX All England 100 strung with Fleet 0.7mm 25Ibs - supplied by MBA currently used by Ryan. Aaron had a similar one but was broken.

5)                  RSL M11 Predator 005 - used by me during training. Earmarked for Ryan later.

6)                 Yonex Arc Saber 009DX Taiwan G5-3U strung with YY BG66U 28Ibs - used by me for my doubles games. Even balanced stiff shaft.

7)             Yonex Voltric 70 Japan G4-3U strung with YY NBG95 25lbs - used by me for my singles games. Head heavy medium shaft.

Did you know good shoes are as important? My wife insisted to invest in good dedicated badminton shoes to preserve sole grip. No compromise here and I could not agree more.

1)                  Protech PYS1106 size 4 worn by Ryan.

2)                  Yonex WorldChamp Pro 86 Red size 3.5 worn by Aaron.

3)                  Yonex WorldChamp Pro 86 Blue size 6.5 worn by me/wife for training. Both my wife and I have similar sized feet.

4)                  Yonex SHB65 FT Shine Orange Power Cushion size 6.5 worn by me for my games.

5)                  Asics Gel Rocket size 7 worn by my wife.