CHINESE NEW YEAR 2013

CNY 2013 is here. MBA decided to take one week off their training schedule to celebrate CNY. The coaches simultaneously took advantage of this long break to return home to their families in Indonesia, which is a good thing. However, Chief Coach Budi was not in favour of the long break. He preferred to press his charges on, since the public schools were also closed for one week.

I understood only too well and while others took to the CNY feasting gay and aplenty, I have kept the boys well oiled with jogging, swimming, sparring at the Bt. Jalil Club and one session at Looi’s Badminton Academy in a pay & train package. I didn’t want the boys to fall behind with one week of inactivity – knowing well that their MSSD tournament is scheduled less than two months away.

When we resumed training at MBA a week later, coach Budi introduced an additional hand - Coach Alex to strengthen the coaching team. Coach Alex has a rather flamboyant personality and has livened up the training atmosphere which is also a good thing. He has rapidly built close rapport with both the players and their parents which is admirable.

As the result of the continuous training momentum during the CNY break, Aaron has closed in on the Intermediate Level Champion, Darren Tan. Last weekend Aaron lost by one point to Darren in a 15 point sparring match. Although Darren’s badminton skills are still superior to Aaron’s, but little Aaron has already raised eyebrows and kept many entertained with his crafty strokes. It will be interesting to see how he continues to close the gap on Darren.

Aaron up and early training at Looi's Badminton Academy on the 4th day of CNY