When i was a primary school kid, one of the first sports i picked up was badminton. My dad played. My mum used to play aeons ago. I had a certain love for this sport the moment i picked up the racket. The idea of keeping the shuttlecock of the ground with the racket seemed challenging to me. Then the idea of hitting the shuttle to another person and not let him hit back to you seemed even more interesting.Thats how i started to pick up this sport.
I sparred with my dad initially. Played by the roadside in front of our house. I even painted the court lines on the road! =P Then i started to follow him to the courts with the uncles and their children. I got to know these kids, and i played with them. Just one tiny problem. They were way, way better than me. Everytime i played against them, i was on the losing side. That made me in a way sad, disappointed and disbelief in myself that im not cut out to be a good player. Just maybe recreational.
That lasted till my first year in secondary school at age 13. And i got to know of the intra-school badminton competition. I joined, I lost as usual. I felt bad again. And out of the blue, this friend of mine which i have come to know Johnny Ong Jenn Uei, sort of spotted me, and asked if i wanted to train under a coach. He gave me contacts, and just told me to come on Sunday, 4pm at the nearby hall. Mr Wong. I said fine give it a shot.It was a shot that changed my life i suppose.
For RM5per 2hour session every sundays 4-6pm, there is no sweeter deal than this for young beginners and noobs like me. All i wanted to learn was hit good shots and thats abt it. Never thought of anything else. That all changed when i came into training sessions with Uncle Wong's so called "local academy". Sitiawan is small town and i think this was the only training I ever knew tat existed here. My first Sunday was really nearly horrific. We have to run 4 rounds round a 3-court sized hall with 20other kids + 10 other adults training together. And then do all those stretchings. Then footwork drills. Shuttle drills. It was also my first time seeing shuttles used by the box loads! my goodness. We havent started playing games yet.
Everyone was treated equal. Given the same training. At the same time. With the help of his wife, Auntie Lai Yoong, and daughter, Sue Lynn, it soon dawned upon me that its not going to be easy. But try only. If i cant stand it i'll just stop. I could never hit the shuttle from baseline to basline previously. And that was the first and most tiring stroke for me. I just whacked n hit hard till its far as it can go. Leong Ze Dong had much easier task to hit back to me. I was just a new entry to the group, and i dont know why was i placed in the A group (Supposedly the elite group). I only realized after i see that C group are tiny tods and B group were primary schools kids. I guess older = elite. Serving back to baseline was my other significant weakness. No matter how hard i hit, it wont fly far or high or deep. Then theres the backhand, it just doesnt click. And there was my movement, I was slow and erratic. And after 1hour of training is done, its 1hour of game time.
I had a horrid time playing with these adults. Anyone partners me would lose by miles. So there goes another demoralizing reality check : How long will it take me to get up to that level. I still remember the best player in the whole squad that time was a guy named Chun Leong. He was district player so, can say he;s good. No one can beat him. He has a younger brother, Chun Lim. really tiny guy. younger than me. But loveable to play with.
My first day of training was over, and i thought i was over as well. Overspent. I was dripping in sweat. Panting like a dog. Legs as mushy as marshmallows. Training does hurt. But doesnt kill. The next and following sundays.........and the sundays beyond after. I attended faithfully, diligently, nearly without fail. Coz i still had this thought : Till i can hit well, i wont stop. So i did week after week. Month after month. Year after year. Under Coach Wong's wings to say. Ive been in school competitions. District level competitions. Badminton clinics.
Even my SPM and PMR years, while others were busy with their noses in their books on sunday afternoon, i was on court training even if i had paper the next day. I never wanted to miss improving myself on court. And every step of the way, coach wong was there to guide. He had tools from skipping ropes, wooden rackets, fishing poles, etc.
Soon i developed a habit on court while training : While others were busy and if i had free time, i would be walking around, practising my swings, skipping or jumping training agility n movement, doing funny tricks with the shuttle. I never wanted to sit still n do nothing when i can do something. It carries till today. I will walk into an empty court and practise whatever i want to, be it simple or tough, i still practise.
Unc Wong was always so relaxed and so calm conducting the training. His trademark is always chewing sweets/gum while training us and that looked kinda cute. :') Then he would sit on the chair in such a relaxed mode he was like a fluffy teddy bear enjoying the way we play and fumbled and tumbled and triumphed. And he'd laugh about it almost every time. Id sometimes sneak over to Aunty Wongs side with the kids occasionally to just say "Hi" since im at the far court most of the time.
Lots of players came in and went away. I would say i was about the only guy in the senior court who stayed for 5 years. Some left after 1 year, some on and off appears. And even till i left Sitiawan for college, when i was back on weekends, my racket followed me just for sundays. When i came back, i always helped train the little kids. Now my turn to be coach after all the years. There were alot of things Unc Wong couldnt coach me, and i understand that because he is just a simple basics coach. His only advice was play more. And he was very well right.
Play more varies experience. And it drives to try more stuff never tried in training. But what was important was, under coach wong, i managed to grasp the basics. The very fundamentals of the game. I dint not turn out to be the best player, but i turned into a much better player. The rest was up to me on how to build up upon that foundation. And this solid foundation came from a very soft spoken, passionate and loving man.
There was an impact. With an impact, something is imparted. What was imparted was important to me to grow as a player. And Unc Wong imparted this to me : Always try and keep trying. And that helped shaped my mentality. One can only get this from a good mentor. Good mentors leave behind a legacy, something to follow, something to continue on. So i shall continue to be a player who keeps trying to play better. And i shall teach those in the same way he taught me. Gentle , approachable and passionate about the sport.
I never really got a true honest opportunity to say Thank You to Uncle Wong, until i heard the news today.
My only hope is I be able to hit a few strokes with him up there.
Uncle Wong, Thank You. :)
Much love, fond memories, gratitude and fun.
I sparred with my dad initially. Played by the roadside in front of our house. I even painted the court lines on the road! =P Then i started to follow him to the courts with the uncles and their children. I got to know these kids, and i played with them. Just one tiny problem. They were way, way better than me. Everytime i played against them, i was on the losing side. That made me in a way sad, disappointed and disbelief in myself that im not cut out to be a good player. Just maybe recreational.
That lasted till my first year in secondary school at age 13. And i got to know of the intra-school badminton competition. I joined, I lost as usual. I felt bad again. And out of the blue, this friend of mine which i have come to know Johnny Ong Jenn Uei, sort of spotted me, and asked if i wanted to train under a coach. He gave me contacts, and just told me to come on Sunday, 4pm at the nearby hall. Mr Wong. I said fine give it a shot.It was a shot that changed my life i suppose.
For RM5per 2hour session every sundays 4-6pm, there is no sweeter deal than this for young beginners and noobs like me. All i wanted to learn was hit good shots and thats abt it. Never thought of anything else. That all changed when i came into training sessions with Uncle Wong's so called "local academy". Sitiawan is small town and i think this was the only training I ever knew tat existed here. My first Sunday was really nearly horrific. We have to run 4 rounds round a 3-court sized hall with 20other kids + 10 other adults training together. And then do all those stretchings. Then footwork drills. Shuttle drills. It was also my first time seeing shuttles used by the box loads! my goodness. We havent started playing games yet.
Everyone was treated equal. Given the same training. At the same time. With the help of his wife, Auntie Lai Yoong, and daughter, Sue Lynn, it soon dawned upon me that its not going to be easy. But try only. If i cant stand it i'll just stop. I could never hit the shuttle from baseline to basline previously. And that was the first and most tiring stroke for me. I just whacked n hit hard till its far as it can go. Leong Ze Dong had much easier task to hit back to me. I was just a new entry to the group, and i dont know why was i placed in the A group (Supposedly the elite group). I only realized after i see that C group are tiny tods and B group were primary schools kids. I guess older = elite. Serving back to baseline was my other significant weakness. No matter how hard i hit, it wont fly far or high or deep. Then theres the backhand, it just doesnt click. And there was my movement, I was slow and erratic. And after 1hour of training is done, its 1hour of game time.
I had a horrid time playing with these adults. Anyone partners me would lose by miles. So there goes another demoralizing reality check : How long will it take me to get up to that level. I still remember the best player in the whole squad that time was a guy named Chun Leong. He was district player so, can say he;s good. No one can beat him. He has a younger brother, Chun Lim. really tiny guy. younger than me. But loveable to play with.
My first day of training was over, and i thought i was over as well. Overspent. I was dripping in sweat. Panting like a dog. Legs as mushy as marshmallows. Training does hurt. But doesnt kill. The next and following sundays.........and the sundays beyond after. I attended faithfully, diligently, nearly without fail. Coz i still had this thought : Till i can hit well, i wont stop. So i did week after week. Month after month. Year after year. Under Coach Wong's wings to say. Ive been in school competitions. District level competitions. Badminton clinics.
Even my SPM and PMR years, while others were busy with their noses in their books on sunday afternoon, i was on court training even if i had paper the next day. I never wanted to miss improving myself on court. And every step of the way, coach wong was there to guide. He had tools from skipping ropes, wooden rackets, fishing poles, etc.
Soon i developed a habit on court while training : While others were busy and if i had free time, i would be walking around, practising my swings, skipping or jumping training agility n movement, doing funny tricks with the shuttle. I never wanted to sit still n do nothing when i can do something. It carries till today. I will walk into an empty court and practise whatever i want to, be it simple or tough, i still practise.
Unc Wong was always so relaxed and so calm conducting the training. His trademark is always chewing sweets/gum while training us and that looked kinda cute. :') Then he would sit on the chair in such a relaxed mode he was like a fluffy teddy bear enjoying the way we play and fumbled and tumbled and triumphed. And he'd laugh about it almost every time. Id sometimes sneak over to Aunty Wongs side with the kids occasionally to just say "Hi" since im at the far court most of the time.
Lots of players came in and went away. I would say i was about the only guy in the senior court who stayed for 5 years. Some left after 1 year, some on and off appears. And even till i left Sitiawan for college, when i was back on weekends, my racket followed me just for sundays. When i came back, i always helped train the little kids. Now my turn to be coach after all the years. There were alot of things Unc Wong couldnt coach me, and i understand that because he is just a simple basics coach. His only advice was play more. And he was very well right.
Play more varies experience. And it drives to try more stuff never tried in training. But what was important was, under coach wong, i managed to grasp the basics. The very fundamentals of the game. I dint not turn out to be the best player, but i turned into a much better player. The rest was up to me on how to build up upon that foundation. And this solid foundation came from a very soft spoken, passionate and loving man.
There was an impact. With an impact, something is imparted. What was imparted was important to me to grow as a player. And Unc Wong imparted this to me : Always try and keep trying. And that helped shaped my mentality. One can only get this from a good mentor. Good mentors leave behind a legacy, something to follow, something to continue on. So i shall continue to be a player who keeps trying to play better. And i shall teach those in the same way he taught me. Gentle , approachable and passionate about the sport.
I never really got a true honest opportunity to say Thank You to Uncle Wong, until i heard the news today.
My only hope is I be able to hit a few strokes with him up there.
Uncle Wong, Thank You. :)
Much love, fond memories, gratitude and fun.
