To the guys and ladies of Wesley Tchoukball, once a

Wesleysian, always a Wesleysian.

New Year.

01.01.2016

Having had time in camp after I went out of course a few months ago, it naturally

occurred to me to write about Wesley Tchoukball; this club can be said to have

had been one of my only constants for the past 3 years while adapting to the

changing environments that were the results of growing older. This piece of

writing, a product of jumbled thoughts internalised, is long overdue - but after the

many long hours of deliberation, I've finally managed to pen it down. Fighting to

bring about some form of coherence to all that has gone on within the past 3 years

was an insanely difficult task and hence, admittedly, while the bulk of this piece

revolves mainly around Wesley happenings, from past to present, it is interspersed

with my personal thoughts. Hence, it should be treated merely as a reflection by a

fellow member of the team, with the hopes that certain segments of the content may

well sbe views that each and every one of you can relate to. I would appreciate it if

you could take some time to read this as I would too, should any one of you decide

to express yourselves.

Herein, for the first time, begins the unveiling of the emotions, thoughts and

memories that most of you have never heard me talk about and which some of you

have only come to know in dribs and drabs.

Wesley Tchoukball. Thank you for everything.

It's been a long journey thus far for me. 3 years of weekly joy. 2 years of

bittersweet grit. A year of unfamiliar responsibilities. Events that have come to pass,

memories ghosting through the river of time, bringing with them a mishmash of

emotions that empower at times but hurt periodically. Due to the complexity of the

subject matter, oftentimes intertwined with tchouk politics, human emotions and

whatnot, this piece serves as an attempt, no matter how feeble, to express my long-

standing feelings towards the club and its wonderful, amazing members, all of whom

I respect and love.

To the Wesleysians of yesteryear,

some of whom I doubt will even read this or

who may have long forgotten who I am, the

times spent with you people were nothing

short of amazing, memorable even after y'all

have left. Unbeknownst to most of you, the

open and warm culture that defined Wesley back then has resonated deeply with me

ever since the day I was warmly welcomed into

this team that I now call family. As a newcomer

to Wesley and simultaneously having only

recently embarked on my tchouk journey, I was

lacking in both skill and experience. Hence, I

had little expectations of fitting into a team that

comprised players that I felt were way out of my league. It then naturally came as a

surprise when I felt so accepted by the end of the first training session; the first

'dinner & lepak' I had with Wesleysians that very day was unlike any other I'd had,

evident from how I could easily interact with everyone without feeling excluded.

The lack of cliques back then, even when there were at least 15 members present

during dinner, with each person

engaged in animated conversation

with individuals around the table

was certainly foreign to me at that

point in time. Needless to say, I

became hooked to the extremely

unique culture that seemed to be the norm within the club, a culture that I've hardly,

if not never, witnessed in other teams, clubs or groups that I've interacted with or

observed to date.

Being the youngest member of the team for

more than a year forced me to break out of my

comfort zone to interact with people who were a few

years older than me, something that I had never been

capable of doing up until that point in time. The

person that most of you currently know me to be, that

crazily high, retarded and talkative individual, never would have existed had I not

learnt that seniors are to be

respected but never feared,

approached and never shunned.

More importantly, age is arbitrary

and seniors can definitely be treated

as friends. Alas, the times spent

playing alongside you guys were

limited as working and university life got in the way for many of you. However, the

share of victories and setbacks that we experienced together and the fighting spirit

that I've always known of Wesleysians since day one have been the building blocks

for my continued passion for tchoukball, the initial trigger that has spurred me on

ever since.

I now address the bunch of individuals who had been, and continue to be, by

my side ever since I was but a mere newbie in the arena of tchoukball. I doubt a

thank you would suffice to account for the numerous

lessons that all of you have taught me. To the team

that prides itself on policies such as 'dinner > training'

and training sessions in which raucous laughter,

occasionally coupled with somebody doubled over

guffawing and rolling about on the floor, would

make itself heard once every few minutes, you guys

never fail to put up one hell of a fight on court. My personal favourites include the

guys' team's epic comeback against Crusaders during a Crossroads match and our

seemingly impossible tie with the YDC

veterans during WAD games. The

adrenaline that rushed through our veins,

the complete trust in our fellow teammates

to be wherever he or she was most needed

and the everlasting determination and grit

that fuelled us were all components that

contributed to an almost seamless flow of synergy between each and every one of us

during competitions.

More importantly, the dedication that each of you has had for these past years,

some of you having been a Wesleysian longer than I have, never fails to inspire me.

While attending training sessions regularly may not seem like much of a big deal, I

would beg to differ. With the multitude of commitments heaped upon you guys,

ranging from work to the insane university workload and national service, finding

time to appear for training

sessions always proves

challenging. However, you

people continue to hang

around week after week,

prioritising the team more

so than the time that you

could have put to other

uses on a perfectly fine

weekend. Even during your most hectic weeks, you guys still made the effort to

come down for those 3 hours and for that, thank you. You people are a huge part of

why my faith in Wesley has never wavered and why I continue to care so much for

this family. While I do not wish to mention names for fear of missing anyone out, I

feel that special mention should go to none other than our resident Song.

Mr Ho Song Yang. The big brother. The alcoholic. The joker. The 'fei(飞)zhu'.

As the manager of the team, he has been a true blue Wesleysian longer than any of

the familiar faces you see at training sessions these

days. The commitment and dedication that he has

wholeheartedly shown to ensure the continued

survival and well-being of the team has been

phenomenal - penning them down seems to do him

little justice. Many

privileges that the newer generation may not actively

notice or may take for granted were actually fought for

and sustained by none other than him: the liaison with AC

International for an air-conditioned court, the annual

Crossroads competition and our very own jerseys, just to

name a few. And in my case, having had, in mid-2015, my

own share of dilemmas and worries over the future of

Wesley, I can now better empathise with the amount

that he has done for us, even more so because he was

still hounded by me over club problems through

Whatsapp conversations while overseas. 'I respect

him' is really an understatement in acknowledging

his unyielding spirit in holding the fort all these years

and allowing Wesley and its one-of-a-kind culture to

continue existing. Thank you Song, for everything

that you've done for this family that you have never, and by that I really mean not a

single moment, once walked away from.

On a side note, as with any group of individuals, having bonded together for

a period of time, it would be naive to say that there has been no hint of negativity.

Time and again, we find ourselves faced with circumstances that were neither

pleasant nor warranted. Our team has had its fair share of ups and downs, with

squabbles and unpleasantries sporadically inserted throughout the duration of our

existence. While I would like to claim that all disputes were amicably resolved, team

sports is no fairytale and we have had occasional ugly spats. However, the beauty of

our team, a close one at that, lies in its capacity for forgiveness and its ability to

move on, thereby allowing Wesley Tchoukball to be as peaceful as it is. It is here

that I would like to remind everyone that such a healthy practice should never wane

and that this culture should continue henceforth.

It pains me to have had to continuously use the past tense to describe my above

mentioned thoughts. While this is very much to be expected due to the passage of

time and the concomitant changes that have occurred, I have had to take to the

sidelines for the past year due to my inability to partake in competitive Tchouk since

2014. While I have been extremely frustrated and saddened - and still am - it has

been a mini blessing in disguise as I got to find yet another purpose at Wesley

Tchoukball, one that rivals my love for the team and my need for improvement.

Finally, I'm now able to address the newer generation of Wesleysians. To all

of you, especially those who had just begun your journey with us in 2015, it's a pity

that you'll never be able to experience for

yourselves the exact same environment in

which I first started my tchoukball days.

I'm not saying that 2015 for the Wesley

team was a dull year; it has been no less

memorable than any of the others. Rather,

having had fond memories in the past, I felt a need to recount them and to keep the

original Wesley spirit, which has burned brightly for the past years, alive for years

to come. Nonetheless, to you guys, thank you. Thank you for giving me yet another

reason to continue to tchoukon week after week. Giving up on tchoukball has crossed

my mind numerous times ever since injuring

myself back in December 2014. Many of you

are probably chuckling even as you read this,

writing my statement off as an amusing joke,

thinking: 'there he goes again, he say for fun

one, he'll never be able to quit'. All I can say

is that this impossibility might have actually

come true had my passion for the sport been extinguished from a continual

frustration with both the inability to perform on court as I once did and the rather

limited time I had on weekends at that point in time.

Coaching. Something that I've had the opportunity to try my hand at for the

past few months. Thank you guys for being my 'guinea pigs', staying patient with

me and giving me words of encouragement as I started to develop myself in that

aspect. You all have reinforced my interest in teaching and have given me a separate

reason, apart from upholding the team spirit, to continue to come down for training

week after week. After my surgery, I will try to come down, not to play (something

I promised a few people), but to help out in whatever way I can, something that,

regrettably, I should have embarked upon many months ago.

We are, once again, on the cusp of yet another new age. As the pioneer

members fight on to rally the team and seasoned players mature, you guys have come

forth to join us. I hope that the times that you have spent with us thus far have been

extremely enjoyable and that you continue to look forward to, or even crave for, a

closer, more integrated and stronger Wesley family. Over the duration of your stay

with us, I also hope that you guys will come to realise what exactly fuels us,

especially the pioneer generation, to continue to commit to our Sunday training

sessions

.

The love for our teammates and the want to spend quality time with them.

These, and not the sport itself, continue to drive us forward. While improving at the

sport is indeed important, it is nothing compared to the friendships that we have

made along the way and the bonds that we have forged thus far. I hope that you will

one day come to call us your family rather than just close teammates in a sport that

we all love to play.

Although what I'm about to say next is not exactly pleasant, this is my

reflection and I would be doing myself an injustice should I choose to keep such

emotions and thoughts buried much longer.

While the vast majority of us believe in committing to the team, a handful of

incidents over the past years have been more than enough to cause a tinge of

disappointment within me. There were periods in time in which we were struggling

with an extremely small number of team members who were coming regularly for

training. For those of you who still remember training during those dark periods,

thank you for sticking through the tough times. Truth be told, those periods back

then had me extremely worried. While a few of us worked hard to salvage the

situation, it really set me thinking. A team jersey

is extremely symbolic in my eyes; in fact I

daresay for all existing members of the team, the

jersey is a symbol of our pride towards Wesley

Tchoukball. Once it is in your possession,

everyone treats you as family. Although it is

perfectly fine for people to come and go,

understandable results of intensifying

commitments and newfound interests in life, if you still view yourself as part of the

Wesley family, at least put in some commitment to come as and when you can,

because honestly? It really hurts when people no longer seem to care about what

some of us hold so dearly to our hearts. Please try not to give us false hope, week

after week, that you'll finally decide to turn up for training because it is extremely

tiring.

Well, if you have read my reflection up until this point, I thank you for taking

time off to do so. I'm not a sucker for the tradition of New Year Resolutions, having

never made one in my entire life, but I'll make a special exception for 2016. Wesley

Tchoukball, I will put in the effort, with all of my heart, for the people who I call my

teamies and my family. I'm not asking you, be it newcomer or existing member, to

sacrifice everything for Wesley. Rather, play your part to contribute to the best of

your abilities just like how the pioneers have done so, and are still doing so, for the

entire team. Action speaks louder than words, and should any of you embrace my

resolution, do not just verbally promise. Act upon it. Let us all work together to

welcome a more connected, better and most importantly, committed, team this 2016.

Hupernikao.

More than conquerors.

On court as well as in life.

Signing off,

Shun