When I'm asked about my basketball experience... I honestly don't know where to begin...
I remember playing 1 on 1 with Mel for the number 7 jersey for the first U-16 match in Kpg Jering. I remember how AY's dribbling was so so horrible hahahah! I remember how when we started realizing that CK's shots were getting sharper and sharper. I remember the first time Hel actually sat on the ball while somebody tried to snatch it away. I remember the pounding of my heart the first time I dribbled around an opponent intentionally (usually it just happens and i go 'i did that?' afterwards). I remember the image of my first ball that spun about 3 rounds before entering the hoop after hitting the board. I remember a young punk who taunted "if u shoot this in I'll go home man!"...and I shot it in. I also remember my teammates going "go home lah you..!" to that kid after that. I remember my spects getting hit by the ball during that same match and a few concerned ah mu and ah pak's going "little girl are you alright?" from the sidelines. I remember LC asking me for my eye power and offering to buy one set of contacts for me (thinking back i think she was just gonna get me a sample lah :P) and the 12 of us squeezing into coach's Unser (Lol I didnt know it was illegal then, i actually thought it was quite fun =D) I remember the early mornings spent in Astaka, getting chased away when the guys wanted to play full court with the uncles; the hot afternoons spent in the school court and getting chased away yet again by the guys when they wanted to use it for full court; the late evenings spent in Pioneer church and getting chased off my a bunch of gangsters because they wanted to play full court (where I uttered my first curse word F you when they harassed us). Then again, I also remember the times we had the courts to ourselves and had the full right to train, prior to the guys. I remember being called 'small Jolynn' cus Jmin was the bigger one. I remember so clearly Jmin's figure when she grabbed a pass one-handedly with that slant in her upper trunk and my thoughts at that exact moments that she looked like somebody from Slam Dunk. I remember her telling me my dribbling had a slight curve inwards and that she wanted to learn how to do that as well. I remember LC blocking the AT girl as she opened a path for me to dribble forward. I remember stealing chickens so often :P I remember the first training we had coached by HBChai where my 3 pointers couldn't even touch the ring. But if it helps nobody else could either except Pwen =P I remember the small games we used to have with the guys and we'd shoot from the most bizarre of places and still manage to score! I remember commenting how the guys used to have really distorted facial expressions when they were doing their lay ups. I remember those Sunday evenings where i'd climb over the gate of SMK Ambrose to use their broken court. I remember meeting my long lost childhood friend-cousin for the first time and seeing how grown up/ manly he'd become :P I remember sitting with AY in front of the pole during those Carlsberg cup tournies watching his team play; and the painfully embarassing "LLY jia you!!'s" AY would be screaming (and I'd be covering my face in mortification) I remember fawning over his team mate number 14 (dang i cant even remember properly now~) who turns up to be EUnc's friend! I remember all those photocopies of the tourney schedules (both mine and my cousins) that i'd stick in my diary...
I remember WLoong teaching me how to fake for the first time, and his signature move; the dribbling of the ball behind his back becoming a habit I picked up after some time. I remember playing with CKai and him being the only one who pointed out my weaknesses and him, Vic and (somebody else) playing 3 of us for real (ie- no letting go because we're girls) Dang we sure got a good wake up call. I remember during our first U-16 match coach made sure he played all 12 of us no matter how sucky we were; I remember being on the 2nd team but not feeling any animosity; I remember passing to AY and the basket that helped us lead the score. Coach was so proud afterwards; even though we were playing the eventual runner up's I remember his enthusiastic "you guys even overtook them for a while!". I remember befriending referee's and their comments on how we played that particular game (I think you played much better in the last game) I remember the issue with the 5 on 5 our school had and the whole Survivor-vote thingi; where i remember voting for myself =P. I remember my the first 5on5 match, the first ugly printed Sakura tshirt (which i now wear to sleep :P) the first time mum came for my match, where I scowled the whole way through wishing she wasn't there and the first loss. I remember playing the huge form 5-ers, the form 6 girl from AT who has the typical demure look and i couldnt believe she actually played for the district.
I remember becoming friends with so many people not in my clique; back classes, removes, gangsters, non schoolmates, bandmates whom i've never spoken to before, science teacher whom i've always fallen asleep in his class before, 3rd street ta jie who said "tell the biatch to bring it on, i'll call my friends to back you up", the victory screams, the cramping screams, the Quest for the leather basketball that took me more than 3 years but the feeling of finally holding a ball you saved up for in your own hands is just priceless.
But I also remember all the issues and conflicts that we had. I remember getting third, and not getting into the district team, how disappointed I was but happy for my 2 team mates at the same time. I remember how excited I was when Jmin told me after our first u-16 match that one of the officials came over and asked for our 3 names. I remember joining their training once, and i believe that's where all the humility began. I remember my 2 teammates who climbed higher and higher but further and further away from each other. I remember the unspoken unhappiness during our last 5on5 match that we had in form 4. I remember playing less and less as my studies became more important and I remember the day I said no to playing basketball for the first time...
I wonder if Coach felt disappointed when I didn't go for the reunion steamboat 2 years ago. I wonder if he still remembers me. I wonder if he's still coaching or if he still brings the players to his brother's big bowl noodle shop after every match. I wonder if he'd be proud to know that I'm no longer the person I used to be when he coached us, that I no longer run away and that I still like the kuey tiao teng his bro serves =)
I remember playing 1 on 1 with Mel for the number 7 jersey for the first U-16 match in Kpg Jering. I remember how AY's dribbling was so so horrible hahahah! I remember how when we started realizing that CK's shots were getting sharper and sharper. I remember the first time Hel actually sat on the ball while somebody tried to snatch it away. I remember the pounding of my heart the first time I dribbled around an opponent intentionally (usually it just happens and i go 'i did that?' afterwards). I remember the image of my first ball that spun about 3 rounds before entering the hoop after hitting the board. I remember a young punk who taunted "if u shoot this in I'll go home man!"...and I shot it in. I also remember my teammates going "go home lah you..!" to that kid after that. I remember my spects getting hit by the ball during that same match and a few concerned ah mu and ah pak's going "little girl are you alright?" from the sidelines. I remember LC asking me for my eye power and offering to buy one set of contacts for me (thinking back i think she was just gonna get me a sample lah :P) and the 12 of us squeezing into coach's Unser (Lol I didnt know it was illegal then, i actually thought it was quite fun =D) I remember the early mornings spent in Astaka, getting chased away when the guys wanted to play full court with the uncles; the hot afternoons spent in the school court and getting chased away yet again by the guys when they wanted to use it for full court; the late evenings spent in Pioneer church and getting chased off my a bunch of gangsters because they wanted to play full court (where I uttered my first curse word F you when they harassed us). Then again, I also remember the times we had the courts to ourselves and had the full right to train, prior to the guys. I remember being called 'small Jolynn' cus Jmin was the bigger one. I remember so clearly Jmin's figure when she grabbed a pass one-handedly with that slant in her upper trunk and my thoughts at that exact moments that she looked like somebody from Slam Dunk. I remember her telling me my dribbling had a slight curve inwards and that she wanted to learn how to do that as well. I remember LC blocking the AT girl as she opened a path for me to dribble forward. I remember stealing chickens so often :P I remember the first training we had coached by HBChai where my 3 pointers couldn't even touch the ring. But if it helps nobody else could either except Pwen =P I remember the small games we used to have with the guys and we'd shoot from the most bizarre of places and still manage to score! I remember commenting how the guys used to have really distorted facial expressions when they were doing their lay ups. I remember those Sunday evenings where i'd climb over the gate of SMK Ambrose to use their broken court. I remember meeting my long lost childhood friend-cousin for the first time and seeing how grown up/ manly he'd become :P I remember sitting with AY in front of the pole during those Carlsberg cup tournies watching his team play; and the painfully embarassing "LLY jia you!!'s" AY would be screaming (and I'd be covering my face in mortification) I remember fawning over his team mate number 14 (dang i cant even remember properly now~) who turns up to be EUnc's friend! I remember all those photocopies of the tourney schedules (both mine and my cousins) that i'd stick in my diary...
I remember WLoong teaching me how to fake for the first time, and his signature move; the dribbling of the ball behind his back becoming a habit I picked up after some time. I remember playing with CKai and him being the only one who pointed out my weaknesses and him, Vic and (somebody else) playing 3 of us for real (ie- no letting go because we're girls) Dang we sure got a good wake up call. I remember during our first U-16 match coach made sure he played all 12 of us no matter how sucky we were; I remember being on the 2nd team but not feeling any animosity; I remember passing to AY and the basket that helped us lead the score. Coach was so proud afterwards; even though we were playing the eventual runner up's I remember his enthusiastic "you guys even overtook them for a while!". I remember befriending referee's and their comments on how we played that particular game (I think you played much better in the last game) I remember the issue with the 5 on 5 our school had and the whole Survivor-vote thingi; where i remember voting for myself =P. I remember my the first 5on5 match, the first ugly printed Sakura tshirt (which i now wear to sleep :P) the first time mum came for my match, where I scowled the whole way through wishing she wasn't there and the first loss. I remember playing the huge form 5-ers, the form 6 girl from AT who has the typical demure look and i couldnt believe she actually played for the district.
I remember becoming friends with so many people not in my clique; back classes, removes, gangsters, non schoolmates, bandmates whom i've never spoken to before, science teacher whom i've always fallen asleep in his class before, 3rd street ta jie who said "tell the biatch to bring it on, i'll call my friends to back you up", the victory screams, the cramping screams, the Quest for the leather basketball that took me more than 3 years but the feeling of finally holding a ball you saved up for in your own hands is just priceless.
But I also remember all the issues and conflicts that we had. I remember getting third, and not getting into the district team, how disappointed I was but happy for my 2 team mates at the same time. I remember how excited I was when Jmin told me after our first u-16 match that one of the officials came over and asked for our 3 names. I remember joining their training once, and i believe that's where all the humility began. I remember my 2 teammates who climbed higher and higher but further and further away from each other. I remember the unspoken unhappiness during our last 5on5 match that we had in form 4. I remember playing less and less as my studies became more important and I remember the day I said no to playing basketball for the first time...
I wonder if Coach felt disappointed when I didn't go for the reunion steamboat 2 years ago. I wonder if he still remembers me. I wonder if he's still coaching or if he still brings the players to his brother's big bowl noodle shop after every match. I wonder if he'd be proud to know that I'm no longer the person I used to be when he coached us, that I no longer run away and that I still like the kuey tiao teng his bro serves =)
