No Room for Pushovers

Lean, Mean and Scary flew all the way from Singapore up to Penang for a friendly match, full size, in dearly beloved Balik Pulau Stadium, against the Penang state team (more or less).

Earlier in the morning the floorballers of Nanyang Technological University had had a friendly with Contact-Innebandy. Full size court and also game time. NTU won by a close 2-goal margin, but 60 minutes of intense floorballing should take its toll on the players.

Apparently not.

In comparison with Singaporeans, Penangites are lightweight. And less fit. The ladies started off first, and the difference between the two sides was obvious. NTU's movement off the ball was amazing (now all you Frontliners get why Coach Jason stresses on movement so much). Their players knew exactly where and when to run, and it was tough to keep tabs on them, so no surprises when they took a quick two-goal lead early on (should have been three to nothing, but bigger-than-normal holes in the goal-net can be blessings sometimes).

The ladies pulled a goal back through Calvin, one of the three guys deemed good enough to play with the ladies. But the giant 40x20m court seemed to get bigger and bigger as each minute passed, and when the whistle blew, it was 4-1 to NTU.

The men lost narrowly by one goal, a much more even fight, but again, NTU's movement and technique just topped Penang's.

Penang and Frontliner's floorballers are no poorer with the experience gained and lessons learned last Saturday (plus Singaporean chocolates), and we look forward both to linking up with NTU again and also Tuesday's friendly against Meridian Junior College.

F-Letter Words

Dual allegiances are few and far in Frontliners Floorball Club, and also very dangerous. Julian Tan, 12, is a proud dualler, having been caught in both Manchester United's and Chelsea's kits, and the club has caught up with him to ask about his passions, ambitions, and of course, his allegiances.

FFC: When did you start playing floorball?

Julian: ...last year, maybe. Cannot remember.

FFC: So if Manchester United comes and asks you to play for them, and Frontliners asks you to play for them, which one would you choose?

Julian: Both.

FFC: Choose one only, lar.

Julian: ...I don't know lah.

FFC: Your parents didn't allow you to play after the game against Dalat in Penang League. What did you do to convince them to let you play again?

Julian: I got mad. I refused to speak to them, until they let me play again.

FFC: So tell us, which club do you support? Manchester United or Chelsea?

Julian: ...both. But I support MU more.

FFC: Who's your favourite player?

Julian: Cristiano Ronaldo. Cause he's cool.

FFC: So you see floorball becoming as big as football in the future?

Julian: Yes.

FFC: And you aim to be a professional floorballer? Like Cristiano Ronaldo?

Julian: Yes.

FFC: One last thing. Tomorrow morning: Manchester United or Chelsea to win?

Julian: MU, of course lah!

PictureBook

...like the ones pre-k's read. Lots of pictures, very few words, like this post, however, the only thing missing is the narrator and the good-night-kiss. Not needed here.

So sit back and let the pictures tell its stories.

Everyday brings new surprises, and this week was no exception as Coach Jason and Technical Advisor Kuan Yang arrived five minutes late.

Snakes, shots, 2-on-1's, all done and made more interesting by the rare attendance of the club's only male goalie.

Things, though, started getting sloppy, and training got a little more serious with Coach Jason dishing out push-ups for dreaming.

Enter Ms. Koay and Friends to lighten up the entire court.

Then came the Game-that-was-not-a-game, introduced by the coach to some of the players' dismay. Players could not make any attempts to steal the ball, only to block. Players were only given four seconds on the ball, any longer, a freehit would be given against their team.

Nothing to it. Coach Jason promised to continue this practise for the many more trainings-to-come... and however unprofessional this sounds..

Bleagh.

And finally, the usual tax collection and team talk.

Success does not come the easy way, neither does it come the most enjoyable way. The players' ability to make something out of nothing, however, made training great, for where there is Koay Yi Lin, there will always be insanity.

And so they all lived happily ever after, once upon a time in a faraway land.

-End-

Frontliners Spirit

Training was back at the usual time. With an unexpected outcome of attendance of the players (thought only a few will be coming due to exams) the club welcomed Daniel, the newbie of the day.

The training went on as usual with the back-to-basics, passing was emphasized on that day itself. A few minutes later, Coach Jason Chan introduced his new idea, “Xtended X-Box Drill”. Though the drill was complicated and confused the players, but with the spirit of the Frontliners, they did the drill without complaining and questioning why this drill was made.

“We just follow what Coach call us to do la…because at the end of the day, we are playing as a team, for Frontliners...” said Megan.

Time for match. This was what everyone was waiting for. Players were divided into 3 teams consisting of 5 each. As time passed, the game ended with some briefings as usual.

“I found a lot of potential in you guys, so keep it up,” wraps up Coach Jason.

So, see you guys in the next coming training.. GO…FRONTLINERS!!!

Still Life in Blue

A picture is worth a thousand words. The one above is worth much more.

This picture, however, was taken two weeks ago. So.

The club needs photographers. Not photoballers. Or floorbographers. (Get it?)

Lame, yes. Too bad for all you readers, because there was no one to capture the excitement and heart-stopping drama last week for your benefit. Now you get only words.

Training was great, absolutely great. The fact that training was held from 12 to 2 p.m. didn't stop the players from giving everything they had. Tristan James made his first appearance, courtesy of an invitation by Julian Tan. Marlina Mat Yusoff made her first appearance in training after her two-goal outing at Youthwave.

...even reporters forget things...

The passion was very evident right from the start until the end in an action-packed training that hopefully stays.

So.

If you love and want pictures, the club needs photographers, so come and catch the drama and all the action from 9 to 12 noon, only at PBSM, your feel good...

Only in Frontliners Floorball Club, your feel-great-team.