PFL 2009 (Div 2) Review: Coach Jason's 300

This year's division 2 campaign has been a roller coaster ride for everyone in the team. Many questions had been posed as to what the outcome would be. It was a mixture of an experienced division 1 chipsmore, a decently skilled player who just "curved" his stick, a hyperactive duo of small cikus, a group of powerpuff girls and a keeper that had yet to be tested.

We started the campaign pretty slow. Untested. Due to logistics and time constraints, we couldn't really test the whole team as in playing as it is. Deservingly, we lost to Dalat in our first game.

As the league progressed, we seemed to show some promise as one of the medal candidates. People began to write good things about us after winning against one of the top teams in Penang, Contact Bullets. The 3-0 win was a sweet one. Playing against a very tactical and proper team, I still think we were lucky to put it off against them. Michael was basically on form that day. His curve was just curvy enough to bag the goals.

Frontliners has always been a moody team. We are very temparamental, as our morale changes like the weather all the time. On our good days we can play really well. On our bad days, we can really play as though we never have touched a stick before. The win against Griffins was a lucky and narrow win. Although we won, we felt as though we lost. I also personally learned that I as a coach need to gamble at times. Relying on important players like Michael and Megan can be a little too predictable and obvious, leaving the rest of the players untested.

Quickly enough, we learned fast from our previous shortcomings and improvised from our previous matches. The game against Firebrands marked a beginning of a new format for 300. If I had to pick our best game, it would be the one against Phoenix. Phoenix were the best team in division 2. 300 made a lot of changes. There were at least 4 line-ups played against Phoenix. Each change created a different tempo to the game. Changing the mood of the gameplay at every change.

That game displayed creativity in the usage of line-ups as we learned to be flexible and daring with our line-ups. The consequence? An unpredictable and powered up 300 team which played like the Spartans. The teamplay was awesome. There were a lot of chances and good teamwork between the forwards and the centre. Defence was solid to the max. However, because of some silly mistake, we let in a silly goal due to our lack of concentration. And that silly goal cost the whole team to fall as we had shown that we are mentally weak when facing pressure in tournaments.

If 300 want to rise up, they must learn to keep their heads in the game and stay focused, no matter the results. That was the only disappointing thing in the last game.

The outcome of the league: all of us gained a lot of experience. Stars were born. Some shy people finally got to shine and show their true colors, to my amazement. I was very impressed with the team overall. This year's campaign was definitely much better than the previous year's :)

Youthwave is coming up. Penang League is over, now we look forward to Youthwave and the upcoming Division 1 in June.

Z'liners-PFA Floorball Challenge 2008: Official Report

In the recent Z'Liners-PFA Floorball Challenge, blither-blather-blither...

A little too ordinary... so let's be unorthodox and go for a totally neutral, straightforward report on all the happenings of the last few weeks.

Frontliners Floorball Club and Ztec 8cers teamed up, along with Penang Floorball Association, to organize this tournament. This tournament was divided into three categories: Juniors, Women and Open. The first two are rather self-explanatory while the Open meant that anyone could play, even them tall and strong foreigners.

The Juniors and Women's games were held on the 13th of September; the Open one week later. The game format slightly differed for each category: Juniors being a 3v3, Women's a 4v4 and Open another 4v4 but with goalie.

In the Juniors' category, eight teams had registered: Two from Dalat, Contact and Firebrands, and one from Frontliners and Ztec. Of the lot, Dalat and Contact were probably the ones expected to fight it out for first place. Not many surprises, but there were some thrills, especially the hard-fought 3-2 seesaw win by F-Jr over fireBrands I2.

Dalat Kestrels (kestrel=small falcon), consisting of them not-so-tall but still taller than most players easily triumphed, with Dalat Falcons coming in second. Contact Hoppers defeated Ztec to win the bronze.

Jared Williams and Jordan Nagel of Falcons, and also Eythan Yeoh of Hoppers impressed the organizers enough to be named in the All-Star team.

Click below for results and standings.

The Junior's category officially ended, warming up whatever crowd there was for the Women's games. Again, there were eight teams: two from MGS and Frontliners, with USM, Contact, Innebandy and FGA all sending one team.

Looking at the registered names, it seemed that gold would be closely contested by Frontliners Fury, UniHawks, Contact Sugar and Innebabes, each boasting players of reasonable (comparative) quality: Fury with Kungfu Spartan Sharron and Pei Li; UniHawks with the almighty Sarah and sidekicks Wai Wai and Dawn; Sugar with hypermouse (term borrowed from Yi Lin) Penny and Sheryn, sister-of-almighty; plus Innebabes with sharpshooter Valerie and Elaine.

On that day itself it immediately became a three-horse race after Sharron pulled out of Fury, citing diarrhea and fever. Bar a miracle, it was impossible that Fury could muster a challenge on gold, being drawn into a group along with Sugar and Innebabes.

UniHawks kicked off the day with a great 7-0 rout of E&P of FGA. The Elephants and Pineapples were simply outrun, outplayed and outclassed. Tania was kept in constant check by the defence and, really, had no one to pass to anyway.

In the group that consisted of UniHawks, Ednamodes, E&P and Inferno, it was a race between the first two to score as many as possible. One that UniHawks easily won and went on to record an amazing 16 goals with just 1 against. Inferno took third spot with a lesser negative-goal-difference than E&P's.

In the other group, it was a more tightly-strung affair as Innebabes, Sugar and Fury all scrapped for the two qualifying places available. Innebabes did Sugar a favor, handing them the final qualifying spot, defeating Fury comfortably, 2-0.

E&P and Violets fought for the distinction of not being last, the former drawing first blood but Violets' equalizer meant penalties. From about 7m out, neither team seemed to be able to hit the target until Violets succeeded in rolling the ball across the line.

A delicious derby on the cards next: Fury, sorely-wounded animals against Inferno, who were hoping for an upset to claim bragging rights in Frontliners. Both playing with four and four players alone, Fury took advantage of their opponent's inexperience and ran out 4-0 winners; Inferno never once crossing their own half-way line.

It was in the semi-finals that the one genuine upset occurred: the game where UniHawks conceded their only goal and lost their only game, to Sugar. It all looked even throughout the match, Sheryn successfully neutralizing Sarah's threat and finding lots of joy in doing so, until an unfortunate mistake at the back by Wai Wai led to Sheryn scoring the only goal.

In the other semi-final, Innebabes defeated Ednamodes by a whisker of a goal, setting up a final clash with Sugar.

UniHawks gained scant consolation, thrashing Ednamodes 5-0 for bronze. A spate of own-goals did not help Ednamodes with their defence in shambles. Credit to them for being probably the loudest team that day, though.

Another closely-fought match -the final between Sugar and Innebabes, however, Sugar proved too much for Innebabes, and when they scored the one and only goal of the match, it never looked as if Innebabes were going to recover.

Sarah of UniHawks, predictably, ran out as top scorer with nine goals. Dawn also of UniHawks gained the Top Assists award (no such thing as Assist-er, is there?). The All-Star team comprised of Penny, Sarah, Valerie and Sheryn.

Click below for results, standings and charts.

Along came the rain, the crowd, and the action one week later. It poured in torrents, still Dalat was filled to the rafters. Fifteen teams had registered: an astounding four from Ztec, three from Contact and USM, two from Frontliners and Salibandy, and one from Dalat. Innebandy did not participate.

Group A consisted of Salibandy JJ, Contact Safari, Z3, UniHawks and 300 of Frontliners. UniHawks swept the competition away, winning all their matches and easily registering 11 goals for and none against, with the likes of the strapping Scandinavians Kimmo and Pirrka in the team.It was recorded as a 2-0 win, in UniHawks' match with Z3, though the ball had found its way into the net three times (the last an awesome drag shot!), a refereeing mix-up ensured the score remained as it was, to the fury of Edward.Group B had Salibandy JS, UnderDawgs Zirconium, Spartans, Z2 and Contact Army. The highlight of this group was when Zirconium, aided by good fortune and remarkable last-ditch defending, heroically held eventual champions Army to a goalless draw, thus sending Spartans through in first place.Group C contained Dalat Buzzards, Z4, UnderDawgs Titanium, Ztec 8cers and Contact Driver. One of the most thrilling games in the tournament happened here, when Titanium played Buzzards. It was an extremely physical battle as most of the players weren't small and tiny Malaysians but giant foreigners. Honours shared this game, and Buzzards went on to top the group.Valiant Salibandy JS lost to UniHawks 1-2 in the first quarter. The other three were goalless and had to go to penalties. The goalkeepers turned out to be the heroes; Suleen of Titanium and Sharron of Spartans, so it was UniHawks against Army and Titanium versus Spartans for the semi-finals.However, first to decide the 5th to 8th placings. The strangest thing the crowd witnessed was in the 7th/8th placing match where Jun Wooi was forced to pull on the goalie's jersey. This helped Salibandy JJ to snatch 7th place right from under Buzzards' noses, 1-0.Just as their ladies did, UniHawks did not make it to the final after Army put on a superb showing to keep Kimmo and Co. quiet. 1-0 to Army. In the other semi-final, it was a backs-to-the-wall job by Spartans as they defended desperately, riding their luck against the bigger and faster Titanium. It went to penalties, and SanJeevan scored the decisive penalty to send them through as Sharron again saved from the spot.

It was a breathtaking derby match; Titanium versus UniHawks. A fast paced-encounter, and five goals were scored, but the match finally ended in UniHawks' favor, 3-2.

A rematch of the earlier game in which both teams drew blanks, then. Spartans went ahead in the second minute after Pei Li smashed in the rebound after robbing David of the ball, but one lapse of concentration proved fatal and Nicholas equalized exquisitely in the seventh minute.

Army proved the more experienced and won 1-0 on penalties.

Kimmo won the Top Scorer award, notching up an amazing 12 goals (he scored 75% of UniHawks' goals!) and his teammate, Pirrka, won Top Assists. Sharron, Sanjeevan, James, Kimmo and Johannes made it into the All-Star team.

Click below for results, standings and charts.

*Coming up... it's been a little too neutral, so we'll have a little one-sided, uninterrupted and probably a little biased thinking session by Tania, Sonia and Pei Li.

Part III: Those Who Work Hardest...

...do not necessarily win, but there can be no denying that these people below deserved to. Congratulations!

1st: Bryan (Contact)

2nd: JJ (Minden Unihawks)

3rd: Ter Min (Ztec 8cers)

1st: Pei Li (Frontliners)

2nd: Eeleen (Innebandy! Co)

3rd: Charmaine (MGS)

PTPY 2008

"There is no 'I' in TEAM." (Coach Jason)

Ignoring the quote... there was much fun last Saturday in Play in a Team, Play for Yourself (PTPY), organized by Contact Sports. Initially planned to be held over a two-week span but shortened to just one due to the number of entries, a late avalanche of register-ees surprised the organizers (or so it goes).

Very much like the 3v3 Floorball Challenge organized earlier this year, the difference was that it seemed more like express golf. (Sink a hole, get a point, add up all your points... and winner takes all.) But played in a team.

Doesn't make sense at all.

Right, so players would be divided into groups of six. Then in that group itself, the players would be divided into two teams, facing each other. Three matches of five minutes would be played, each time with different player combinations.

With each win, two points would be gained. And therefore after three matches, the players' individual points would be totaled, and the one with the most tops the group.

Something like that.

In the Men's PTPY, Bryan of Contact turned out Champion, whilst in the Ladies', Pei Li of Frontliners earned the gold.

3v3's are not notably known for great tactical plays, but it was still great fun to watch, what from Ter Min's airhooks and attempted airhooks, Kuan Yang's 'swoosh' shots, to the agony of penalties.

And in the end... really, it went to show that individual skills alone could not win anything. The winners have a lot to thank their teammates for (so how about sharing that RM50 gift voucher?).
More comments and pictures to come.

Behind The Scenes, Part II

The second part of this special edition, the second half of the club. How Frontliners Spartans' team manager, Jason Chan, views the Penang League 2008 campaign. SPARTANS!!! WHAT IS YOUR PROFESSION???
And all of Sparta says FLOORBALLERS!!!

It was a roller-coaster experience for the Spartans. But indeed it is one that all of us will carry throughout our lives. Critics that began with writing us off were suddenly surprised by the radical and diehard attitude of the Spartans. The energy... the power... the pace and most of all... THE HUNGER!!!

Spartans are probably, if not the most... HUNGRY team in the league... We've been waiting for this day. However... as heroic as we can be, we're still nowhere near the top. A few fumbles at the end of the league proved to be fatal.

The Spartans started their Penang League campaign a year ago when I was first sworn in to take over the leadership of Frontliners Floorball Club. We came out with a plan which we called PROJECT 2007 (look back at our first ever blog entry). It was a 2 year plan to rebuild the club and most of all the team as a whole from scratch. In search of the finest gems in Penang, we went scouting everywhere as much as possible, looking for the best prospects to fire up the team. After months of effort, there were at least 7 teams and lines that failed the test of time. Only the strong were left behind, thus resulting in the creation of the Spartan team.

The Spartan team should have been stronger if not for the dropouts that didn't last. Those who were following the program well have captured the attention of many. Most of these players have no or little exposure at state level training. (These fellows have parents that don't like them to play floorball, so they can't go to state training. Those who have the opportunity, please appreciate it.) I once said to all my players that if they can't go for state training, then let's bring the same level of training to our club.

The price is... only 1 word... COMMITMENT. We had a target, and that was to be the 1st Runner-up in Penang League 2008. We had that goal even before we started the campaign. Goals were set, at a Club level, Team level, Line level and even Individual level. Rewards and bonus schemes were launched.

What went wrong?

The first game boosted the team's confidence a lot, when the Spartans beat the defending champions 5 - 3. It was an entertaining and thrilling game to watch. Who would have thought the Spartans could have defeated the mighty champions powered by the invincible Deswyn Wan? Even the Spartans were shocked.

However, the second game sealed the confidence among the fans that we could repeat the same performance if we were focused enough. Somehow we were no longer the underdogs in the game.

Contact was always the team that we took extra caution with. We are not surprised that Contact is where it is today. We lost to them both times, and we have to admit that we are still very far behind them in many areas.

If there was any team that killed us of our goal, it has to be the Unihawks. They were great. From the beginning we took them seriously, in fact, we took every team seriously. Spartans are an unpredictable team. On a good day, we can beat the champions. On a bad day, we commit silly mistakes that prevent us from achieving our goal. But the Unihawks improved a lot as the league progressed. Have you noticed that their goal difference gets less and less along the way till they finally beaten us? Bravo to the Unihawks.

Individually, I am very proud of my players. They have risen to the occasion. Mental strength was the biggest improvement in the team. The pillar of the team is and has to be Sharron Tan aka Kungfu Spartan Keeper. She overcame herself throughout the whole league and performed so well that National Keeper Lin Ken was so impressed. Well... I wasn't surprised at all that she was mentally prepared, cause we as a team, we've always had faith in her.

The catalyst of the team would have to be Kuan Yang. The stats have proven everything. Technically strong, this is the most versatile player in the team that can play in any position except goalkeeping (who knows eh..). I took the risk and shifted him behind to make him play at his best. Even he was surprised by the impact created from this decision. Kuan Yang's stature made the mindgames playable for the coach because of the many options he creates for the team. If chess is floorball, this guy is the queen.

The most promising Frontliner in Penang League 2008 was Mekananth Selvaraj aka ADEBAYOR. His stunning performance captured the fans attention and earned him the nickname of the Arsenal and Togo Poacher. Having Mekananth in the team brought up the average speed by 20 percent. Speed is his main asset, and I've been working on changing him from an typical old fashioned winger into a stinging striker with a killer instinct for goals. The game against the Unihawks helped unleash the in-born poaching abilities in him. Definitely a player to watch in the future, if he can get rid of his opportunity-wasting blind passes which frustrate the coach so much.

Players that have matured a lot are Mr Shyguy, San Jeevan and Iron Lady, Kew Pei Li. Both were the back two that provided a strong platform to organize attacks. Though silly mistakes were committed, we have to admit that anyone would love to have them in their team. And we at Frontliners view these two as our priceless assets. No bargain available to buy them out. Keke... these two have also shown good commitment in training, thus, they are our long term plans for our future.

San Jeevan has excellent ball control. Always the most obedient one in training, his hard work paid off, with a goal scored as he obeyed the call to take more shots. Some sad moments when he made some silly mistakes that cost the team, but whatever they say... you gotta love this guy. How often do you bump into a shy guy who plays good floorball nowadays?

Iron Lady, Pei Li has been tougher and nastier this time round. Her controls have improved. We managed to catch her shooting a few times on target and exchanging some nice passes with the forwards. Always the one asking the coach... "What should I improve?" Well, I usually poke her with saying "EVERYTHING". Keke... Take it easy girl, Rome was not built in one day. Let's start first with the way you smile:)

One guy that shocked me and the whole team was Goekula Kannan. He is the joker in the team and reminds me a lot of Emile Heskey. He's one big bull. This boy scored two goals against Innebandy. I had to keep my promise of kissing him for every goal he scored (that was two). Discipline wise, Kannan has improved in controlling his temperament. We give him credit for the effort taken to control his own impulse. Hmm... I still wished I could work on his floorball sense first, though.

As a coach, my best buy of the season was Joshua Lam aka Lam Tai Hap (Pendekar Lam). Many do not realize that he is my most-underrated player in the team. To sum it up... he is like a Ferrari, without alignments. Horsepower without cornering abilities. We've gotta work on his alignments, he appears to be very clumsy. But Japanese-style-Banzai ethics and energy has placed him in the heart of the team. Taking over as the one shouting our war cry while I was not around, his energetic presence is an asset to the team. We love his Semangat and GUNGHO attitude. Although opponents are irritated with his brainless tackles and pushes, I can't blame him... under the coach's strict orders he had to play overly aggressive. He took it willingly without resistance... must be something natural to him. One of the long awaited energy givers.

Have you ever seen the LORD OF THE RINGS movie? There was this scene where the hobbits were asking for help and the ent answered, "We... have... come... to... a... decision..." The whole of middle kingdom is in war against Sauron, and here you are, a group of people who are saying, "Errr... I think first lah... See first lah... Dunno ah..."

POR KAI YANN. Deja Vu. The whole of Spartans are fighting with their lives, and then suddenly this joker starts asking, "Er.. coach... I play where ah?" (What are you gonna do if you are the coach?) But I must admit, Kai Yann has matured a lot this league. He has gotten rid of his Nervous Breakdown Syndrome that appeared in every past tournament. This boy is one that I personally discovered and recruited him from our youth group. As the tournament progressed, Kai Yann got better and better. He seems to have found a micro-fraction of his ego once again (if you can make this boy angry please teach me, he's a cool cucumber). I think he's got lots of potential (maybe many will disagree with me, but that's my opinion as a coach). This tournament made me realize he's got another feature I didn't notice all this while... a natural rebounder, dangerous in front of the crease, although before he can ever fulfill his call... he's gotta solve his 'stim stim' problem first.

Koay Yi Lin is the most cheerful person in the team, who never fails to put a smile on everyone's face. This girl is another energy giver in the team. Being the most cheerful, she ended up as the cheerleader for the team. Wasn't being played much due to the intensity of the game, yet we at Frontliners recognize her availability as an asset to the team. She cheered and encouraged the team when it mattered most. That's a big contribution.WISEMAN: Steven Tay, being the most senior player in the team is another valuable piece in the puzzle. This wiseman is the other most versatile player in the team besides Kuan Yang. However, being long gone from the floorball scene for some time has mellowed down his aggression. But I still love the way he slowed down the pace of the game once again. He's the calmest player in Frontliners so far with excellent ball control. Only problem, him being a little TOO calm and holding the ball too long. But I reckon that he has got very good floorball IQ, very good game intelligence. That's why I call him the Wiseman.

As for me... well... I dunno how to comment on myself... you guys are free to comment on the chatbox... keke. I'm doing my soul-searching right now as a player. I have to change the way I play to go further. Taking both coaching and playing seriously and at the same time is no easy task. But Penang League 2008 has been a wonderful memory for me. It has deepened my passion for the club, its players and the future young guns that will rise up.

While the campaign was not successful, it was not a failure as well. We have defined our own style of play: the Fast Pace style. We actually got to be at the top of the league for a short while, which was only a dream in the past.

My only regret is to have missed the chance to clinch a medal. The biggest letdown is that we were the only team that did not have its own supporters. We were always playing an away game. It is something we will work on in the future. But I believe being in such a position has made us mentally stronger to stay focused on the game.

The proudest moment that I have as a coach till today... well, to be honest, is to see my players grow. Some have even outgrown me. Some show much promise.

When my players become good players and they start coaching others one day, I will have won the biggest medal of all time. That is my vision. I'm in the people business. Not winning titles. That is the greatest satisfaction I will ever receive as a coach. It motivates me to press on and continue what that was started in 2007. We still have one more year to go to complete Project 2007. This is so far the peak of Frontliners Floorball Club, and we definitely will see more interesting stuff coming in the future.

OOOOOOO FRONTLINERS !!!!

Behind The Scenes, Part I (And Also Penang League 2008 Review)

You've seen the action on court, the good and bad,the beautiful and ugly. Now take a look at what went through our team managers' minds during and after Penang League 2008. Below is how Frontliners Trojans' team manager, Kuan Yang, sees the team and everything and anything that happened.

PROLOGUE: A crazy 6 weeks of intense floorballing has finally come to an end. Phew... All the sweat from running, all the pain from the slashings and the lost of voice from shouting, not to forget the ups and downs in the game, the costly mistakes and the magical moments. All is now in the past and hence a review of it to build a better tomorrow (hopefully).

Div 2, supposedly a training ground and arena to perform for newbies and reserve players but due to the lack of teams, stronger teams were forced to play in the division. Although this destroyed the stage for the Trojans to perform and definitely made it tonnes harder to maintain the morale, it proved to be a good training ground for the players and me as a manager.

PLAY OF THE LEAGUE: Play of the league is probably the most easy thing to comment on as the only fair game was with Contact Bullets. A Hansel and Gretel battle. Both are full of young and new players although Contact boasts a few regulars in State Training. Both young and inexperienced, both hammered by larger and meaner opponents, and both managers always ending up losing their voice for the day(haha).

All the other games were meant to cut down the deficits to make the scoreline look as respectable as possible, but against Contact was where the goals would come from. And it did, all 3 goals scored in the Trojans campagin were against the Bullets. No disrespect, but the fact is that there were only two Div 2 matches in the whole league and I believe it was a great experience for the players.
THE TROJANS: Individually, it was a pretty encouraging performance from all the newbies, and at least all of them lived up to a certain expectation target set.

Goalies, the last line of defense, a scarce and valuable talent in the game who always get the sticks when conceding and nothing when goals are scored. We're lucky to have two, both young and fresh and eager to learn the trade.

Felicia, our first choice goalie in my opinion did a great job cuz it is not easy to keep your sanity and play as a goalie for a team that leak goals like flowing water. The team may concede a lot of goals, some of them the defenders' fault, some the goalies' and some being just pure unlucky. Anyhow, her determination and never-say-die attitude deserve much praise. On the technical aspect, although a layman, I feel the basics are there but further refining and training would surely help. And never lose focus, you are definitely on the right track. Continue to emulate you "sifu", and one day you'll surpass him. Haha.

Emergency goalie Bryan who was recruited from FGA to replace Felicia who was unavailable due to NS duties for the last two games gave a reasonable performance for a first timer with two training sessions under unqualified goalkeeping coaches (sweat...). From my point of view, with his football goalkeeping experience plus hard work and proper guidance, I see a lot potential waiting to be fulfilled.

Julian & Wayne, both youngest in the club, were very energetic on the court though at times headless (as expected for kids of that age), portrays Frontliners' future if not Penang's. These two have bright futures and it would definitely be worthwhile to keep staying in Frontliners to watch them grow in to great players one day.

As for Loga, the towering hockey-convert forward was impressive up front with bursts of pace and numerous on-goal attempts throughout the campaign. I wouldn't call them shots, but if he had mastered the basics of it, Trojan's goal tally would be much improved. As I mentioned, Loga is "towering", but slightly soft at times and does not exploit his height as effective as possible in areas such as blocking the keeper during free hit attempts and shielding the ball more effectively, an area to be taken note of.

Tania on the hand although smaller in size has been quite a shocker with her dribbling and not to mention a few "nutmegs" here and there. Not yet the whole package cuz the dribbling always ended up with nothing, so do try and make passes from time to time, hopefully with a lot of hard work she might start to terrorize defenses next year.

Trojan's new defensive trio, Sonia, Lawren and Lavinia did quite ok for first timers, and there is certainly obvious improvement throughout the games, in some basic defensive positioning eg. when the ball is behind the goal etc. and also other defenders' know-how like clearing the ball from the sides, moving the ball behind the goal post. Areas of improvements definitely include alertness, ball shielding and ball control for all three, more seasoning of the long legs for Sonia(must execute Jason's training regime vigorously) whereas Lawren needs to divert the aggression in basketball play to floorball. (And please stop wearing beach pants, reminds me of the Aussie's Swedish coach and gets me into trouble with PFA president Mr. James...)

Nareen, star defender for the Trojans, made good use of his towering presence, a hard runner at both ends of the court and with his experience, I definitely felt safer with him around the defensive end. However, his habit of venturing up in attack has to be less frequent as Trojans back line is way too fragile to be left with one behind. As a senior player, the "one-hand syndrome" has to be rectified and his passes were pretty woeful. Keep working hard!

If Nareen is the star at the back, Roselyn would be the star up front. Hardworking up front, possessing deadly slap shots and to my surprise, able to help organise the forwards on court, it all prompted me to select her as a center for two games when Serene was away. Did pretty well in the middle of the park and tried her best to keep the formation compact. Maybe due to her lack of experience, she was pretty confused when she switched back to a forward role but no fear as experience will be gained via more involvement in the game. Similar to Nareen, improvements in passing is a must and more wrist shots please. Keep it up!

Last but not least, Captain Marvel Serene Tan, the most experienced and skillful player of the team and who played all four games which she attended without resting. Bravo. Nothing much to complain or comment about, but it would definitely be good if she could attend training more, get to know the team more and help improve on the team play. Thank you for leading the team in this campaign!

THE OBJECTIVE: Objective wise, supposedly for exposure (expression, experience & entertainment), aka the lame 'E' cuz the majority of players were fresh brand new. Win or lose was never my concern, experience was not lacking but the platform for expression and entertainment(fun) was hampered with teams like Dalat and Ztec in the division. The trashing was not so nice, I admit, but we should not be beaten by it, we should rise from defeat, digest the experience, improve and face the next challenge, stronger.

For some it was bad for morale; I would say it was part of learning and building mental strength. For some we shouldn't have joined in the first place; I would say: then when will you be ready? We will never be ready unless we are always ready. Ready to face the challenge ahead. Win or lose should not always determine the purpose of joining a tournament, to learn and to improve should always be the main idea. Getting trashed and moving on with it is part and parcel of the learning curve.

I believe each and everyone is like an unearthed gem, full of potential to shine, and sometimes will just have to face hardship, defeats, grow with it and then when the outer layer that conceals the gem is removed, only then the glowing brightness of the gem can shine. Hence, the phrase of revealing one's potential is complete, now move on to fulfill it, which is another stage you Trojans will explore.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY: Here is a summary of the good, the bad and the ugly (like the Sun's sports column) of the Trojan's campaign in Penang Floorball League 2008 Division 2:

THE GOOD: Spirited, collective and diehard Trojans fought all the way to the final game. They fought, they bled, they crumbled, they rose and they fought again.

THE BAD: Four teams in Division 2 league with only Two Division 2 teams. A sad day for Penang Floorball.

THE UGLY: Lost. Lost on journey, lost count of time, lost their mind... Somehow, the Trojans never reached the battlefield and left their comrades to fight a lonely battle.

Overall, it was a good learning curve for most if not all the players. Individually, it was great to see them improve bit by bit throughout the league with some even exceeding expectations. Team wise as a whole, the Trojans were a collective lot, fighting till the end but tactically there is still loads of work to be done. Hopefully the matches will light up the fire in everyone of them and make them hungry for more action.

EAT, SLEEP & LIVE FLOORBALL!!! =)

Contact 3-on-3 Floorball Challenge, 19 Jan 08

The 3-on-3 Floorball Challenge organized by Contact Sports on 19 January 2008 kicked off the start of the new year and signalled the start of a year chock-full of events and matches. More of a warm-up thing to raise anticipation and fuel passion, it was a good chance for teams to enjoy themselves and get a feel of winning.

Frontliners sent out five teams, and of the five, only (FH)2 was expected to get the gold. Two of the teams (Frontliners Gladiators and Frontliners Guppies) were made up of junior players, thus not much (not anything, really) was expected.

Frontliners Spartans
Jason Chan Ming Hwee (c)
Joshua Raj
Mekananth
Por Kai Yann
Frontliners Trojans
Khor Kuan Yang (c)
Steven Tay
SanJeevan
Goekula Kannan
Frontliners Gladiators
Loga (c)
Lawren
Julian

In the guys' matches, it was the Trojans who got the furthest, finally losing to Salibandy (eventual champions), with the Spartans falling earlier to Dalat, and the Gladiators leaving early after losing their first two matches.

As stated above, Salibandy emerged as champions, with Ztec Beta and Alpha coming in second and third respectively.

(FH)2
Sharron Tan (c)
Kew Pei Li
Koay Yi Lin
Roselyn Ewe
Frontliners Guppies
Tania Loke (c)
Sonia Gopal
Lavinia Ann Lam
Eunice Tay

For the ladies, however, (FH)2 started strongly with a convincing win against Innebabes North, but Hailstorm (eventual champions) from USM proved to be too strong, winning twice against them to snatch the gold. Frontliners Guppies did not do too well, losing to Hailstorm and Innebabes North.

Congratulations to all who won, and "Well done" to everyone (especially the Frontliners) who played. Frontliners Floorball Club might not have done that well here, overall, but it's a long year ahead. Plenty of time to start winning those medals:)

Next stop, Penang League.

Review: Dalat-World of Floorball Challenge 2007

Back row from left: Kai Yann, Aaron Raj, Steven Tay, Jason Chan, Kuan Yang, San Jeevan and Nareen.
Front row from left: Kannan, Sharron Tan, Yi Lin, Pei Li and Mekananth.

“Dalat League happened –period.” This suggestion by Miss Lee Wai Wai when this writer was despairing over finishing this report, is interesting, but rather short, so here you go –the highlights and lowlights, not only of Frontliners Floorball Club, but of everything (perhaps a little too widespread...) that went on from Saturday to Sunday.

Pool A: Contact Y
Minden Underdawgs 1
Subang Rascals
Dalat 2
Innebandy! Co.

Pool B: Dalat 1
Minden Underdawgs 2
Contact X
Salibandy
Frontliners

The better the improvement, the heavier the weight of expectations. Frontliners were no longer the underdogs (yeah, whatever) and were expected to offer some kind of resistance, which they did, though they have yet to overcome the curse of poor starts.

Having the advantage of starting late (4 pm!), the team faced Minden Underdawgs 2 and were arguably rather lacklustre against an ultra-defensive team. Bored defenders and frustrated attackers do not make a well-balanced team, with Sharron in goal merely lounging around. The goals eventually came –a good, long-range effort by SanJeevan and a ball turned in by Jason after a scramble in the box.

The one and only two-minutes timeout for Frontliners (applause encouraged) came from an unlikely source –Ms. Koay Yi Lin. A shot by Mekananth at goal hit her straight in the chest, and in panic she snatched at the ball and afterwards ran around in circles, totally bewildered. Quite harsh, the two minutes, it at least provided some amusement for the onlooking spectators. Still even harsher was the fact that Ms. Koay was overtaken by cramps (“screaming like a pregnant woman,” said she) and could not play for the rest of the evening.

Each player knowing full and well that there was much room for improvement, they lined up against Contact X, hoping that everything would go okay...

Which did not. Right from the start, Contact, as promised, threw everything they had at Frontliners. Overwhelmed and nearly overcome, Frontliners could only watch in disbelief as the team led by Edward tore apart their defences. In total disarray, Frontliners forgot about everything they had trained for and were lucky to escape only with a 0-3 loss.

The Coach stuck with the same team for the next game against Salibandy and the team performed much better, snuffing out the threat of Deswyn and keeping the game scoreless, thus knocking Salibandy out of contention for the semis. Later on Mr. Jason confided that he wasn’t that happy because “we weren’t playing floorball –we were just clearing the ball”.

A win by twelve goals over Dalat 1, no less, was needed to qualify for the semis –the stuff fairytales are made of (or not... even fairytales aren’t so unbelievable). Mr. Lin Ken, goalkeeper of Innebandy! Co. Promised to strip and play if Frontliners did win by twelve, though realistically, a loss by a minimum number of goals would be satisfying, and a draw would be terrific. A win, then, would be perfect.

With nothing to lose and everything to win, almost the whole court was rooting for Frontliners, and the team started strongly and pressured Dalat 1 from the start. Kuan Yang tested the keeper with a few crack shots before another shot sent the crowd wild. 1-0 to Frontliners.

Frontliners held out for a few nervy moments until half-time thanks to some wonderful saves by Sharon. Dalat, though, came back strongly and stormed into the lead after an unfortunate mistake at the back. Jason again sent the everyone wild (including the opposing keeper... but the less said about it, the better) with a neat goal after some slick teamwork, creating history, for it was for the first time that Frontliners did not lose to a Dalat team.

This was where the tournament ended for Frontliners Floorball Club, who have shown a marked improvement from their last outing in the Penang Open Challenge. Less goals conceded, more goals scored, less two-minutes penalised and more experienced gained. Not bad at all.

Now to stop being so self contained and to expand more on the tournament. Contact X and Subang Rascals provided the most entertaining game of the tournament, holding the Rascals to a draw valiantly after some magnificent work by Contact’s goalie which then went on to penalties. The Rascals triumphed over Contact X in penalties after Bryan’s goal was disallowed for pulling back and Edward’s lob went agonisingly wide. (A worthy footnote: Sasi’s penalty was saved.)

Dalat 1 and Innebandy! Co. battled it out for the rights to face Subang Rascals in the finals. Leading 1-0 after a freehit, Dalat were reduced to three players after two two-minutes, but still held out to advance to the finals.

In the 3rd-4th placing match, Contact X were always on top after Kenny’s goal, bar some opportunist shots by Daniel. Edward’s goal put the game beyond doubt and Contact had only to while the game away to claim third place.

Come the final, there was little doubt around the court that Subang Rascals would run away with the title. Dalat were a good team, but Subang had just too much in reserve to lose, and proved the point over again with an emphatic win, Sasi delighting the crowd with his skills and shots. Congratulations to all who took part, especially Minden Underdawgs 1(who managed to score a goal!) and 2 who did incredibly well. Of course (this being the club blog), Frontliners did incredibly well also. But...

...back to the drawing board, Frontliners, there’s still much work to do.

Lion's Heart... and almost a lion's share

The Penang Open Challenge has come and gone. Primary purpose of participating, as put down before, was to expose the players AND to show off their impressive Nike jerseys (if not the only reason).

Sharron Tan (GK)

Line 1:
Khor Kuan Yang

Kew Pei Li

Mekananth

Por K Yan

Line 2:
Jason Chan

San Jeevan
Joshua

Alice Ong

Subs:
Christopher Anand

Ilaiye Pumaren

Goekula Kannan

The first game did more than expose-- it geared the team up for what they all knew would be a tough day. Up against the Subang Rascals, boasting the likes of Sasi and co., Frontliners did okay (in fact they did quite well for a warm-up match) and only lost by a mere seven goals :)

Along with the next game came the Dalat Moldy Oldies. One up to Frontliners in no time thanks to Joshua, but they let in two successive goals before the Game Over. 2-1, then, to the Dalat team. Not bad, really... after the generous first game's scoreline.

Come the third game, Frontliners changed into their white strip and trooped out against Salibandy! Co. Better organized and prepared, Frontliners again drew first blood after some slick teamwork between Joshua and Jason. Drawing level soon after and going ahead after a bad call by the ref (in view of the threat of floorball hooligans, the club has decided not to release his name;), with time running out, it looked like the team was doomed to their third straight defeat... when out of nothing, Jason decided to have a whack at goal inside his own half. Somehow, just somehow, the ball managed to find its way into the net. Frontliners 2-2 Salibandy! Co.The scoreline says it all (though methinks Jason wouldn't mind adding a few words...)

Revved up, the Frontliners engine did not lose any speed against their next opponents, Innebandy! Co and were unfortunate to be undone by an opportunistic strike from Mr. Daniel.

Up against familiar faces from Contact, the team lined up against them with the 8-3 mauling a month ago still fresh in their minds. Both teams did well and played to a one-all draw, but Kuan Yang missed an oh-so-glorious opportunity to garner a win for Frontliners after some good work by the Contact goalie. Later on, a Contact player acknowledged that the team had improved much since the friendly.

The players, apparently, had saved their best and also their tempers for last. Playing against the second Dalat team, Frontliners was showered with two minutes(es?) with goals during those periods rubbing in some extra salt.

All the players deserve to be commended for their performance, some more than others (though as Mr. Jason says, there is no 'i' in team, so...), holding the tag of underdogs but not walkovers. And although there will be no nasi kandar water this time (Note: you should be able to guess who's writing this report by now), the club has announced to all of Penang that for the Frontliners Floorball Club, the best is yet to come.

Youthwave 2007

The much anticipated Youthwave Floorball tournament 2007 has finally been over. The Frontliners Floorball Club sent in 4 teams(2 boys team and 2 girls team) to represent them in the tournament.

The Frontliners contingent consist of team

Frontliners Genesis [Jason(c), Kuan Yang, Kai Yann, Daniel, Kannan, San Jeevan]

Frontliners Exodus [Joshua(c), Mekananth, Christopher, Chin Guan, Nareen, Ilaya]

Frontliners Roses [Sarah Ng(c), Sarah Aida, Roselyn, Alice Ong, Sharron Tan, Pei Li]

Frontliners Carnations [Shafiqah(c), Yi Lin, June Kew, Zi Yin, Tabitha]

Coach Jason has set the target this year, "GUYS... lets be realistic. Even if we sent our best team in, man for man... we can't match the big teams around. So lets set a realistic target. This year, we will aim to be the 4th in the group league out of 7 teams. That is all that is expected."

Team Frontliners Genesis achieved the target of 4th in group league, with 3 wins, 1 draw and 2 lost. Unfortunately Frontliners Exodus, didn't manage to hit the target. They only won 1 game and lost the rest.

Asked on how he felt about the whole tournament, Kai Yann answered," quite syiok because i got to score 2 goals". Technical Advisor showed the everyone why he was appointed the technical Advisor. He was the engine behind team Genesis. The creative force that penetrates the defenses. He scored some important goals and made a lot of assists.

Coach Jason comments,"I think(refering to team Exodus) its got something to do with inexperience. We've got lots of inexperienced players. But overall, Im glad that everyone had fun. Though the price for experience can be painful. I believe that the boys will get wiser after this. "

"Team Exodus seem to be quite down. But I think such experience is important to make them humble. One day when they become better, they will remember where they started."says coach Jason.

Team Frontliners Carnations which consists of totally new players in the game(except for Shafiqah, the rest are very very raw in floorball) did well above expectations. They miraculously won the first game, drew 2 games and lost only 1 game in their group games.

The captain scored one of the nicest goals in the tournament. She did a "Beckham" style lobbing the ball from the defense line all the way, passing through the opponents and went into the goal.

Asked on whether last year was better or this year, Yi Lin answered " Hmm... this year lah. Cause this year I managed to score a goal. "

Team Frontliners Roses emerged as the girls category CHAMPIONS. Congratulations to the girls. Thanks to the wonderful display by captain marvel, Sarah Ng. Looks like the hard work finally paid off.

"I have to say, Im very proud of the girls. A blend of experience and youth made this victory possible. Thanks to the decision to separate the girls and guys, we are now able to see new and interesting girls representing us in the tournament. It was worth the try. "says coach Jason.

At the end of the day, coach Jason finally announce that he will step down from being the Frontliners coach. Some of the players were shocked to hear his announcement.

"Its been a joy to coach all of you" said Jason to all the players with an emotional tone.

Asked by several players to explain his decision, coach Jason answered,

" All of you that are here, have lots of potential. You may not good now, but I know you can go the distance. That potential needs to be challenged or else it will lie dormant. It is time for a better coach with more specialized knowledge, skills and experience in floorball to bring all of you to the next level."

"I will still be around. I will still be amongst all of you. Playing and fighting on the courts with you. If you need my help on floorball, you can always contact me. Im always willing to help. I love this club very much, and if I have to make way for a better candidate, I will do it for the good of the team. "

Jason however will still be managing the club. Kuan Yang, the technical advisor has been promoted as the next coach for the Frontliners floorball club. We believe that with his accumulated experiences in the State-level circuit, the Frontliners will benefit under his tutelage. Asked to give a speech, newly appointed Coach Kuan Yang merely uttered with a shy tone "JUST COME FOR TRAINING LAH !!! "

Penang Open Challenge will be up next in 19th and 20th May 2007. We will be looking forward to the future. OOOOOOOO FRONTLINERS !!!!!!!!!!!!