Through the Eyes of a Rookie: Life in Singapore Sports School

Interview by Lee Hwee Cheng. Pictures by Leslie Tan © Red Sports

The members of the Red Sports Crew (ok, maybe just me alone) have always harboured unfulfilled dreams.  For one, I have always wished I was so darn good at some sport (and it would have been basketball in my case), I could actually turn ‘pro’, just so I could wake up every morning and make tons of money from playing my favourite game everyday.  Ain’t that really cool?

Either that, or I had wished when I was still a kid, someone had talent-spotted me and told me I was so darn good I could attend school and I could leave my textbooks in the locker for hours everyday and be trained like a collegiate athlete on her way to turning at least ‘semi-pro’.  Now, that would be really awesome.

Alas, in my days, the only things that really mattered to my teachers and my parents were my grades.  Where extra-curricular activities were concerned, they took place only two or three times every week and the two-hour training sessions came and went all too fast.  The rest of my time was spent idling at the courts with my friends, playing ‘horse’ and silly pick-up games.

So when I heard about the state-of-the-art Singapore Sports School with all its in-house training facilities some three years back, I knew immediately I was probably born into the wrong generation.  If only…

Well, since it was not meant to be, we figured we had to check out the real deal about being a student-athlete in the Singapore Sports School.  Is it really that fun doing what you love to do every single day?  Is it really like an army regimen that starts from six in the morning till ten in the evening?  Is it all that normal being a thirteen-year-old holed up in a dormitory five days a week, seemingly far away from the rest of civilization?

The Red Sports Crew caught hold of two rookies of the Singapore Sports School, barely six months into their new lives as full-time student athletes, to find out if it is really all a myth, and if it is really indeed a dream come true.

13-year-old Isabelle Li jumped straight into her new secondary school life from Chong Fu Primary School in January this year, and now plays table tennis for both Singapore Sports School and the Singapore Youth Team.  Gerald Ong, also 13, is a Secondary One student who plays badminton at the Singapore Sports School now.  He graduated from Yew Tee Primary School last year.

Red Sports:  It is pretty amazing how you’re only 13, yet you’ve chosen a path quite different from other teenagers.  When did you first pick up your sport? 

Isabelle:  About four years ago, my friend brought me to Bishan Sports Hall for a training session with the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA).  I had already bought my own bat for that session.  It was my very first time playing table tennis, and I fell in love with the game from day one.  I used to learn wushu before that.

Gerald:  I was really overweight when I was still in Primary Three.  I was studying in Choa Chu Kang Primary School then.  So I started playing sports.  I tried many things.  I played soccer and then I tried basketball.  Then I ran in the track and field team.  But I realized I couldn’t really excel in those games.  So in the December holidays in that year, I finally picked up badminton, thanks to my dad who’s a badminton coach himself.  And then, I just felt I loved the sport and I could do well in it.

(Editor’s note:  Gerald insists he was really overweight just three to four years ago, but he cuts a trim figure now at 1.73m and 62kg.  We still can’t quite imagine how overweight he used to look, but we are ever more convinced that exercise is the most fool-proof way of keeping the weight off.)

Interview by Lee Hwee Cheng. Pictures by Leslie Tan © Red Sports

The members of the Red Sports Crew (ok, maybe just me alone) have always harboured unfulfilled dreams.  For one, I have always wished I was so darn good at some sport (and it would have been basketball in my case), I could actually turn ‘pro’, just so I could wake up every morning and make tons of money from playing my favourite game everyday.  Ain’t that really cool?

Either that, or I had wished when I was still a kid, someone had talent-spotted me and told me I was so darn good I could attend school and I could leave my textbooks in the locker for hours everyday and be trained like a collegiate athlete on her way to turning at least ‘semi-pro’.  Now, that would be really awesome.

Alas, in my days, the only things that really mattered to my teachers and my parents were my grades.  Where extra-curricular activities were concerned, they took place only two or three times every week and the two-hour training sessions came and went all too fast.  The rest of my time was spent idling at the courts with my friends, playing ‘horse’ and silly pick-up games.

So when I heard about the state-of-the-art Singapore Sports School with all its in-house training facilities some three years back, I knew immediately I was probably born into the wrong generation.  If only…

Red Sports:  So how well have you done in the sport so far?

Isabelle:  I started playing for my school in the inter-primary school tournaments since Primary Three.  I won an individual silver in that year, but I earned individual golds from Primary Four to Six.  I have also continued training with STTA in the National Youth squad.  In my Primary Six year, I took part in the SEA Junior Championships and won an individual silver medal in the under-15 category after losing to a Thai girl.

Gerald:  I started playing for my school in Primary Four.  But I didn’t do that well that year.  When I was in Primary Five, I moved over to Yew Tee Primary School because my dad is the coach for the school’s badminton team.  In Primary Six, I won the under-12 category in the Pilot Pen Schools Individual Championships.

Red Sports:  Ok, so what made you decide to concentrate on your sport and study in Singapore Sports School, and not lead a more regular secondary school life like all your other friends?

Isabelle:  The coaches I trained under in STTA told me I had talent in the sport, and encouraged me to try for the National Youth Squad selection.  So I did, and I got selected.  And I was the youngest at Primary Three, so that boosted my confidence a lot.  I also started training with the first batch of the Singapore Sports School team when I was still in Primary Four, so I already knew how life was going to be like in the school.  In fact, I liked it so much I knew I would come. 

Gerald:  Sometime in April last year, while I was still in Primary Six, a badminton coach from the Singapore Sports School kinda spotted me during the Pilot Pen tournament and he approached me and my dad.  He asked my dad if he would like to send me to the school and my dad thought it was a good idea.  So he sat me down and he explained to me why I might want to consider Singapore Sports School against Raffles Institution or Anglo-Chinese School (Independent).  My dad said that if I really wanted to excel in sports, I ought to head this way because I would get optimal training opportunities, I would get exposure to regional and international competitions otherwise inaccessible, and I would have access to better sparring partners to improve my game.  It was entirely my choice, so I made my choice.  And by end-April, I was already starting to train with the Sports School team.

Red Sports:  Ok, so absolutely no qualms about dormitory life at your age?

Isabelle:  No!  It didn’t scare me, because the seniors I trained with were already giving me an idea of how it would be like.  I liked it.

Gerald:  I knew my seniors, they explained to me about life staying in here, but I never really saw the dormitories then.

Red Sports:  Were your parents supportive?  Did you come from an athletic background?

Isabelle:  Oh yes, my parents were very supportive about my choice.  But my family weren’t really athletic.  I have a grandfather and an uncle who were once national basketballers though.

Gerald:  My parents were supportive, especially my dad.   My family is not exactly athletic, but my dad is a full-time badminton coach now.  He used to be really good in table tennis in primary school, and then he became a youth basketball player in secondary school days.  Then he played badminton in his adulthood, participating in the Singapore Open in 1993 and winning the silver medal in the doubles.  So I guess that’s where I got my genes from.

Red Sports:  That is really nice to have someone in your family who’s inclined toward sports. Tell me, how was it like adjusting to your new life? Did you know your roommate?

Isabelle:  No I didn’t know!  I had wanted to pull in a friend as a roommate, but unfortunately, her parents didn’t allow her to come to the Sports School.  So I had to get to know my new roommate.  But I made many new friends, my teammates and especially my classmates.  I hang out usually with my classmates.  I am actually closer to my classmates, but I am especially close to a classmate who is also my table tennis teammate.  We are all grouped according to our PSLE grades.  Roommates in the dormitories are grouped randomly in the first year by sport though.  In our second year, we get to choose our own roommate.

Gerald:  I was lucky, I knew my roommate from our training days.  So it wasn’t that bad to get used to.  I am closer to my badminton teammates than I am to my classmates.

Red Sports:  What’s a typical day for you like?

Isabelle:  I wake up at 6:00am (no, there is no common wake-up call!)  and by 6:30am, I am out there for my warm-ups and trainings, usually some battings in the mornings.  We have breakfast at 8:00am, then classes start at 9:00am.  Lunch start at 11:50am and then classes resume at 12:35pm.  We have a break from 2:00 to 4:00pm, and then our training begins again at 4:00pm and ends at 6:30pm.  We have dinner from 7:00pm and by 7:30pm, we have to assemble in the canteen for our study sessions.  Our daily recreation time is from 9:00 to 10:00pm, where we can play xBox or play pool or watch TV.  There are common computer terminals but we are only limited to 10 minutes of usage per person.  By 10:30pm, all lights are off and we are all expected to be in bed.

Gerald:  Yes, that’s pretty much the same for me, except our coach tries to differ our morning trainings.  Like on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, we do our cardio sessions on the track.  And then on Tuesdays and Thursdays, we hit the gym for weights training in the mornings.  We have also been trying to squeeze in more training time by starting our afternoon sessions earlier at 2:30pm.  I don’t usually participate in the nightly recreational activities.  I try to go to bed by 9:00pm.

Red Sports:  Wow, you only have an hour of recreation to yourself every night?  What do you during your recreational time then?  Do you actually play other sports?

Isabelle:  Well, I try to use the computers but there is always a long queue!  I don’t really play other sports, but sometimes our coaches might take us off our usual training program and let us play other sports for fun.  Just to keep the mood light.  Sometimes, we also take a break off our academic schedule to have some games too.

Gerald:  I like to play basketball, but I don’t get to play that here in school.  Soccer’s fine too.  Once in a while, our coach would let us play football during our morning track sessions.  He says the game gives us some stamina training too, but we know he just wants us to have some fun too!

Red Sports:  So how precious are your weekends then?  There must be something you really, really miss…

Isabelle:  I go out with my classmates during the weekends!  I am rather close to the girls in my batch because we all stay on the same level in the dormitory and so we all know one another very well.  Sometimes, we have to come back to school for training on weekends.  When I am home on the weekends, sometimes I do go online on the computer to chat with my other friends.  But this is also the only time in the week I get to speak with them.

Gerald:  Actually, while everyone else goes back home on Fridays evenings, I go for my trainings at Choa Chu Kang Sports Complex.  And then, I train on Saturdays and Sundays as well.  My dad trains me on weekends.  I don’t go out with my friends, my weekends are spent with my family.  Sometimes I go on the computer to play games or surf the Internet, but that’s not a huge favourite of mine so I don’t really quite miss the computer.  I do meet up with some of my primary school friends – but only because they train with me on Saturdays.

Red Sports:  So this is the mid-year school holidays now, isn’t it?  What are you doing here in school today?

Isabelle:  Training!  I just came back from a training session in Hebei, China two weeks ago.  I am actually going to Laos for the SEA Junior Championships tomorrow.  I am representing the National Youth Squad in the tournament.  But usually, if not for any competition, I would just like to stay home during the holidays.

Red Sports:  You must have a strict nutritional diet here, do you love the food here?

Isabelle:  Erm, I am ok with the food.  It is all prepared by a nutritionist.  But of course, I miss hawker food and fast food!

Red Sports:  Tell me, in general, how would you describe your new life here?

Isabelle:  In one word, it’s AMAZING.  I have more freedom here, and I get to play a lot of table tennis while still focusing on my studies.  It teaches me a lot about discipline.  I like that the teachers here are very caring.  They would know I have my training sessions, and they try to help me cope with my studies on top of the training.  The teachers know life here can be monotonous – trainings, studies, and then more trainings.  So about once every four or five weeks, we have a ‘cluster activity’ that would take place in the night in place of the nightly supervised study time.  Students in the whole school would cast a vote each for their preferred activity, and the most voted activity would be organized for the entire school.  The last time we had a cluster activity, we all went to the theatre for a movie.  But most of all, the thing I love best about the school is that it is a like a big family in here.  You know every staff member, and every staff member knows who you are.

Gerald:  I am liking my life here.  I really appreciate that I get to train more full-time in badminton.  I really like the student councilors here too.

Red Sports:  Do you know what’s next for you after your stint here in the Sports School?

Isabelle:  Yes, at the end of Secondary Three, we have to choose.  Either (a), we choose to take the regular G.C.E. "O" Level exams, after which we are free to choose to go to any school we want.  Or (b), we can opt to go to the Republic Polytechnic, and then Nanyang Technological University after.  Or (c), we can opt to continue our studies under the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) program, a distance-learning program conducted within the Singapore Sports School premises.  This last option would allow us to continue training for our sports career. 

Red Sports:  Ok, I would suppose at this point, you haven’t decided what you want, of course…

Both shake their heads.

Red Sports:  Last question.  Did you bring a lot of personal items with you when you moved into the dormitory here?

Isabelle:  Not really.  Just my clothes, and my soft toys!

Gerald:  I didn’t bring a lot of stuff too.  Just some clothes, not a lot since we have our training attire which is sponsored.  The only time we get to wear our own clothes is during the night.