“Eat Football, Drink Football and Sleep Football” - Kevin

 For this interview, we tracked down the handsome Kevin Ruggee, busy soccer captain and resident of E block!

How is our male soccer team this year different from that of the previous year’s?

The team consists mainly of senior Keviians and so it is not so different from last year’s. However, I think there is more commitment from the players because each one of them wants the KEVII team to perform well during the IHG.

What are your expectations for KEVII soccer team for the upcoming IHG? A  podium finish?

My expectation is to make the players bond together and play as a team during the IHG. And from this, the team can move forward in the competition and even aim for glory.

Do you think support from Keviians plays an important part in spurring on the team to do well in matches?

The feeling of having your friends watching you and supporting you can bring the best out of the players on the field.

How do you think the standard of KE soccer can be improved?

Soccer is a game where you need 11 players and at least 7 substitutes. Therefore to form the team, the captain needs 18 players who should be committed to the game. This is very hard to get in the hall. So there is a need for more people with great interest in sports, so that the standard of KEVII soccer as well as other sports can be improved.

Well, what would soccer be without the EPL, La Liga, Serie A and so forth. What is your favourite team, and what was the most fanatical thing you’ve ever done in the name of your team?

Soccer would be boring without competitive leagues like La Liga and Premiership. I am a big fan of Man Utd, the best team in the world!

Soccer has been termed “The Beautiful Game” by Pele. What is it about soccer that is particularly “beautiful” to you?

You get to see some talented players in football like Ronaldinho or Zidane. They make soccer “The Beautiful Game” with their skills on the field.

 Any last words to fellow players, or young soccer hopefuls out there?

Eat Football, Drink Football and Sleep Football

- Interview by HA

“Its time to resurrect our days of glory in Hockey for KE.”  - Kumar

One of our reporters, himself a hockey player, asks the Hockey captains for their views on IHG prospects.

Interview with Kumar

In the recruitment poster you said that KEVII Hockey is the most promising sport. Why is that?

Because I have the President and Sports secretary of the hall playing for my team! Ok just kidding. Hockey has the greatest number of experienced players. We train a lot too. With such great team players we are not just promising, we can be Championship-winning.

Who are our main challengers and why?

Kumar: We are our main challengers. Not Eusoff, not Temasek. Its how much effort and passion that we put in, and how much sacrifice we are willing to make that is going to make the difference between glory and disgrace. 

Could you relate a little bit of history to our readers?

Kumar: These are the years, the respective captains and the results.
1998 (captain – unknown) 1st
2001 (captain – Shreyan) – 1st
2002 (captain – Pavi) – 2nd
2003 (captain - Rashid) - 2nd
2004 (captain – Kamal) – 3rd
2005 (captain – Ahn) – 4th 
2006 (captain –Hafiz) – 3rd 

As you can see, we have been champions before and we still can be.
Its time to resurrect our days of glory in Hockey for KE.

Awesome! What is our strength?
 
Kumar: We have trained for so long together that we know each other very well. We thus have a lot of teamwork. That’s our main strength.

Teamwork? Isn’t it depth or talent that matters?

Kumar: You can have a team of international players but if you never play together then the team will self-destruct. People will be playing their own game. Team bonding is very important.

Remember snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look at what they can do when they stick together.

So do we have an Achilles’ heel (a big weakness)?

Kumar: I guess fitness and a lack of experience. We don’t have many players who have played before in secondary school or JC.

We have also been going to Tornadoes (Singapore League Division 1 club) for training. How is that working out?

Kumar: Tornadoes is a club that has been very friendly in letting us play with them and use the Hockey Village pitch. While the attendance is bad due to bad timing of their trainings, I hope people will come down during the December holidays to train.

SB: Thank you very much. Wish you the best of luck (and please include me in the team!)

Kumar: … …

Interview with Esther 

So how does the KEVII Girls Hockey Team look?

E: Well, we have 15 girls (seniors and freshmen) this year, which is actually quite little for a 9-a-side sport. Although most of them have only picked up the sport this year, I believe that with adequate training and a proper game plan, this will not be a problem as long as everyone is committed to the team.  
What is your realistic expectation for IHG?
E: I believe that 3rd place is a realistic position that we can achieve. Even better if we can achieve 2nd place!
How does the training system of the girls Hockey team work?

E: During term time, we train 2-3 times a week, inclusive of combined trainings with the guys team. In the December, as IHG looms nearer, we have more intensive trainings, including pitch trainings and fitness trainings.
Which player in the team do you think has stood out?

E: This is a tough one! In my opinion, everyone who has came down for trainings have given me a glimpse of what they are capable of. I can’t really pinpoint a particular player!

If the IHG Team achieves what you hope for then how are you going to reward them?
E: Blanjah supper? Haha.. we’ll see when the time comes!

 - Interviews by SB

“Don’t compare, just try our best!” - Hooi Ching

“Alright, I’ll interview the women’s touch rug captain. So who is she?” I volunteered with apprehension at the meeting, as the picture of a towering, bulky and forceful sportswoman entered my mind. After all, many rugby players (out of the very few) I know are well… fierce, and sometimes, not just physically so.

“It’s Hooi Ching.”

“Oh…”

You see… Hooi Ching (who happens to be the block head of my block, F-block) is of a rather petite build, and if you’ve talked to her before, you’d find she’s quite an easy-going person. So I was a little surprised when it turned out that the touch rugby team captain was her, and not some imposing and intimidating giant I had expected.

Hello, Hooi Ching, could you introduce yourself briefly to the readers, as well as briefly run through who the players in the rugby team are?

Hi everyone! I’m Hooi Ching. I’m a year 2 Pharmacy major from F block. I come from Malaysia, but I’ve been studying in Singapore ever since Secondary 3. The team currently consists of Jia Hui (who happens to be last year’s captain), Pik Wei, and Joanne from E block, Mindy, Lai Peng, and Denyse from F block, Mina and Kim from GH, Eileen and Huiying (paiseh, not too sure which blocks they come from), and me.

Alright, down to business… so what are your plans and/or strategies for the upcoming IHG tournament?

Actually, Jia Hui, being a very experienced rugger, is the de-facto coach of our team. So, she’s the one who conducts and plans all the training sessions. A training session normally includes fitness training, drills training, and then a few games for application. Having spent a lot of the first part of the semester teaching the newcomers basic rugby techniques, we intend to step up especially on fitness training during the holidays. This is because, during the IHG itself, we can play up to 5-6 games a day!

How has KEVII’s touch rugby team done in previous years, and how do you think the team will do this year?

We got 4th last year. It was actually quite a miraculous result, because throughout the August to November semester, there were only three of us ‘core members’ who turned up for training regularly: Mindy, Jia Hui, and me. In IHG, a rugby team is supposed to have 6 players plus reserve. So we even had to recruit and teach another half a team of rugby players from scratch during the holidays! This year, we have about 10 players turning up and training with us consistently, hence there is hope that we may do better yet!

What is your critical evaluation of the team right now?

KEVII is not traditionally strong in sports. Our team (with the exception of Jia Hui) is full of newcomers, while other halls usually have a team full of experienced players. Therefore, we have to be realistic about our expectations I guess. I always say ‘don’t compare, just try our best’. Nevertheless, our players put in a lot of effort and train very hard, and I can see improvement. They are also cohesive, and generally very willing to learn. Still, there’s always room for improvement, but as the captain, I must say I am quite happy with my team’s effort and commitment.

Do you face or forsee any problems for the rugby team?

Many of my team members are also involved in XQRJ or Hallplay, and so are not able to attend all of the training scheduled during the holidays. These holidays is the XQRJ and Hallplay season, so activities will surely clash with training, and it is impossible to fit everyone’s schedule in.

So during IHG itself, would you want your fellow Keviian’s to come cheer for the team?

Of course lah! We had a lot of supporters last year, because the rugby matches were held during the weekend, so the atmosphere was like that of a carnival, and it was really very fun. But then, the field is so big, and we’re mainly listening to each other shout out commands during the game, so frankly, we rugby players don’t normally hear the cheers.

Do you have any more things to tell the readers or anyone in particular?

Well, generally speaking, I’m not very result-oriented. Once again, we have to remember that realistically, it’s hard to beat all those sports halls. So, as the team captain, I’m just very happy to see my team members putting their heart and soul into training hard despite knowing that there may not be tangible results to be seen. So once again, don’t compare, just try our best!

Well, it seems the KEVII Hall Women’s Touch Rugby Team is not exactly a bunch of over-achievers, but here’s a team captain who’s certainly got a lot of spirit and verve! As well as a team that is not adopting the easy-way-out defeatist attitude to a difficult competition. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been won over, and I’m raring to go cheer for them so loudly that they’d be able to hear their fellow Keviian’s cheers for the first time on the field!

- Interview by ZC

“The current team is blessed with relatively good shooters and defenders. With some seniors lending their experience, I do forsee a better team this year. ” - Guanzhen 

The captain of the girls’ netball team shares her views! 

How do you feel being the CAPTAIN? 

When I was offered the position of a captain, it came as a surprise. Being a captain will mean taking up responsiblities and passing what I already know to the players, in the hope of bringing the team to better heights. 

What do you think of the current netball team (both good and bad)? Any aims for this year?

I think the current team is relatively good. Of course we can’t compare to the sports halls, but I can see that we do have a chance in moving our standings up in the coming IHG. The current team is blessed with relatively good shooters and defenders. With some seniors lending their experience, I do forsee a better team this year.

How well do you think the KE netball team will do in the IHG? Which halls do you think are KE’s strongest rivals?

Well, if the team trains hard enough during the holidays and retains its strong fighting spirits, the KE netball team does stand a chance in attaining 3rd or 4th. As usual, the strongest rivals will be Eusoff and Temasek where they have avid netball players. 

Any views on recent JCRC initiatives like the holiday-stay?

I am glad the JCRC came up with the subsidized hall stay during the holidays. It is definitely beneficial to my players and it does make it more convenient for them to come down for trainings.

How important are Hall cheers & KE IHG support for the team? 

Cheers and support are definitely a must in any game. They boost the team’s morale. So come down and cheer us on!!

- Interview by LY

KE has traditionally performed decently in tennis. And with the new team described as “very promising” by the Tennis (M) Captain, Sivashankar Subramaniam, let’s take a closer look at our KEVII tennis scene.

Although laden with busy schedules and work, learning from last year, the team realizes that they desperately and most necessarily needed to train harder in the weeks leading up to IHG, regardless of the fact that it was the holidays. The team captain fully takes this into account and will decide the training intensity accordingly, although there are limitations such as the tennis court being used by other sports groups as well.

As a source of motivation scores high in importance for many sports players, the JCRC has thought of many ways to boost the sports scene in KEVII. Regarding JCRC initiatives like Holiday-stay, Siva has this to say, “I think it’s a fantastic initiative. Incentivising training gives sportsmen that extra push to stay in during the holidays to train. The JCRC certainly has a clear direction and is implementing good policies this year. Cheers to that.”

And what about the other more in-situ source of motivation? In the past, the JCRC has searched rigorously for ways to encourage residents to make trips down and support the games, even offering partial CCA points.

“If turning up for Hall Play or Cultural Night is important, coming down to support your friends in IHG is no different. Sportsmen tend to perform better if they know they have well-wishers watching and supporting them,” says Siva. And if the crowd is big enough, there is even a chance of intimidating the opponent!

And finally, what are the prospects of KEVII Tennis (M) this year? The team has high aspirations and a good chance of going far at IHG. In fact, they have an eye for a top 3 spot this year. That being said, a lot depends on the draw and a multitude of other factors that will all be constantly changing right up to the day of IHG itself.

Well, for us residents, we certainly wish our dear Tennis team all the best and may they clinch that top 3 spot and make us proud!

- Interview by FMC