Chrissy is a softball player in the KEVII team who is staying back this holiday to train for this sport in hall. She answers our questions about the game itself, trainings, the players and what we can expect from the KEVII Softball team in next year’s IHG!

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Guest Profile

Name: Chrissy Phoong
Faculty/Year: Engineering/Year 1

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• Can you tell us what softball is about?

I am relatively new to softball, I only learnt about it this semester. However, learning it from our dedicated and who’s very passionate about softball captain, Woon Yang, I discovered that it’s easier to think about softball as almost similar to baseball with minor differences. The softball ball is bigger and less dense than the baseball ball (but still hard! You can still break bones or get bruises or dislocations if you get hit by the ball either directly or indirectly).

Similar to baseball, there’s still the diamond-shaped field and the bases and the pitcher (who throws the ball to be hit by the opponent). To win the game, you must get the most runs which means running from the homeplate to the three bases which are the first base, second base, and third base, and running back home to the homeplate.

I’m sure you have heard of the term ‘homerun’. It means that the batter managed to hit the ball so far that the opponent couldn’t catch it fast enough. So, the batter can run from the homeplate (starting point) back to the homeplate (end point) within one hit. Very amazing, so come down to the field during IHG to watch the spectacular homeruns and double or if you’re lucky, triple plays.

• How did you come to join softball?

Well, this is pretty funny. It was CCA registration day, and the sports registration was in the communal hall. I saw so many booths. I registered initially for quite a few games: badminton (because I’m most comfortable with this game), tennis (because I have a racquet, took a few lessons before but I have forgotten how to play already), and softball. Why I registered for softball? I don’t exactly know. I think it’s because I knew the 2 seniors who were advocating for softball, Anand (the vice-captain) and Woon Yang (captain). And because I don’t know how to play softball at all, I thought “Ok, might as well learn a new game”. In the end, softball is the only game I committed to as I joined many other committees.

• How many times per week do you train and for how long?

Before this December holidays, we used to train twice a week, Mondays and Wednesdays for 2 hours per training. We were told during the first day of our training, that we were the first hall to train for softball and we were the first sports team in KE7 to start training. That’s how dedicated we are to making sure we are prepared to win the IHG softball.

And now, during this vacation, whilst most are happily back home relaxing, we are busy training 4 times per week, 3 hours a day, by frequenting the gymnasium, the SRC field and the KE7 MPC.

• Briefly, how is the training conducted?

We usually have the trainings in the MPC, but now, we are using the gymnasium and the SRC a lot. In the gymnasium, we go through the vigorous and tiring gym activities to build our arm and leg muscles. In the MPC and SRC, we usually practice batting, fielding (catching the ball) and diamond drills. A diamond drill is something like a mock game. We learn the rules of the game and the strategy of winning through diamond drills.

• Would you say that the sport is a difficult one?

Well, for me who’s frankly, not really sporty and have no experience at all with ball games, this game was initially quite tough to learn. There are so many rules and you have to remain calm throughout the game. Think strategically about how to make sure the opponent doesn’t complete a run, and team-work is really important in this game. Your hand-eye-leg coordination must be good. Actually, until now, I still have problems throwing the ball through long distances. Sigh, I know, as an engineering student who have learnt about projectile motions, I should know how to throw balls to obtain maximum range.

Anyway, this is only my opinion. There are those who found this game easy to learn. Those who played cricket found this game relatively easier to learn compared to me. In fact, some of our best players in the team this year have previous experiences in playing cricket.

This game is quite fun when you have gotten the hang of the rules and when you don’t mind playing in the more-often-than-not muddy field under the not-sympathetic hot sun.

• What can we expect from our softball team for IHG this year?

A lot! We had 3 friendly matches against Temasek, Raffles and Eusoff during the eve of Deepavali and the holiday itself (Yes, while other people are having their holidays, we were competing against these halls under the blazing hot sun). We lost against Temasek by a marginal point, while we beat the other 2 halls flat. We scored more than double of their points. It’s premature to say that we would definitely do well in IHG, but at least, this year we are prepared. So, make sure you all come to support us during the IHG softball games.

• Do you have any words for our fellow KEVIIans currently staying in hall this vacation for sports and other CCAs?

To those who are staying back for XQRJ and Hallplay, good luck! I know you’ve been working hard too. We are waiting to cheer for you and to see your proud achievements in the success of the National Chinese Songwriting Competition and Hallplay drama next year.

And for all the other sports players who are training as hard (or harder) as the softball players, let us all try our best to win as many gold medals for KE7 in IHG! Let us not sacrifice our blood (blood, literally. We bleed and bruise a lot!) and sweat for nothing!

Disclaimer: All views in this article reflect the interviewee’s own opinions.

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That was an interesting read, wasn’t it? Join us next week as we continue to update you on what’s hot in the one and only KEVII hall!