Interview with KE7’s Female Squash Captain, Janice Lee

Writer: Michelle Perera
Editor: KP

During the recent interview of KE7’s winning Squash Team’s Captain and Coach, Sean Ang, we heard a lot about the victories and successes of the girl’s team, so I decided to have a chat with the captain, Janice Lee…

Sean & Janice at the Closing Ceremony of IHG 2007/08

Your comments on Sean as a coach.

Sean’s simply awesome. He’s totally passionate about squash. As a coach he’s been very approachable and patient with us, continuing to train and guide us even though we can be such ‘noobs’ sometimes! His 13+ years of squashing experience is also very useful as he can easily recognize our weaknesses and correct them in our game. From what I observe, he’s a much disciplined player, and strives for perfection.

The girls’ team won last year against KR. How are the confidence levels this year?

Well, firstly the situation was quite different last year for we had Yeelin (our coach and captain) on our team. She was a very good and experienced player who could beat the other hall’s IVP players. On the other hand, this year, we do not have such players who are able to secure points against other hall’s IVPs. To me, this has really given our confidence levels a blow. However, we will still continue to do our very best and we have been training vigorously throughout the 4 months before IHG. Our aim is to at least reach the semis this year, and if we manage to proceed on to the finals, that’ll be like our biggest “ang pow” ever!!!

Tell us a bit about yourself: your course, interests and personal experiences in squash.

I’m a Year 2 FASS student, majoring in Economics. I’m enjoying my course so far, although it’s getting tougher, but it’s also getting more interesting. I would say that I love doing stuff that most girls do for leisure (although some of my squash girls think that my life’s a total bore and revolves only around squash). Ha-ha. I love shopping, animals, playing badminton, squashing and jamming!

How long have you been playing squash and what got you interested in it in the first place?

I’ve been squashing for about 1 ½ years now. I first joined KE Squash because of my badminton background (and also 75% because I needed the points to stay in hall). I initially thought that both sports were quite similar. Oh boy, was I in for a SURPRISE! But overall, I’ve come to love squash over the past year. It’s a very interesting game as it requires one to think a tad more than the other sports as there are 4 walls, which could work to or against your advantage.

How hectic are the practices these days?

The guys and girls have been training very hard prior to our first match this coming Wednesday. Last week, we trained a minimum of 3 hours daily from Monday-Friday. I decided to give the girls a break during the weekend but we’ll be resuming the same training schedule for the upcoming week.

What drives you to go to practices each week and keep bettering yourself?

Well, I guess it’s the fact that there are so many other people on campus who are better than me that motivates me to want to train harder. But I think training sessions are fun lah! Especially court sprints. Ha-ha. The squash girls should know what I’m talking about.

Sakshi, Janice & Theng Wai during IHG 2007/08

How do you balance time between squash, school & your other activities?

Hmm, that’s a toughie. Because I totally SUCK at time management lorh! Ha-ha. I would like to extend my sincerest apologies to the badminton team and my band mates for not being able to join in most of the practices, and also to Sports Comm. and Welfare Comm. for having to accommodate me and my busy schedule!

Do you hope to pursue squash in the future?

Umm, “pursue squash” meaning? Oh well, I’d surely continue training as long as I’m still in KE and will definitely still be squashing in the years to come. But to pursue it as a profession – hmm…I think I’m a bit too old for that bah. Ha-ha.

What aspirations do you have for KE squash in IHG and beyond?

I hope that the future generation of KE squashies will take the sport seriously. I also hope that the JCRC would be able to fish in more potential and committed players to take over the duties of captains and coaches as we seniors would be leaving NUS in the near future.

Thanks a lot, Janice, and we wish you and your team all the very best for the upcoming games!

Rackets, Shoes and Squeaky Echoes… Let’s Get Ready to Squash Them Again!

Interviewer: Michelle Perera
Editor: Angel
Photograph: KE Vision (Photocomm)

A fervent excitement sweeps over KE7 with the onset of the all-conclusive Inter Hall Games: the ultimate battle of victory amongst hall-dwellers. And there’s one word that always puts a smile on KEVIIans faces when it comes to IHG… I’m talking about squash… The sunny yellow fruit… the sparkling orange juice… squash is a word that encompasses it all. But the most exciting version of the word here at KE is the one which sits on a board near a white walled, shiny floored room near the KE Main Entrance.

Part of the appeal for squash here at KE is that it is a sport with a history of victories. Having won the IHG Squash Tournament for 3 consecutive years, the anticipation that greets this year’s tournament is to be expected. We speak to Sean Ang, coach of KE7’s boy’s squash team, as well as ex- captain of the NUS Varsity Team, to get the inside story…

Hi Sean, I’m sure it must be an exciting (not to mention hectic) time for you. How does it feel to be the captain of the reigning IHG Squash Championing Team during the onset of the games this year?

It feels great! Ever since I came here, I wanted KE to win. Last year, KE won a double gold, and for me, that was like a dream come true. The guys have been winning for several years, but when the girls won against KR last year, there was a lot of hype and excitement. We are hoping to do well again this year.

Tell us a little bit about yourself, Sean. What got you interested in squash in the first place? How long have you been playing the game?

I’ve been playing squash since I was 13. It began as a CCA at secondary school, because I was kicked out of badminton and the coach didn’t let me stay on to fight for my place in the team. I continued to play for my JC, Hwa Chong. I now play for KE and coach the team, and I am also playing for the NUS varsity team, as we as my squash club, New Pioneers.

I am from pharmacy, and I eventually picked KE as my hall of residence, due to its close proximity to the faculty. It’s been great to coach and train with the team these past 3 years, and my goal is for KE to keep winning. The team is extremely committed, especially the girls. In fact, last year some of the girls request for training sessions at 1am! They are a hardworking bunch, and I’m certain they would go a long way.

You have achieved great things in squash… To be the captain of the NUS Varsity Team is obviously no easy task. So did you ever consider playing squash professionally?

I haven’t thought of playing professionally, simply because it is extremely difficult to be a professional squash player in Singapore. I started at the age of 13. Professional players begin at the age of 5 and pretty much don’t do anything other than squash for the rest of their lives. Also, it isn’t that easy to earn a living just by playing squash here.

What does it take to succeed in squash?

First of all, fitness. Here we get fit to play squash, not play squash to get fit. A survey was done recently, which showed that squash is the 2nd best sport next to swimming, because it really trains all parts of the body.

Agility is also very important as the ball moves very fast and we need to be quick to react to those shots.

Other than that, you also need to develop finer skills and know where to place the ball so that it is out of reach of your opponents, so that you put them under pressure. It’s very much a “thinking” game.

Sean Ang at last year's IHG match

What makes the KE7 team so good at squash? What are the strengths of our team? Who are the ‘star’ players on the team?

The guys team is very experienced, and even a little experience can carry you a long way in IHG Squash. On the other hand, the girls team is less experienced but extremely hard working. Hard work pays off.

There aren’t any ‘stars’ in particular, but I think that is the best thing about our team. A winning team is always a balanced team, and I guess we’re fortunate that the general level of the guys team is rather commendable

Who are KE’s main competitors? Do you know the opponents you would be playing against at the upcoming tournaments, and do you use specific strategies when planning games against players or teams you have played against in the past?

Well traditionally, KR and Eussoff. In fact, may of the teams are coming up quite well, like Raffles Hall. And yes, I do know my opponents. Many of them are my friends and we play together at inter-varsity level, or I know them through IHG last year when I was the convenor.

Could you describe a typical day at squash practice?

Well, we start out with a warm up, and finish up by doing court sprints that involve running across the length of the court 20 times in one minute. We do this in sets of 1, 3 and 5. The girls are already doing sets of 5. You should ask them how strenuous it is. As I said before, squash is a game that really tests your limits and our training sessions are definitely quite strenuous.

Squash is very much an individual game, in that you play your opponents alone or with just one partner. Is there such a thing as teamwork in squash?

Well, it is an individual game. Doubles squash requires a different court size and such courts are very rare in Singapore. We don’t have them here at NUS so we play singles. And yes, the great thing about squash is that you can train individually. But it is also a team sport in that we train together and drive each other to give our best. Because if you play for yourself, you can’t go very far. Ultimately, it is the team spirit that keeps us going, and every shot we play is a shot we play for our team. That’s what drives us to train hard, test our limits and succeed. Just ask the girls team last year

Any final comments you’d like to add?

Well, I’d like to wish everyone all the best for the upcoming games – Yes, winning is important, but we must also remember to go forward and make friends. Because that is what sportsmanship is all about – challenging yourself, working as a team to support each other and reaching out to make friends. That is the spirit of IHG.

I’d also like to thank Janice and Christopher Tham for all the good work they’ve put in to the teams this year. Without their commitment, things would not be as wonderful as they are now.

Thank you very much Sean, and wish you all the very best for the upcoming IHG games and your future.

Thanks!

And off to the Semis we go….

Squash Prelims, 31st January

Photo Courtesy of KE Photographers

Males KE vs TH : 5 – 0

Females KE vs TH : 4 – 1

Article coming soon…..See you guys at the Semis on 3rd February!