Last week, we had the K-swiss championship all the week. We miss the training last week.
Today, we still had the enthusiastic Tommy and Oscar.
The higher form Chris and Boris joined a few of the training.
Kenny and Ivan, and two new blood called Edward and Alex.
Edward and Alex played in Ernest's Friday course last year.
I talked to Ernest and told him to invite some good players to join our players.
Unexpected, both of them played well which I can't believe they just learn tennis not more than one year.
We dried the court first.
I gave Ivan, Tommy, Oscar some medicine ball drill, in order to train their serve and backhands.
Next, we had some normal warm ups like hitting in the service box, rallying, volleys.
In the warm up, I talked to them and making some correction of Tommy's lazy footwork, Ivan's bad volleys, Alex's jumping foot, etc.
The "non-school team"players Kenny and Ivan had bad net games.
We first have the running shot, Kenny and Ivan be the net player.
I shouted and shouted, telling them to hold up their rackets and be ready all the time.
After more than thirty balls fed, Ivan felt brave to hit every shot, but Kenny was chicken: fearing all the time.
Tommy and Oscar tried their best to hit a killer shot, but they seemed to neglect the consistency. Alex had a great shot, hitting some powerful forehand. Another new blood Edward made some unforced error, but once he hit a good shot, Kenny and Ivan would never get the ball back.
It would be a good idead to have the chasing ball in two courts( as we dried only two courts which we needed). Edward, Alex, Kenny and Ivan were the first time to have this game. They tried hard. Edward and Ivan didn't get the ball back for their first few times. After many many balls, they can even hit a killer shot. Oscar did the best among the team, he showed his powerful forehand and his fastest feet. Tommy did a good job too, but he seemed to have heavy legs.
Game.
3 vs. 3.
Tommy, Edward, Ivan played against Oscar, Alex and Kenny.
Tommy tried his best to intercept at the net, while Oscar showed his consistent groupstrokes. Alex and Edward showed their best performance, hitting the ball in! This is the consistency! Ivan also had a good lob, but once being lobbed by our star of future, Oscar.
After reading Raymond's entry, I decided to give the boys to have the approach shot drill again.
Today, we had the forehand approach shot drill, which would be easier to our new comers.
Oscar and Tommy were best, as they tried many times and pracitced so many times in our previous training. Shockingly, Alex did excellently in the drill: he got up so quick and hit a powerful shot. Most of the new comers didn't know how to volley, or may be they lacked the expereience for the net game. Chris hit an extremely wide angle shot which surprised me.
Then, we started our volley drills.
Some simple volley training drills.
Even I hit the ball so hard, Chris and Tommy could get every ball back in the court. I doubted that Tommy improved a lot in the net game, but I've never seen these kind of good shots in this real game! Chris hit a crispy and solid volley, threatening me! The room of improvement of net game for the new comers are still very large, especially Kenny and Edward.
Service.
King of the court (double version).
I paired with Ivan.
Oscar and Tommy, Kenny and Alex.
Ivan tried his best in the net, which I could see his improvement in both physically and mentally. He's trying his best to improve his net game. Alex did well in my drills, but I bet he just needs some more game practice or real match, in order to show his great tennis tactic.
We ended our training at about 6:15pm.
It is the good news to me as some new blood came for our tennis training.
I had a workshop yesterday which held by HKTA, about the Davis Cup training. Derek Ling told us that the training squad of Davis Cup was quite large at the very begining. However, the team would become smaller and smaller as only the fittest player or the best can be included in the team. At the end, only Dino, Roran, Tung and Michael involved in the Hong Kong Davis Cup team.
I bet, no one would deny that the fittest and the best in the team should be represented and play in the inter school final round. However, we should have a large group of people to play in our courts. The larger team we have, the more people we could think and decide to choose to be select to represent wahyan. Furthermore, the foundation of the lower form should be built. We don't want to see any gaps between the higher forms and the lower forms. We may miss some great players every years because of the Alevel or the HKCEE, so we must have more good players in order to substitute these places.
I found that the soccer team of the Grade C ( they practice every thursday like us) involved a large number of student. I'm sorry I'm not good at soccer as Ernest or Oscar, but I know only 11 players can be represented in a match, right? They have nearly thirty boys, I see. I hope we could have more boys to be involved in the tennis courts.
This is a fact that football or basketball dominated wah yan boys' habbits in these ten years, right? I hope, one day in future, tennis can dominate wahyan boys' habbits. Maybe, this is only my dream.
All in all, I look forward to seeing more new comers to join our training in the future.
* Where are all the F4 boys?
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Letter of Commendation to Coaches Ernest and Edmond
Dear Ernest and Edmond,
Ever since I started playing tennis, I have been working out how to hit a backhand winner. My deficiency was clearly demonstrated 6 months ago, when Edmond asked me, to join his drill with Tony Ko and the School Team, to hit an approach shot on my backhand. My success rate was about 5-10% with 50% of my shots going into the net. I figured out that I was relying on a lob, a slice or a hit and hope backhand. Occasionally, I hit a good shot, then I would pump myself out by yelling out "yeah; come on", just as Ernest described how the rest of the boys would react after hitting a winner.
Ten years ago, my Russian Davis Cup Coach Konstantin Pougaev improved my all-round game, but I did not have the inspiration to sort out my backhand. My brother said that I was trying to rely on memorizing a formula.
Last Saturday, I had a practice session with Ernest, who refused to give up chasing on lost causes. He spent half an hour working on the practice court with Mavis and me. When Mavis stopped, Ernest and I played on for another 30 minutes. My backhand started to come together and was trading over 30 backhand rallies with Ernest. Ernest then taught me to stop my hips rotating by using the free arm to balance like Roger Federer. The other mistake was my racquet face used to be opened when making contact with the ball on the backhand. Ernest spotted that and made me roll over the ball. I was so excited with this improvement that I asked Simon to give me a Singles game last night.
To our astonishment, I was hitting backhand winners all over the court, partially inspired by the visual images of Djokovic and Tsonga playing in the Australian Open. Although Simon was one service break up when we finished the match, I held on to the rest of my service games and pushed him to long deuces in almost every game. In Simon's own words, Ernest managed to teach an elephant to climb a tree. So there is always hope after 30 years of mediocrity.
The morale of the story - A great coach / mentor makes a hell of a difference to your tennis / your life. The WYK Tennis Team is so priviledged that they have 2 great coaches supporting your development, and even elephants can climb trees. Let's hope you guys will continue to work hard and improve on your tennis game.
Raymond
Ever since I started playing tennis, I have been working out how to hit a backhand winner. My deficiency was clearly demonstrated 6 months ago, when Edmond asked me, to join his drill with Tony Ko and the School Team, to hit an approach shot on my backhand. My success rate was about 5-10% with 50% of my shots going into the net. I figured out that I was relying on a lob, a slice or a hit and hope backhand. Occasionally, I hit a good shot, then I would pump myself out by yelling out "yeah; come on", just as Ernest described how the rest of the boys would react after hitting a winner.
Ten years ago, my Russian Davis Cup Coach Konstantin Pougaev improved my all-round game, but I did not have the inspiration to sort out my backhand. My brother said that I was trying to rely on memorizing a formula.
Last Saturday, I had a practice session with Ernest, who refused to give up chasing on lost causes. He spent half an hour working on the practice court with Mavis and me. When Mavis stopped, Ernest and I played on for another 30 minutes. My backhand started to come together and was trading over 30 backhand rallies with Ernest. Ernest then taught me to stop my hips rotating by using the free arm to balance like Roger Federer. The other mistake was my racquet face used to be opened when making contact with the ball on the backhand. Ernest spotted that and made me roll over the ball. I was so excited with this improvement that I asked Simon to give me a Singles game last night.
To our astonishment, I was hitting backhand winners all over the court, partially inspired by the visual images of Djokovic and Tsonga playing in the Australian Open. Although Simon was one service break up when we finished the match, I held on to the rest of my service games and pushed him to long deuces in almost every game. In Simon's own words, Ernest managed to teach an elephant to climb a tree. So there is always hope after 30 years of mediocrity.
The morale of the story - A great coach / mentor makes a hell of a difference to your tennis / your life. The WYK Tennis Team is so priviledged that they have 2 great coaches supporting your development, and even elephants can climb trees. Let's hope you guys will continue to work hard and improve on your tennis game.
Raymond
Monday, January 28, 2008
K-Swiss Tournament 2008
This is a review on the performances at the K-Swiss Tournament. The K-Swiss Tournament is different from the Inter-School as it is a knock-out tournament and included teams in Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories. We did not face any of the New Territories Teams for Inter-school competition. We have put out 2 Teams
Team A - Long Long, Oscar, Tommy, Louvre, Calvin and Nicholas
Team B - Tony Chow, Chris Wong, Jordan Wong, Brian Lau, Barry (withdrawal)
Team B played in the same group as Shatin College (B) and King's College. In the first match against King's College, Tony Chow easily won the first singles. Jordan was leading 3-0 in his singles before losing 3-6. He lost his focus in the middle of the match and was waving to the crowd in between points. He also changed his winning game and started playing "table tennis" with his opponent. Fortunately, Chris and Brian played a very solid doubles against King's and won their match 6-2. Brian had trouble getting his first serve in, but still managed to hold on to his second service game and the match after dropping his first service game. Chris played extremely well in that match and was hitting many forehand winners. For the second match against Shatin College, Jordan redeemed himself with the way he played against a top junior and lost 2-6. Tony Chow fought valiantly to win 6-4 with 7 breaks of service in an exciting match. In the Doubles, Chris and Brian were already 0-5 down before they realized to concentrate on firing shots on the weaker of the pair. They managed to get to 2-5 before losing 2-6.
Team A started with a walk-over in their group and we did not have high hopes of qualification to begin with as our "stronger" Team B failed to qualify for the Quarter-Finals. In the second match, Louvre played in the first Singles and lost 2-6. Long Long then won his next match in 27 points and levelled the series at 1-1. Tommy and Oscar then won their doubles 6-2, even when Tommy's service was not firing and resorted to under-arm serves. We were then paired with strong group winner Canadian International School, who was so confident of their success that they left their doubles pairing at home. Long Long lost 0-6 and we were heading for exit. Oscar then played in the crucial singles. During the warm-up, Oscar found that his opponent was extremely good was attacking on pacy shots. He decided to slow things down during his match at Centre Court. Somehow Oscar managed to find a way to truimph 6-1 in the reverse Singles. Calvin and Nicholas then walk-overed their doubles opponents. WYK Kowloon then qualified for the Semi-Finals, but had to face the all-conquering Ying Wa College. Our players played well but were outclassed by the top juniors in Hong Kong. However, it was a fantastic achievement to reach the last Four of the competition
There was also strong support and solidarity among Team members. Both A and B Teams were supporting each other. The whole squad of Louvre's team turned up even when they were not playing. Both coaches Ernest and Edmond did a tremendous job in leading and organizing the teams. Charles and I also watched some of the actions in the Tournament. We were pleased by what we saw on and off court. We have also studied the forms of some of our opponents in the Inter-School Competition. Let's concentrate on winnning promotion to Div 1. It is a golden oppotunity as Ying Wa was already edged out by West Island in their group and failed to qualify.
Team A - Long Long, Oscar, Tommy, Louvre, Calvin and Nicholas
Team B - Tony Chow, Chris Wong, Jordan Wong, Brian Lau, Barry (withdrawal)
Team B played in the same group as Shatin College (B) and King's College. In the first match against King's College, Tony Chow easily won the first singles. Jordan was leading 3-0 in his singles before losing 3-6. He lost his focus in the middle of the match and was waving to the crowd in between points. He also changed his winning game and started playing "table tennis" with his opponent. Fortunately, Chris and Brian played a very solid doubles against King's and won their match 6-2. Brian had trouble getting his first serve in, but still managed to hold on to his second service game and the match after dropping his first service game. Chris played extremely well in that match and was hitting many forehand winners. For the second match against Shatin College, Jordan redeemed himself with the way he played against a top junior and lost 2-6. Tony Chow fought valiantly to win 6-4 with 7 breaks of service in an exciting match. In the Doubles, Chris and Brian were already 0-5 down before they realized to concentrate on firing shots on the weaker of the pair. They managed to get to 2-5 before losing 2-6.
Team A started with a walk-over in their group and we did not have high hopes of qualification to begin with as our "stronger" Team B failed to qualify for the Quarter-Finals. In the second match, Louvre played in the first Singles and lost 2-6. Long Long then won his next match in 27 points and levelled the series at 1-1. Tommy and Oscar then won their doubles 6-2, even when Tommy's service was not firing and resorted to under-arm serves. We were then paired with strong group winner Canadian International School, who was so confident of their success that they left their doubles pairing at home. Long Long lost 0-6 and we were heading for exit. Oscar then played in the crucial singles. During the warm-up, Oscar found that his opponent was extremely good was attacking on pacy shots. He decided to slow things down during his match at Centre Court. Somehow Oscar managed to find a way to truimph 6-1 in the reverse Singles. Calvin and Nicholas then walk-overed their doubles opponents. WYK Kowloon then qualified for the Semi-Finals, but had to face the all-conquering Ying Wa College. Our players played well but were outclassed by the top juniors in Hong Kong. However, it was a fantastic achievement to reach the last Four of the competition
There was also strong support and solidarity among Team members. Both A and B Teams were supporting each other. The whole squad of Louvre's team turned up even when they were not playing. Both coaches Ernest and Edmond did a tremendous job in leading and organizing the teams. Charles and I also watched some of the actions in the Tournament. We were pleased by what we saw on and off court. We have also studied the forms of some of our opponents in the Inter-School Competition. Let's concentrate on winnning promotion to Div 1. It is a golden oppotunity as Ying Wa was already edged out by West Island in their group and failed to qualify.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
給副隊長的信
榮俊賢學弟並副隊長足下
两年前因方學良盃再踏華仁網球場與當時校隊對疊, 一衆師弟表現實令吾等師兄震驚. 球技乏善足陳, 泰半盡得獨臂神尼真傳, 反手全面投降之餘, 正手大板直飛鐵欄神技直令吾輩嘆為觀止; 偶一失手球兒打進塲區 亦能引發"come on"之聲不絕, 實能收娛人娛己之効. 而一群在志於學之年的小朋友之體能狀態, 更令我等已屆不惑之年的阿叔有入時光隧道之妙境, 頓覺返老還童之快. 正當我等當年叱吒學界網球壇之阿叔為華仁網球水平淪落而嗚呼哀哉之際. 忽接一師弟來鴻, 有曰其網球成長路之坎坷, 而一衆師兄之出現, 直如明燈一盞, 令其重拾網球之樂. 文中雖文理有瑕, 惟其赤子之心卻字字可. 及後再與一衆師弟切磋, 發覺大部份成員都有志於網球惟不得其門而入. 年前適逢上任教練因事忙辭別. 余雖不オ, 亦濫竽充數暫代教練一職. 喜得師弟文俊之助, 校隊成績總算不賴.
打進學界比賽決賽週之同時, 亦能於Kswiss打入準決賽才力戰而敗.
正值學界比賽決賽週將於三月拉開戰幔, 一衆師弟都為備戰而密鑼緊鼓地加緊訓練之際. 我們的副隊長卻一直芳踪杳杳. 致電問之, 每每支吾答曰因唱歌, 義工, 家慈未批等等原由而未能出席. 副隊長閣下多才多藝, 古道熱腸, 克己盡孝令人欽仰. 而閣下亦貴為網球學會會長, 功績昭著, 深受一衆會員擁戴. 但現今隊長及一衆主將因公開考試而未克於決賽週上陣, 閣下又神龍見首不見尾, 古諺有曰蛇無頭而不行, 球隊正處危急存亡之秋己.
余特此奉函, 還望副隊長閣下三思. 重拾昔日對網球之熱忱. 短短二三月彈指即過, 惟因疏懶而令球隊年多來之努力未克全功卻令人深憾. 試問身為副隊長又情何以堪呢, 再望三思, 三思.
愚學兄兼教練劉縝頓首
两年前因方學良盃再踏華仁網球場與當時校隊對疊, 一衆師弟表現實令吾等師兄震驚. 球技乏善足陳, 泰半盡得獨臂神尼真傳, 反手全面投降之餘, 正手大板直飛鐵欄神技直令吾輩嘆為觀止; 偶一失手球兒打進塲區 亦能引發"come on"之聲不絕, 實能收娛人娛己之効. 而一群在志於學之年的小朋友之體能狀態, 更令我等已屆不惑之年的阿叔有入時光隧道之妙境, 頓覺返老還童之快. 正當我等當年叱吒學界網球壇之阿叔為華仁網球水平淪落而嗚呼哀哉之際. 忽接一師弟來鴻, 有曰其網球成長路之坎坷, 而一衆師兄之出現, 直如明燈一盞, 令其重拾網球之樂. 文中雖文理有瑕, 惟其赤子之心卻字字可. 及後再與一衆師弟切磋, 發覺大部份成員都有志於網球惟不得其門而入. 年前適逢上任教練因事忙辭別. 余雖不オ, 亦濫竽充數暫代教練一職. 喜得師弟文俊之助, 校隊成績總算不賴.
打進學界比賽決賽週之同時, 亦能於Kswiss打入準決賽才力戰而敗.
正值學界比賽決賽週將於三月拉開戰幔, 一衆師弟都為備戰而密鑼緊鼓地加緊訓練之際. 我們的副隊長卻一直芳踪杳杳. 致電問之, 每每支吾答曰因唱歌, 義工, 家慈未批等等原由而未能出席. 副隊長閣下多才多藝, 古道熱腸, 克己盡孝令人欽仰. 而閣下亦貴為網球學會會長, 功績昭著, 深受一衆會員擁戴. 但現今隊長及一衆主將因公開考試而未克於決賽週上陣, 閣下又神龍見首不見尾, 古諺有曰蛇無頭而不行, 球隊正處危急存亡之秋己.
余特此奉函, 還望副隊長閣下三思. 重拾昔日對網球之熱忱. 短短二三月彈指即過, 惟因疏懶而令球隊年多來之努力未克全功卻令人深憾. 試問身為副隊長又情何以堪呢, 再望三思, 三思.
愚學兄兼教練劉縝頓首
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Thursday Practice Report (17-Jan-2008)
Today, we got only five kids, including Tommy, Nicholas, Calvin, Ivan and Kenny.
Oscar was absent because his leg was injured.
We warmed up for a while.
Before the class started, I decided to have some group training.
However, at the end, I decided to have some individual and more specific training which would be benefit to all of them.
I told Tommy and have many single match as possible today.
Tommy would play a single in the K-Swiss next Monday.
He is a good player: more consistent than his past, extremely powerful serve.
I talked to and taught him a lot.
He played against Kenny but was lost.
He than played against Ivan and beated him.
I think he had learnt a lot:
He knew that consistency is the must, the more consistent you are, the higher chance to beat your enemy even he is a very strong player.
During the match, you should do what you are good AT THAT TIME! Just take Tommy as an example, he didn't perform well in the net. He tried three or four times but hitting many volleys to the net or out. So, you are not good at the net in this match. What you should do is to do what you are good in the game.
Tommy improved a lot.
He was inconsistent and not good at single in the past.
But now, he is a tough single player, threatening others with a very powerful serve and backhand.
I bet, after the summer, he would be our next crucial team member in next season!
Calvin and Nicholas had the specific double tactic training.
I worked with Ivan at first. Calvin and Nicholas played against us.
I fed the ball to the one in baseline, he just hit a wide shot to prevent the interception of the net player. This is demostrating the real situation in double match: the net player (especially our old boys Raymond, Joeph and Simon, they like intercepting!!) may intercept the ball and score.
Nicholas did well, hitting some powerful shot and threatened Ivan.
Calvin was okay at the net, but his legs are still too heavy to MOVE!!
We lobbed them, they were weak in chasing the high ball.
Nicholas always wanted to hit a killer shot but it doesn't work...
Nicholas and Calvin became more active at the net...
Nicholas's volleys and overheads are more consistent.
Tommy, Nicholas and Calvin become stronger.
I hope they will beat the enemy in next Monday's K-swiss.
One more thing, I told Kenny and Ivan to practice more in doubles.
Some will think they are consistent, but only in single match.
If they want to represent wah yan and play for our school, they have to be a good doubles player at leat to represent in the inter-school.
Boys were busy, some of them needed to attand tutorial lesson after school.
Some get injured.
The number of boys joined Thursday training decreased in these couple of weeks...
I told Ernest to call the F1 boys (who are good and have potential in the Friday lesson taught by Ernest) to come next thursday.
Developing our new lower form player is important.
As two or three more years, the lower form players like Oscar and Long Long or other new members this year will be the very important and crucial player in the team. They would represent Wahyan to play.
So, I hope to see more new face in the team, especially the lower form.
I hope these new faces would be our core player in future.
I hope, after Ernest and my tennis lesson, our boys would become strong and more importantly, they would be more proud as a wahyanite.
Today's tennis team is different from the time when I were in wahyan.
More team spirit, more team members even some says our team is not that strong.
But, I believe, we would be promoted to Division 1 again by all of our efforts!!!
*I appreciate our boys, Louvre and Oscar.
They didn't come for the training as they were injured.
Oscar called me yesterday and told me he couldn't come while Louvre called me at today's lunch time.
They were responsible.
Our team members are good men, they are more responsible.
I belive, responsibility is also the thing we want our boys to learn in tennis court!
Oscar was absent because his leg was injured.
We warmed up for a while.
Before the class started, I decided to have some group training.
However, at the end, I decided to have some individual and more specific training which would be benefit to all of them.
I told Tommy and have many single match as possible today.
Tommy would play a single in the K-Swiss next Monday.
He is a good player: more consistent than his past, extremely powerful serve.
I talked to and taught him a lot.
He played against Kenny but was lost.
He than played against Ivan and beated him.
I think he had learnt a lot:
He knew that consistency is the must, the more consistent you are, the higher chance to beat your enemy even he is a very strong player.
During the match, you should do what you are good AT THAT TIME! Just take Tommy as an example, he didn't perform well in the net. He tried three or four times but hitting many volleys to the net or out. So, you are not good at the net in this match. What you should do is to do what you are good in the game.
Tommy improved a lot.
He was inconsistent and not good at single in the past.
But now, he is a tough single player, threatening others with a very powerful serve and backhand.
I bet, after the summer, he would be our next crucial team member in next season!
Calvin and Nicholas had the specific double tactic training.
I worked with Ivan at first. Calvin and Nicholas played against us.
I fed the ball to the one in baseline, he just hit a wide shot to prevent the interception of the net player. This is demostrating the real situation in double match: the net player (especially our old boys Raymond, Joeph and Simon, they like intercepting!!) may intercept the ball and score.
Nicholas did well, hitting some powerful shot and threatened Ivan.
Calvin was okay at the net, but his legs are still too heavy to MOVE!!
We lobbed them, they were weak in chasing the high ball.
Nicholas always wanted to hit a killer shot but it doesn't work...
Nicholas and Calvin became more active at the net...
Nicholas's volleys and overheads are more consistent.
Tommy, Nicholas and Calvin become stronger.
I hope they will beat the enemy in next Monday's K-swiss.
One more thing, I told Kenny and Ivan to practice more in doubles.
Some will think they are consistent, but only in single match.
If they want to represent wah yan and play for our school, they have to be a good doubles player at leat to represent in the inter-school.
Boys were busy, some of them needed to attand tutorial lesson after school.
Some get injured.
The number of boys joined Thursday training decreased in these couple of weeks...
I told Ernest to call the F1 boys (who are good and have potential in the Friday lesson taught by Ernest) to come next thursday.
Developing our new lower form player is important.
As two or three more years, the lower form players like Oscar and Long Long or other new members this year will be the very important and crucial player in the team. They would represent Wahyan to play.
So, I hope to see more new face in the team, especially the lower form.
I hope these new faces would be our core player in future.
I hope, after Ernest and my tennis lesson, our boys would become strong and more importantly, they would be more proud as a wahyanite.
Today's tennis team is different from the time when I were in wahyan.
More team spirit, more team members even some says our team is not that strong.
But, I believe, we would be promoted to Division 1 again by all of our efforts!!!
*I appreciate our boys, Louvre and Oscar.
They didn't come for the training as they were injured.
Oscar called me yesterday and told me he couldn't come while Louvre called me at today's lunch time.
They were responsible.
Our team members are good men, they are more responsible.
I belive, responsibility is also the thing we want our boys to learn in tennis court!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Second Finneran Cup Match Report
The 2nd Finneran Cup was successfully held on this Sunday (13th January 2008). We were extremely fortunate with the weather as the rain did not come until late afternoon. The match was officiated by Mr. Norman So (Principal WYK) and Mr. Terence Tse (Sports Teacher). There were a few people who re-organized their schedule before they could attend the Cup. Covan changed his flight; Tony Ko re-organized his house moving schedule and only had 3 hours sleep the previous night on duty; KK and Louvre were not 100% after laying low with cold; Charles, Jack Cho and Ernest were still nursing injuries on their arms. Nevertheless, we had an excellent turn-out for the Old Boys Team, a mixture of experience and youth. William Lee, our Chairman was the Captain in 71-72 season and he paired up with Sam Yeung (Captain in 2005) in one of the most exciting matches. Because of the no of entries, we decided to adopt the Super Tie-Break format playing just 10 points in each match. For the fastest serve competition, the 2 coaches Edmond and Ernest had the fastest and most consistent service, generally speaking. Simon Ho was unfortunate to have hit the fastest service, but ended a foot or so on the wrong court with 160 km/hr. For the fastest service competition, we had joint winners on 151 km/hr - Barry and Alvin. For the main match, the Old Boys got off to a flying start with Simon winning against Long Long; Charles edging Barry in a thriller; William and Sam narrowly beat Jordan and Tommy in one of the thrillers of the day (15-13), but arguably Ambrose's amazing come-back win against Tony Chow was one of the best performances that we have seen for ages. Many matches were within one or two points here and there.
The full results are as follows for the records (Old Boys winning by 20-13 rubbers in the Final Score) Here are the full results of the match Simon bt Long Long (10-4); Charles bt Barry (11-9); Sam and William bt Jordan and Tommy (15-13); Covan and Martin lost to Tony Chow and Matthew (8-10); Alvin bt Frankie (11-9); Jack Cho and KK lost to Calvin and Nicholas (6-10); Ambrose bt Tony Chow (11-9); Tony Ko lost to Tommy (6-10); Covan lost to Barry (5-10); Martin and Sam bt Matthew and Frankie (10-6); Simon and Henry bt Chris and Barry (10-6); Jack Cho bt Louvre (10-7); Joseph and Kane bt Long Long and Oscar (10-8); KK and Charles lost to Long Long and Tony Chow (5-10); Kane bt Jordan (10-8); Alvin and Henry Leung bt Calvin and Nicholas (10-8); Martin and Jack Cho lost to Oscar and Chris (8-10); Sam and Covan lost to Long Long and Tony Chow (7-10); Ambrose and William bt Barry and Matthew (10-4); Raymond and Tony Ko lost to Tommy and Jordan (7-10); Simon and Kane bt Long Long and Tony Chow (10-6); Charles bt Oscar (10-3); KK and Jack lost to Edmond and Louvre (5-10); Alvin and Joseph bt Chris and Frankie (10-6); William and Henry Leung bt Calvin and Nicholas (10-6); Martin and Sam lost to Oscar and Tommy (9-11); Ambrose bt Long Long (10-7); Raymond and Charles bt Chris and Barry (10-7); Ambrose and Kane bt Long Long and Chris (10-2); Covan bt Matthew (10-8); Simon and Joseph lost to Edmond and Barry (6-10); Martin and Sam bt Chris and Jordan (10-8); Raymond and Henry Leung lost to Calvin and Nicholas (6-10); Old Boy pair lost to Edmond and Louvre (4-10)
Most importantly, the matches were played in good spirit and full of entertainment. WYK Tennis Team has improved tremendously under the stewardship of Ernest and Edmond. There were good intelligent interceptions and tactical play by the School Team. Last year, there were hardly more than 3 rallies in most of the matches. We are seeing a very positive attitude of our players in training and match play. The winners and runner-up team were presented medallions by Fr Baptista. There was also nice group photographs taken at the start and end of the Finneran Cup today.
I would like to thank Simon, Joseph and Kane for helping out with the photography duties. Chun Chun was also supporting Kane throughout the day. Also Tommy Ho (WYK 84) and Yvonne (Kane's wife) dropped by and helped us with taking photos. After the match, we went to Big Head Shrimp for lunch. Most of you missed the amazing scene after lunch, we had most of the WYK Tennis Team playing tennis including Barry, Oscar, Calvin, Nicholas, Tommy, Louvre, Frankie and Jordan. Mavis (Ernest's wife) was also having her 4th lesson with Ernest, but played with the style of A grade player. Covan was also helping out with the practice alongside Henry Leung, Joseph and I. While we were leaving around 5pm, Ambrose came back to play tennis with his 9 year old son.
Detailed analysis of the match played by the Old Boys as follows:-
Take Ambrose as an example, he is the perfect gentleman. You throw him at the deep end and take on the young lion of Tony Chow. He told me that he had plenty of experience dealing with Kelvin Inge when he was younger before the start of the match. After the first match by winning from an impossible position, I did not let him get away with it so easily, hoping to lower his colours by pitching him with Long Long. He then beat Long Long and thus I tested him in 2 more doubles and he won every single rubber and tried his best. He is only matched by William and Kane with a 100% win record. Henry Leung is very similar and he should have a 100% record but for partnering me in our defeat against Calvin and Nicholas. Another good example is KK. He was unwell for most of the week and turned up to support the Old Boys. He played his heart out in all his matches, and the same could be said with Jack, Alvin and Tony Ko. For the young guns of Martin, Covan and Sam, they paired up with themselves or with the more senior Old Boys and played their part in the competition, so it was a team effort. Joseph, Kane, Joseph and Kane, Kane and Joseph, it is still a golden pairing no matter how you look at it. We should also thank Simon and Charles giving us a perfect start and boost in morale with their first 2 singles wins. It is very similar to the Ryder Cup with the Singles, we put our best players out in the opener.
It was all fun and games. Let's wish WYK Tennis Team a successful 2008. For those of you who left early, KK, Jack and Tony Ko, I have your gold medal in safe keeping, please ask me for it when we next play tennis. I will keep the medals in my tennis bag
Cheers
Raymond
The full results are as follows for the records (Old Boys winning by 20-13 rubbers in the Final Score) Here are the full results of the match Simon bt Long Long (10-4); Charles bt Barry (11-9); Sam and William bt Jordan and Tommy (15-13); Covan and Martin lost to Tony Chow and Matthew (8-10); Alvin bt Frankie (11-9); Jack Cho and KK lost to Calvin and Nicholas (6-10); Ambrose bt Tony Chow (11-9); Tony Ko lost to Tommy (6-10); Covan lost to Barry (5-10); Martin and Sam bt Matthew and Frankie (10-6); Simon and Henry bt Chris and Barry (10-6); Jack Cho bt Louvre (10-7); Joseph and Kane bt Long Long and Oscar (10-8); KK and Charles lost to Long Long and Tony Chow (5-10); Kane bt Jordan (10-8); Alvin and Henry Leung bt Calvin and Nicholas (10-8); Martin and Jack Cho lost to Oscar and Chris (8-10); Sam and Covan lost to Long Long and Tony Chow (7-10); Ambrose and William bt Barry and Matthew (10-4); Raymond and Tony Ko lost to Tommy and Jordan (7-10); Simon and Kane bt Long Long and Tony Chow (10-6); Charles bt Oscar (10-3); KK and Jack lost to Edmond and Louvre (5-10); Alvin and Joseph bt Chris and Frankie (10-6); William and Henry Leung bt Calvin and Nicholas (10-6); Martin and Sam lost to Oscar and Tommy (9-11); Ambrose bt Long Long (10-7); Raymond and Charles bt Chris and Barry (10-7); Ambrose and Kane bt Long Long and Chris (10-2); Covan bt Matthew (10-8); Simon and Joseph lost to Edmond and Barry (6-10); Martin and Sam bt Chris and Jordan (10-8); Raymond and Henry Leung lost to Calvin and Nicholas (6-10); Old Boy pair lost to Edmond and Louvre (4-10)
Most importantly, the matches were played in good spirit and full of entertainment. WYK Tennis Team has improved tremendously under the stewardship of Ernest and Edmond. There were good intelligent interceptions and tactical play by the School Team. Last year, there were hardly more than 3 rallies in most of the matches. We are seeing a very positive attitude of our players in training and match play. The winners and runner-up team were presented medallions by Fr Baptista. There was also nice group photographs taken at the start and end of the Finneran Cup today.
I would like to thank Simon, Joseph and Kane for helping out with the photography duties. Chun Chun was also supporting Kane throughout the day. Also Tommy Ho (WYK 84) and Yvonne (Kane's wife) dropped by and helped us with taking photos. After the match, we went to Big Head Shrimp for lunch. Most of you missed the amazing scene after lunch, we had most of the WYK Tennis Team playing tennis including Barry, Oscar, Calvin, Nicholas, Tommy, Louvre, Frankie and Jordan. Mavis (Ernest's wife) was also having her 4th lesson with Ernest, but played with the style of A grade player. Covan was also helping out with the practice alongside Henry Leung, Joseph and I. While we were leaving around 5pm, Ambrose came back to play tennis with his 9 year old son.
Detailed analysis of the match played by the Old Boys as follows:-
Take Ambrose as an example, he is the perfect gentleman. You throw him at the deep end and take on the young lion of Tony Chow. He told me that he had plenty of experience dealing with Kelvin Inge when he was younger before the start of the match. After the first match by winning from an impossible position, I did not let him get away with it so easily, hoping to lower his colours by pitching him with Long Long. He then beat Long Long and thus I tested him in 2 more doubles and he won every single rubber and tried his best. He is only matched by William and Kane with a 100% win record. Henry Leung is very similar and he should have a 100% record but for partnering me in our defeat against Calvin and Nicholas. Another good example is KK. He was unwell for most of the week and turned up to support the Old Boys. He played his heart out in all his matches, and the same could be said with Jack, Alvin and Tony Ko. For the young guns of Martin, Covan and Sam, they paired up with themselves or with the more senior Old Boys and played their part in the competition, so it was a team effort. Joseph, Kane, Joseph and Kane, Kane and Joseph, it is still a golden pairing no matter how you look at it. We should also thank Simon and Charles giving us a perfect start and boost in morale with their first 2 singles wins. It is very similar to the Ryder Cup with the Singles, we put our best players out in the opener.
It was all fun and games. Let's wish WYK Tennis Team a successful 2008. For those of you who left early, KK, Jack and Tony Ko, I have your gold medal in safe keeping, please ask me for it when we next play tennis. I will keep the medals in my tennis bag
Cheers
Raymond
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Finneran Cup
Many thanks to all the old boys and the Fund for holding the big event for the kids.
Here is the link of all todays' photo of my camera, I may miss some photos which Simon and Joseph had captured. If you want a copy of CD of the photo, please feel free to leave a comment here.
Joseph, I will burn a copy of the photos in DVD and give Ernest, he will pass to you later.
http://picasaweb.google.com/gl4355/200801132ndFinneranCup
Here is the link of all todays' photo of my camera, I may miss some photos which Simon and Joseph had captured. If you want a copy of CD of the photo, please feel free to leave a comment here.
Joseph, I will burn a copy of the photos in DVD and give Ernest, he will pass to you later.
http://picasaweb.google.com/gl4355/200801132ndFinneranCup
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Thursday Practice Report (10-Jan-2008)
Today, we got many kids and we had two special guests.
Tommy, Oscar, Jordan, Chris, Brian and Nicholas.
Covan and Cheung Sir joined us for a few training.
I brought a basket of new tennis today.
Many of them felt happy with playing new balls.
It is a fact that our challange is coming!
We first had some warm-ups.
Covan warmed up with Nichoals, I bet Nicholas must learnt a lot from him.
Tommy did some rally with Chris Wong. Both of them are consistent.
However, some kids ran to kick soccer and skipped some training.
I know, some of them were enthusiastic about soccer, but I bet training is more important than the fun.
Anyway, I think they have learnt at the end.
I fed some shots for Nicholas, Tommy and Cheung Sir, hitting a powerful shot to the net player, Chris Wong.
Chris got a firm volley, but he's still afraid of being a net player.
Cheung Sir hit many killer shots which made Chris feared.
Nicholas and Tommy were not that consistant, but they are very Topspin players.
One more drill for the baseline and volley players.
3 vs. 3.
Oscar and Jordan were back from the soccer field.
Jordan, Oscar and Tommy were the same team, played against Nicholas, Brian and Cheung Sir.
Jordan and Oscar were extremely inconsistent! They claimed that they didn't warm up yet! They hit to the net or out every shots! For the first set, they lost.
They got a punishment: suicide---touching the lines in the court.
Next, the second set, Brian left.
3 vs. 2.
Cheung Sir was great, hitting many powerful forehand shot which threatening the three kids.
Nicholas also did a good job, hitting the ball consistenly in the court.
However, the three kids still in their dark side... lost the game...
Service.
I'm afraid some of them would get many double fault in the Finneran Cup, the coming Sunday.
I told them to serve 30 balls in.
They served and served.
Oscar and Tommy seemed to be consistent.
Nicholas's serve got too much topspin.
After the 30 balls, we got the volley drill.
Some major errors: too much back swing, contact the ball too late or too early...
The net game of the kids should be focus more, right?
At the end of the training, a double.
Tommy and Jordan played against Oscar and Nicholas.
In the game, I found that many of them couldn't serve good... In other words, double faults.
I were disappointed by their service...
Ernest, next time, please focus on their serve...
Tommy was great, he tried intercept and hit some killer volleys. I do think that he is the only one improved in the net game.
However, all of them should be more and more consistent, in order to beat Simon and Raymond and all the old boys.
CONSISTENCE is a MUST!!!!!
Anyway, a good match for both of them.
What they need is the experience of playing tournament outside wahyan, which they will develop better in psychological views.
Ernest, I got some forms of the Lion Club. I will bring all of the form on coming Sunday. Some of kids had already filled in. One more thing, it is a fact that the lost of the tennis ball in wahyan is absolutely horrible! I lost at leat two can of balls today!!
Pray for the good weather on coming Sunday.
I hope the boys would practice more and be more consistent.
Tommy, Oscar, Jordan, Chris, Brian and Nicholas.
Covan and Cheung Sir joined us for a few training.
I brought a basket of new tennis today.
Many of them felt happy with playing new balls.
It is a fact that our challange is coming!
We first had some warm-ups.
Covan warmed up with Nichoals, I bet Nicholas must learnt a lot from him.
Tommy did some rally with Chris Wong. Both of them are consistent.
However, some kids ran to kick soccer and skipped some training.
I know, some of them were enthusiastic about soccer, but I bet training is more important than the fun.
Anyway, I think they have learnt at the end.
I fed some shots for Nicholas, Tommy and Cheung Sir, hitting a powerful shot to the net player, Chris Wong.
Chris got a firm volley, but he's still afraid of being a net player.
Cheung Sir hit many killer shots which made Chris feared.
Nicholas and Tommy were not that consistant, but they are very Topspin players.
One more drill for the baseline and volley players.
3 vs. 3.
Oscar and Jordan were back from the soccer field.
Jordan, Oscar and Tommy were the same team, played against Nicholas, Brian and Cheung Sir.
Jordan and Oscar were extremely inconsistent! They claimed that they didn't warm up yet! They hit to the net or out every shots! For the first set, they lost.
They got a punishment: suicide---touching the lines in the court.
Next, the second set, Brian left.
3 vs. 2.
Cheung Sir was great, hitting many powerful forehand shot which threatening the three kids.
Nicholas also did a good job, hitting the ball consistenly in the court.
However, the three kids still in their dark side... lost the game...
Service.
I'm afraid some of them would get many double fault in the Finneran Cup, the coming Sunday.
I told them to serve 30 balls in.
They served and served.
Oscar and Tommy seemed to be consistent.
Nicholas's serve got too much topspin.
After the 30 balls, we got the volley drill.
Some major errors: too much back swing, contact the ball too late or too early...
The net game of the kids should be focus more, right?
At the end of the training, a double.
Tommy and Jordan played against Oscar and Nicholas.
In the game, I found that many of them couldn't serve good... In other words, double faults.
I were disappointed by their service...
Ernest, next time, please focus on their serve...
Tommy was great, he tried intercept and hit some killer volleys. I do think that he is the only one improved in the net game.
However, all of them should be more and more consistent, in order to beat Simon and Raymond and all the old boys.
CONSISTENCE is a MUST!!!!!
Anyway, a good match for both of them.
What they need is the experience of playing tournament outside wahyan, which they will develop better in psychological views.
Ernest, I got some forms of the Lion Club. I will bring all of the form on coming Sunday. Some of kids had already filled in. One more thing, it is a fact that the lost of the tennis ball in wahyan is absolutely horrible! I lost at leat two can of balls today!!
Pray for the good weather on coming Sunday.
I hope the boys would practice more and be more consistent.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Happy New year, the 1st training of 2008 (2-Jan-2008)
Happy New Year!
Today, we had our first training in the 2008.
We started at 10am.
I arrived the court at 9:30am, then Tommy and Louvre came.
I gave them some individual practice.
Tommy on his backhand slide and Louvre on his forehand.
Tommy didn't know how to slide, but after couple of baskets, he could hit a down the line backhand slide. Louvre, tried his best... but I hope he could work harder on his footwork.
Later, Jordan, Oscar and Calvin came.
We had the very usual forehand and backhand warm up.
At about 10:30am, our wahyan Federer---Barry joined us.
Chasing forehand shot..
I found that most of the boys had lazy legs!
So, I decided to have the 3-court-chasing game just as our last training.
On our last training, we had the 2-court chasing game. But now we had the 3-court chasing game. It is a fact that running 3 courts is hard for our boys. They first hit a volley, and then dash very quickly to our third court and rally the ball to Barry. (* Barry gets injury of his leg, so I don't want him to run too much) Most of the boys did better than the last time.
Boys were tired, but I believed this is the most effective way to train their stamina.
I hope, at last, we can have a 4-court chasing game.
Next, we had our funny game: 3 vs. 3.
Louvre, Tommy and Calvin VS. Barry, Jordan, Oscar.
Tommy was great, hitting many powerful shots.
Louvre at the end calm himself down, hitting more consistent shots.
Jordan and Barry made some mistakes on the net game.
Service.
King of the court.
I think this is the first time to play the king of the court in wahyan.
Unpreditable, Louvre beated Barry and be the king.
Oscar, Tommy had become the king once.
Good play.
A double match: Louvre and Barry played against Calvin and Tommy.
At about 12:30pm, I joined with them and hit with Barry and Tommy.
A good day.
This time, I would like to write some of my feeling and some comment on some of our boys:
Tommy
I found that he played the best in today's training. He had the very powerful backhand and backhand, of course, he is also the service killer. He aced twice today. I bet, he had improved a lot in these few lessons, basically on his consistence and the baseline shots. By the way, his net game is not that good, and the room of improvement is large.
Barry
He told me that he didn't play well in the trip of Ernest's house. I see, he just like Chris: after taking a very long break, Chris would not play well and have to practice many many time in order to recover. But, his volley is still his killer shots, threatening any of the boys in the team. If he practice more, he would come back. Maybe, let's wish Barry to have flying colours of his CE result, and come back next year!
Louvre
Unpredictable again. If Louvre calm himself down, he will have better performance. He always wants to beat the opponent in one shot, but as you know, when you get older, you would never score a point by winning a killer shot. Consistence is a must in any games, double or single. Once he is consistent, he would win the game! So, Louvre, just be patient and consistent!
Oscar
What are you doing today? Some of the boys couldn't concentrate.... Some focus on footwork... You know, the challenge is coming, the inter school would start on March! Please keep yourselves ready and be tuned!!
This is the end of the report.
A good training, as many of them tried best and did a good job.
Ernest, many thanks to you. I think the trip to your house make our the team united, and the most important thing is--- Tommy TALKED more today!!! which is my first time hearing he spoke too much!
Thanks God.
Today, we had our first training in the 2008.
We started at 10am.
I arrived the court at 9:30am, then Tommy and Louvre came.
I gave them some individual practice.
Tommy on his backhand slide and Louvre on his forehand.
Tommy didn't know how to slide, but after couple of baskets, he could hit a down the line backhand slide. Louvre, tried his best... but I hope he could work harder on his footwork.
Later, Jordan, Oscar and Calvin came.
We had the very usual forehand and backhand warm up.
At about 10:30am, our wahyan Federer---Barry joined us.
Chasing forehand shot..
I found that most of the boys had lazy legs!
So, I decided to have the 3-court-chasing game just as our last training.
On our last training, we had the 2-court chasing game. But now we had the 3-court chasing game. It is a fact that running 3 courts is hard for our boys. They first hit a volley, and then dash very quickly to our third court and rally the ball to Barry. (* Barry gets injury of his leg, so I don't want him to run too much) Most of the boys did better than the last time.
Boys were tired, but I believed this is the most effective way to train their stamina.
I hope, at last, we can have a 4-court chasing game.
Next, we had our funny game: 3 vs. 3.
Louvre, Tommy and Calvin VS. Barry, Jordan, Oscar.
Tommy was great, hitting many powerful shots.
Louvre at the end calm himself down, hitting more consistent shots.
Jordan and Barry made some mistakes on the net game.
Service.
King of the court.
I think this is the first time to play the king of the court in wahyan.
Unpreditable, Louvre beated Barry and be the king.
Oscar, Tommy had become the king once.
Good play.
A double match: Louvre and Barry played against Calvin and Tommy.
At about 12:30pm, I joined with them and hit with Barry and Tommy.
A good day.
This time, I would like to write some of my feeling and some comment on some of our boys:
Tommy
I found that he played the best in today's training. He had the very powerful backhand and backhand, of course, he is also the service killer. He aced twice today. I bet, he had improved a lot in these few lessons, basically on his consistence and the baseline shots. By the way, his net game is not that good, and the room of improvement is large.
Barry
He told me that he didn't play well in the trip of Ernest's house. I see, he just like Chris: after taking a very long break, Chris would not play well and have to practice many many time in order to recover. But, his volley is still his killer shots, threatening any of the boys in the team. If he practice more, he would come back. Maybe, let's wish Barry to have flying colours of his CE result, and come back next year!
Louvre
Unpredictable again. If Louvre calm himself down, he will have better performance. He always wants to beat the opponent in one shot, but as you know, when you get older, you would never score a point by winning a killer shot. Consistence is a must in any games, double or single. Once he is consistent, he would win the game! So, Louvre, just be patient and consistent!
Oscar
What are you doing today? Some of the boys couldn't concentrate.... Some focus on footwork... You know, the challenge is coming, the inter school would start on March! Please keep yourselves ready and be tuned!!
This is the end of the report.
A good training, as many of them tried best and did a good job.
Ernest, many thanks to you. I think the trip to your house make our the team united, and the most important thing is--- Tommy TALKED more today!!! which is my first time hearing he spoke too much!
Thanks God.
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