2012 OLYMPIC HANDBALL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME & PARTILLE CUP

2012 OLYMPIC HANDBALL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME & PARTILLE CUP

(23 JUN – 9 JUL 2012 @ GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN)

 

Damai Secondary School’s boys’ Handball team was selected by the Handball Federation of Singapore to represent the country in the 2012 Olympic Handball Development Programme and Partille Cup held in Gothenburg, Sweden.  This was in recognition of their achievements at the 2011 National Inter-School Handball Championships where they won the Boys’ ‘C’ Division title.

The team consisted of four 14-year-olds, nine 15-year-olds and one 16-year-old, and they were accompanied by Mr Tan Heng Loon (HOD PE & Student L’ship) and Mr Sheikh Luqmahn (SH Student l’ship), who acted as team leaders and coaches to the team.

The team embarked on a 24-hour journey from Singapore to Ugglums skola, our school’s accommodation in Gothenburg, Sweden. The trip included a flight transfer in Doha, UAE and also a coach transfer in Oslo, Norway.

As part of the Olympic Handball Development Programme, our team was involved in a one-week intensive training programme under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee and the Swedish Handball Federation. The programme brings together teams from countries such as China, England, Ireland, Scotland, USA, Zimbabwe and ourselves, who were trained by coaches hired by the Swedish Handball Federation to level up the technical and tactical skills of the teams before the Partille Cup. Other than the training sessions, players from the participating nations also had time to mingle and interact with each other in a relaxed and lively environment.

 

 

The Partille Cup commenced in the second week of our trip and the Damai Team was drawn to face club teams from Denmark, Germany and Sweden in the Boys’ U-16 preliminary round. Although we lost all our matches and were subsequently relegated to the losers’ pool, the players gave a good account of themselves with some spirited displays. We eventually bowed out of the tournament in the first round of the losers’ pool, losing 20 – 4 to Bjurslatts IF, a Swedish team.

During the tournament, the players and team leaders were kept entertained as there were players’ and leaders’ parties organised, as well as subsidised visits to other places of attractions. The team arrived back in Singapore on 9 Jul after another arduous 24-hour trip.

Through the tournament, the players learnt that there was a wide gulf in standards between us and the rest of the world. To improve themselves, they will have to devote more hours towards training, employ the training drills and techniques they had learnt from the Swedish coaches, and remember the competitiveness needed to succeed from the Partille Cup.

 

Perhaps, the best learning from the experience was described by one of the players:

The one thing I am certain of is that I will never forget my experiences in Sweden. Throughout the entire trip, not only did I learn and relearn all kinds of skills, drills and techniques, I learnt something beyond Handball and beyond sports.

After undergoing one week of intense training by our Swedish coach, Mr Per Soderbergh, we played friendly games with countries such as Ireland and Scotland, which were also in the Olympic Development Programme. It was really a novel experience for us interacting and playing with like-minded teenagers from such faraway countries. It really opened up our minds and broadened our horizons.

The entire training and playing experience from start to end taught me that our team lacks physical training, communication, a strong defence and a sense of alertness. However, I also learnt that we can easily solve all these if we put in 100% effort. I also learnt, through my teachers’ guidance, the need for discipline, in terms of punctuality for example, and the need to put in ‘perfect practice’ to be truly committed to becoming not just a better athlete, but a better person. I will never forget something Mr Tan said to me, “Do not be a person who waits for things to happen, be a person who makes things happen.” – Zacharia Lee Zhi Ming (Damai Sec Sch)

 

Article contributed by Damai Secondary School