Mountain climbers.

As floorball in Penang chart its way into history, Bukit Jambul (BJ) too made history of their own as they participated in their first ever floorball tournament as a school and as a team! I had the privilege of leading and coaching them during the inaugural SUKPEN Floorball Challenge last week.

Floorball enthusiasts gathered at Shang Wu school for the SUKPEN floorball competition 2009!

I've not worked with schools before, hence, I had no experience whatsoever in regards to leading a school floorball club. So when the opportunity came, I had a certain amount of anxiety but also a fair share of excitement. It's been a while since I worked with youth. So it was a bit worrying thinking whether or not I'd be able to relate to this young group of sports enthusiasts. But after a few rounds of training with them, I found them to be a great bunch with great potential!

From left-right:
Calvin, Ruben, Zoe, Syahmi and Jay-Sern.

Indeed, they have great potential. Stepping into their first ever tournament, moreover, a state level competition, was truly a test of character in itself. Most of them have not played more than 5 times! They really did not know what to expect and I truly respect their courage for rising up during the competition. C'mon man, they had to face teams like Ztec and Innebandy! Woah, salute! Salute!

I'm glad that they had a complete experience. In fact, they had more than they bargained for. The first day of the competition seemed to be a bad day for BJ. Firstly, they only had one game in store for them. Secondly, they had to wait for at least a good 4 hours before their turn arrived. Thirdly, their first game was against Ztec!.... Waiitttt... Still got some more bad news...

When their turn to play finally arrived, they faced another hiccup! A major one in fact!

Power outage!!!!

Floorball in Penang created yet another history... Power failure in the midst of a match for the first time ever! Don't know whether to laugh or to cry when I think about it. But I must say though, it was quite an experience. I'm glad I didn't miss it. Hehe.

The BJ'ians taking a team picture in the pitch black hall!

Unfortunately for them, the competition had to be postponed to the following day. Thankfully though, the following day we didn't experience any sort of power failure. Phew!

My instructions to them were fairly simple - Firstly, I told them that character precedes winning. So at all times, display honourable and respectable character on and off court. Secondly, have fun lah and don't muka masam! =) Thirdly, after every game make sure they approach the opposing team and shake their hands. And I'm glad that they achieved all three! Great work BJ'ians!

Ztec vs. BJ!

The subs looking and cheering on for their team mates!

I'm not going to narrate what happened from their first match till' their final one. At the end of it all, I'm proud that they displayed a positive attitude and energy in the team. I'm glad that they learned their first and most important lesson through that competition - winning is not the means to judge the spirit and the heart of the team. Character will lead to bigger wins in the future.

BJ finished fourth in the competition. It's really quite a good position to be in considering the fact that they are a new team. I'm proud of every single one of them - Lisa, Eureka, Pei Li, Zoe, Sonia, Daniel, Ruben, Calvin, Aziz, Hafiz, Syahmi and Jay-Sern. They proved to themselves that there are no mountains to high for them to climb =) Keep climbing those mountains guys!

BJ Bahaya!

Keep it up BJ!