Sibu’s desperate call for an Astroturf pitch

SIBU: One word best describe the young hockey players of Sibu SK SEDC: ‘Magnificent.’

Since the school started their hockey team in 2006, they have captured the MSSS Hockey Championship U-12 Boys title for a record six times in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015. They were runners-up in 2008 and 2014, and third in 2011.

Players from the school are constantly featured in the state team. Eight donned state colours in 2013, five in 2014 and six this year. Ahmad Ariff Jeman, now 18, is currently with Bandar Penawar Sports School.

He has gone for overseas exposure trips and played in the national junior backup squad. He is among the long line of outstanding players nurtured by the school including Aiman Iryani, Shalihin Azin, Edward Edwin, Joewell Bangai, Jelister West. What are the reasons behind the continued success?

“One obvious reason why we have managed to produce such excellent results was due to the good coaches and players that we have.

“If we do not have the good coaches, we will never achieve such an excellent track record,” headmaster Tan Kuang Wui told thesundaypost in an exclusive interview.

But he was quick to add that the school’s success was not easy to sustain and that was why he is clamouring for the relevant authority to come up with an Astroturf pitch.

“If possible, build one Astroturf pitch for us. “Mark my words, once we have the Astroturf pitch, we can produce more players of good calibre, even of international standard,” he predicted.

Sibu’s desperate call for an Astroturf pitch By Philip Wong [email protected] At the moment, his players train on the basketball court located behind the school.

“Hockey should not be played on a cement pitch in the first place but, since we do not have the Astroturf pitch, we have no choice but to conduct our training on the basketball court. Compared to the grass pitch, at least the cement pitch is still regarded as a better choice as that was the place where the standard of the players can be evaluated.

If we play on the grass pitch, the players just could not play to their true abilities,” he added. But there is the danger of injury, he continued, playing on cement court due to difficulty of controlling the ball on the uneven surface. Moreover, the hockey sticks are worn out quite quickly on that hard and rough floor.

“All these are unnecessary expenses which the school have been forking out to help the players acquire new hockey sticks,” Tan lamented.

He recalled times in the 1990s when there was talk about building an Astroturf field but nothing materialised. “Kuching already got three Astroturf pitch and I understand that Miri is also asking for one. By all accounts, Sibu should also have at least one Astroturf pitch.”

Tan said it was just not fair as Sibu has high performance players who have produced excellent results in both the divisional and state-level hockey championships.

“Once we have the Astroturf pitch, we will have all the reason to rope in more players and this will directly help upgrade our standard. Mark my word and that is the only way forward.” He did not mince words as he explained.

“We need to build a strong foundation and we have pupils seven to eight years old who are taught on how to handle the hockey sticks.

We give them training and exposure and if these players are guided properly and subjected to better sporting facilities, we are confident that they will be able to hit stardom eventually.”

He hoped local ministers can play their role in helping the school realise their dream.

“We are hoping that Second Finance Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh or even the Minister of Welfare, Women and Family Development Datuk Fatimah Abdullah to lend their immense help and look into the need for an Astroturf pitch in Sibu.”

Tan described these two ministers as very influential who could make the difference to help upgrade the standard of the hockey here.

The headmaster also paid tribute to the group of coaches who have been sacrificing their time to train the players. He mentioned Azmi Kadir, who is the team technical advisor, chief coach Dzukhaini Mohd Tajuddin and his assistant Geraman Jengging.

“Without them, I doubt if we can have such a wonderful history in the hockey development for the school.” He also singled out retired pensioner Willie Cham, a former state player, for voluntarily rendering his service to help uplift the standard of the game.

Even though there are good coaches around, Tan stressed the value of them passing on their knowledge to the next generation of players to ensure that the sport remains relevant here. The school produced good players, he said, but after they left school there were few competitions for them to take part.

‘Due to the lack of competitions, many talented players do not have a venue to polish their skills and gradually all these talents were laid to waste.”

Azmi also chipped in during the interview, saying if the Astroturf pitch is so hard to come by, at least the relevant authorities should come up with a hockey centre as an alternative. ‘If we can have a hockey centre, then we will be able to rope in more players from Mukah, Selangau, Sarikei and the nearby districts who are too willing to come and train here.”

“Once the parents see that we are producing results, they will all be willing to send their children here to take up the sticks and build it as their children future sport.” Elaborating on the big picture, Tan said Malaysia is strong in hockey.

“This is one sport where size does not matter. All it matters is the basic individual skills and the mental strength. Just look at squash and badminton. And when size does not matter, Malaysia stands a big chance to beat their rivals in international tournaments.

“Schools are not only a place to provide strong academic studies but it must also have holistic students who excelled in sports. There ought to be a striking balance. “Leadership can be trained from a young age and through sport, it can help cultivate a multi-racial society whereby the people can live together peacefully and harmoniously.”