When 9 Pins Fall But 1..

As much as I consider myself as being detached from the bowling scene back in Singapore, I nonetheless still care about the people who played an integral in my bowling days.  It was after all the environment I grew up in.  One of the most respected people I know in bowling is my dearest coach, Uncle AK.  

In a recent article, The New Paper wrote about his derogatory disciplinary methods, and attempted to link his stepping down as head coach to it.  After reading the article, it suddenly hit me that I am still not over bowling totally.  I recall the days Uncle AK would call me "big backside" with a straight face.  I learnt to be a better bowler so that people remember me for my bowling, and not my physical traits.  After all, he said it to stir up that drive within me, and he was being sarcastic.  I never got sarcasm back then, and I still don't fare well in that respect now haha.  

With the sports school's rapid expansion, and more young children recruited into the sport, more parents get themselves unnecessarily involved with the sport.  Some things simply never change - parents having so much to comment about, thinking that they are always right in knowing what is best for their children.  What they do not realize is that while this is a competitive sport, their children are still growing up.  Playing a sport should be fun.  Yes, it should not just be fun such that one lacks dedication, but it definitely should not seem like it is one's career and that one's future depended on how well one performs then.  

Generation after generation, it seems as though every year, the batch of children get more and more pampered.  Not to mention, parents themselves seem to have become more protective over their children's "welfare".  I recall the Sundays I would start training with my peers at the bowling alley, by sliding around in a circle and swinging our bowling arm.  Then we would start with balancing on one foot at the foul line and rolling our balls, followed by starting a slide away, then a step and a slide.... until we reached the normal starting position.  Drills.  Tough as they may be, they serve a good purpose.  They help create some kind of muscle memory so that one's body can perform the drill instinctively.  They also help in disciplining the bowler to keep practicing to improve one's technique.  I used to have to carry a 13 lb bowling ball on my left arm, and bowl with another 13 lb ball with my right.  I even had to wear a wrist weight and ankle weight back then!  Sounds ridiculous?  It was the only way to help me train to maintain a good balance and increase my arm power!

All I had to say to dear Uncle AK is that he doesn't have to care about what other people think.  His students remember him for his great training and disciplining skills, and we are all thankful for having nurtured us to become good athletes and disciplined people.  His teaching methods go a long way, and do not only apply to the sport itself.  Most of all, he'll always have our support and will always be close to our hearts.