U.S/Singapore Soccer Exchange Programme

Words contributed by Natasha Mustika

 

Photo source: U.S. Embassy Singapore facebook

 Just a week ago, 4 former U.S. Women International soccer players namely Janine Szpara, Anna Shortt, Karen Willoughby and Val Henderson flew into Singapore to conduct soccer clinics for women soccer players in the US/Singapore Soccer Exchange Programme.

The Exchange is part of the U.S. Embassy’s broader sports diplomacy initiative to foster greater mutual understanding between the youth of the United States and Singapore. Working with Football Association of Singapore (FAS), the program is specifically tailored for girls to promote women’s empowerment through sports and inspire them through activities such as soccer.

The RPWST girls, together with some Singapore National team players, at the 6 Dec clinic.
Photo source: U.S. Embassy Singapore facebook

The RPWST girls were involved in the clinic and needless to say, it was a fun-filled and enjoyable programme for them as they gained new knowledge and insights from the 4 of the former US International soccer players. 

The clinic for the polytechnic girls was to be held on the 6 December however, heavy rain dampened the spirits and there was no chance for the girls to even step on the field. Throughout the two hour session, the team had the opportunity to interact with the 4 Coaches and within the short session, all the participants gathered in a room where they were taught the importance of problem solving and awareness of their surrounding through playing simple ice breaking games.

The girls in the classroom session.
Photo source: U.S. Embassy Singapore facebook

The girls participating in the ice breaking games.
Photo source: U.S. Embassy Singapore facebook

After the session ended, the girls were disappointed that they did not have the chance to strip down to their soccer boots and learn from the coaches however, they were told that they could instead join in another session with the American school participants on the coming Saturday.

While the Saturday's session was held early in the morning, it was all worth it. Everyone had fun learning from the different coaches and at the same time, they made new friends! All in all, the RPWST girls managed to learn basic skills such as dribbling, ball control, shooting and also played in small sided games such as 1v1 and 6v6 under the scorching sun, which resulted in the girls bringing home some tan-lines on their thighs and arms.

Needless to say, it was a great opportunity given to the team! Who would miss such a golden opportunity like this?

Thank you FAS for organizing this Soccer Programme and Thank You to the U.S. Embassy for arranging and bringing in Janine Szpara, Anna Shortt, Karen Willoughby and Val Henderson to conduct a great clinic for us all, the girls definitely had an unforgettable time!

Check out some photos below:

The RPWST girls with 3 of the coaches.

Some fun posings...

Down by the tracks at the American School...

Captain Natasha with 2 of the Coaches.

Sheu and the coaches with her sexy poses...

Another team photo...

That's all we have for you! Next up, we catch up with our alumni/graduates, Sha sha, Dilys and Fifi on their journey at the ASEAN University Games' 2012 when they are back!

That GOLD!

The POL-ITE Women's Soccer '2012 has come to an end and needless to say, it has been a great tournament for the team as for the very first time, they finished as Champions! We have Raudha, who shares with us the about the entire POL-ITE 2012 experience and the matches.

Words by Raudha

Being part of the POL-ITE school team has really taught me a lot of things, from the beginning till the end. It mainly taught me not to give up easily and to fight till the end in order to reach our goals. Working hard together as a team and encouraging one another are the key points that made us stronger as a team and brought us closer to one another as teammates. On top of that, setting the right mentality before each game is the most important factor. Without the right mentality, we would not have been able to perform well. 

For our first match against NYP, we defeated them 6-1. This was definitely a good start as it brought up the team moral and gave us the drive to continue fighting hard. I can see the team spirit growing and I am definitely proud of everyone’s performance on that day.

For our second match against SP, we had another victory in the bag and won the match 5-0. Although the game was not as lively as the first match, we continued to work hard to earn as many goals as we can. 

For our third match against ITE, I thought that this game was the toughest and most challenging, as ITE has always been a good and strong team. Honestly when I heard that they trashed SP 9-0, it somehow made me more nervous for the team. This was not the reason for us to give up but it was actually the time to show people that we can do it. With the aggressiveness, hard work and not forgetting, the right mentality, we managed to overcome them with the score of 2-1. It was really a tough fight but at the same time, it was satisfying to overcome this challenge.

For our fourth match, it was against TP. We worked really hard for this match and played hard to win this match as it brought us one step closer in becoming the Champion. We managed to beat them 3-0 and I couldn’t describe how happy I was at that moment. Seeing the seniors’ eyes filled with tears of joy, I was really overjoyed and that was one of the happiest moments.

Our last game with NP was unfortunately as we were beaten with the score of 2-0. It was disappointing as I felt that the team could have done better than that but nevertheless, I believed that the team had put effort in this. 

To sum it all up, I am proud of each and everyone in the team. With blood, sweat and tears, we have proved others and naysayers wrong in becoming the Champions for the first time. I hope we can remain as Champions through working hard and never giving up. I also believe that we can go far and gain recognition with pride.

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As part of this special post, we have a few photos from the medal and trophy-presentation:

The Committee '2012 (L-R): The entire team Commitee, Team Treasurer Eve, Team Manager Sarah, Captain Natasha, v-Captain Magdalene and Assist. Team Manager Jerene, gets a hand on the prized trophy!
Photo: Immy

The Captain gets lifted for the huge Achievement...
Photo: Immy

.. and gets the trophy placed on her head by goalkeeper Phoebe!
Photo: Immy

Fun shot
Photo: Immy

Another, with the golden prized trophy.
Photo: Immy

Everyone wants a hand on that trophy!
Photo: Immy

Altogether now for a team photo, with the shiny gold medal proudly hung
around their necks.
Photo: Immy

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That's all we have for you! We hoped you have enjoyed this POL-ITE Season and that you will continue to show your support for this team! In the mean time, have a good week everyone!

That's alot of views!

This post is of non-soccer relevance but the fact that our blog has a high of 7,770 page views in total (oh yes, you can buy 4D with that) since this blog was born, is just incredible. Blogger has broken down the figures and we have a total of 52 page viewers from 3 countries:

• Singapore / 45 page views
• United States / 6 page views
• Philippines / 1 page views
  

Well, technically it is only 2 countries. However, it is also nice to have international people viewing or chancing upon this blog and finding out about our team in this little tiny island in Asia called Singapore!

Nonetheless, thank you for coming to visit our blog to check on updates, though we hardly have any photos for you (we apologize for that)! Well, with that said, do check back our blog for updates once in a while and leave your comments or feedback at the end of the entry if you have something to say!

POL-ITE Games 2012!

Here we are again, at the Tournament that is held annually. Yes, POL-ITE Games, that is!

This year, the matches are played over a few venues and across the various polytechnics, unlike last year where all the matches were played in RP. If you have been following our twitter, you would have read all the updates of the scores. Apologies that we are unable to bring you plenty of photos from the match.

Anyway!

3 matches have been played and RPWST have collected all 9 points from it! Below is a summary of the matches:

• First match against Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) was a victory of 6-1 with a hat-trick from National player, Ernie, a double from Emiliah and a goal from Yun Ting.
  
  
• Second match against Singapore Polytechnic (SP) was also a victory of 5-0 with another hat-trick from Ernie and 2 goals from Farhana.
  
  
• The recent third match against reigning Champions, Combined Institute Technical Education (ITE), was a close 2-1 win with goals from Farhana and Shank (penalty). This match was definitely hard to watch with a 1-1 scoreline with 15 minutes before the final whistle. However, with a mere 5 minutes remaining, RPWST was awarded a penalty and Shank ensured another 3 points by scoring from the spot!

3 matches, 9 points with a total of 12 goals scored and 2 goals conceded. 

Next match would be against the newcomers of the tournament (in this sport discipline), Temasek Polytechnic (TP). Match kicks off at 6pm on home soil at the Home of Team Republic! Will it be a fourth straight win for RPWST? Be there at the Home of the Republic tomorrow, 6pm to catch all the exciting action to find out!

Let us know your thoughts or tweet us on our twitter (@rpwst) or hash tag us #rpwst and #politegamesg!

Guess That Player!

It's Friday again and we are into our 3rd Guess That Player (GTP)!

But before we go on, for those who have been guessing...the owner of the boots in the 2nd GTP is Has!

Now for the 3rd one, let's see how good you are.

This person is loud and bubbly. On the field, she is unpredictable.

Make a guess and answer will be revealed next Friday!