Protect yourself when playing under the Scorching Sun!

Word has been going around that the temperatures in the afternoons over the next fortnight might approach 40 degrees. NEA refuted these claims, saying we might hit 38 at best. Yah. Ok. That makes a whole lot of difference.

Seeing that my team plays under the unforgiving 11am sun, I felt, as the (self proclaimed) team supremo, it's my job to educate them, and myself in the process, on how to best protect ourselves from the harm of the unrelenting sun.


Fluid Intake

This is really obvious. Ensure all the players are adequately hydrated before the game, at halftime, after the game and anytime in between. Remind the players to drink up before the game, almost army style, where everyone stands together and bottoms up. If you are part of the team management, try, if possible, to buy an extra carton of water to bring to the games. Noone will complain that there is too much water to drink. Really. And remind the players not to use the drinking water to pour on their heads. Go to the loo/bathroom to do that.

Water is essential and if the budget allows it, get isotonic drinks to help replendish lost electrolytes.

Cover Thy Heads / Wet Thy Heads

Bring along a cap. Yes you might look like an uncle playing football, but it is better than getting heatstroke and looking like a dead animal lying on the grass. A cap or a bandana will keep the heat off your head and there is a lesser chance you will get a headache or feel giddy due to the bbq going on on your rooftop.

Vince (pictured above) sporting a bandana that does more than accessorize his head

Another option for the vainpots out there (like me), is to go into the shower and wet your hair before the game. Besides looking like Cristiano Ronaldo (kinda), the wet hair helps to alleviate the heat from your hair. Cue O' Level physics, where heat is extracted from the body via the evaporation of the water on thy head. If you are really hardcore, you can just drench yourself in the shower prior to the game. Just beware that wet socks may lead to slippery feet, which leads to blisters.


Wear Long Sleeves

Only crazy teams order long sleeved jerseys! Or are they really crazy? If you have played in long sleeved jerseys in Singapore, you will notice it isn't as hot and as suffocating as it looks. The long sleeves actually protect your exposed skin from the sun and after the game, you will notice that your arms don't have that burning sensation as it would have if you had worn the short sleeved jerseys.

Getting proper compression wear can help to ensure efficient use of energy, a valuable commodity when playing under the hot sun.

If, like 99% of the teams, your team jersey is short-sleeved, then get a long-sleeved rash guard, or if you are sibeh rich, get the long sleeved compression tops. They make you look pro, they make your midsection look smaller by squeezing it, and they protect your skin the way long sleeved jerseys do.


Ask the Ref for Water Breaks

I think most referees do that these days. If the weather is hot, take a short water break every 20 minutes. If the toilet is nearby, run to the toilet and wet your hair again to keep your scalp cool.


At the end of the day, learn to protect yourself and your teammates. If you feel giddy, ask for a substitution and leave the field to freshen up. There are countless injuries that can occur when we are tired or unwell, and we are not even taking into account heat injuries. If you see your teammate looking giddy, quickly bring him off the field for some first aid. The refs will understand.

Take care peeps! And play safe.

Training no substitute for Game time

For the last 6 months, I had to skip my weekly Sunday games due to work commitments. In an attempt to stay fit and match ready, I attended weekly Wed trainings religiously, on top of my Monday gym to ensure I'll slip right into the squad should I return to the squad. 

Unfortunately, as conscientious as I was, I found out recently to my detriment that all that training DID NOT keep me match fit. 

I was doing alright in training. Putting in 100%, running, tackling, shooting. 

The red of AC United flows through my being! Not looking forward to its hardening into the infamous bakwa (roasted meat) though. 

Then came match day. A friendly against an old foe. I was so off the pace, my fitness was terrible, my ball control and decision making was abysmal. I was everywhere, yet nowhere at the same time. 

Last Sunday was my second game back in the team. I still felt a little lost, my teammates were asking what I'm doing and one actually told me I used to be much faster to the ball. That 'used to' was a mere 6 months ago!!!

I guess all that training did ensure I did not fall too far off the required pace, but apparently, it's no substitute for a good hard game of competitive football. 

A little bakwa on my left knee and a sprained right ankle are reminders of how far off the pace I currently am. 

I may suck for another 2-3 games. But I guarantee you I'll be back. Better than before. I owe it to my team, but more importantly, to myself, to return to my best and more. 

Bring it on!!

Advanced defending for the more accomplished defenders

At football training sometime last month with RMFTA, we did a simple segment, where a single attacker goes one-on-one against a single defender and tries to beat him to score.

I was pitted against my brother, a 120kg behemoth, who is a rock as a centreback, but as an attacker, not someone that'll make me quake in my boots. So here I am, facing up to my bro, tilting my body to show him to my left so I can move in for the steal when he goes for the shot with his masterfoot.

Instead, he did the unexpected and cut the ball to his left, ghosting past me like I wasn't there. If he took an extra touch or two after getting past me, I might have been able to recover and put in a tackle. But he took the right option for an early shot with his first touch after getting past me, smashing an unstoppable left footer into the net that would have made any striker proud. 

Damn that was a rude wake up call!

Probably overconfidence on my part. And some impressive footwork on his part. (There! I said it! You happy now?) But I also realized there's something fundamentally wrong with my defending in one-on-ones situations. 

Came across a Nike Academy training video that really shed some light. Not just on individual defensive skills, but the collective defensive covering and movement as well. Have a look at the video and you'll understand where I'm coming from.

He who Controls the PACE Controls the GAME

Even at the gym, i wear my team tee proudly!

Had another ho hum session at the gym today. Mostly upper body since I almost died last week from the intensive lower body workout.

But this post isn’t about what ho hum things I did at the gym. It is about what I learnt from Coach Ivan at last week’s training. Yes. Coach Ivan returns! I love him. He’s always giving nuggets of advice to us ignoramuses on how to play the beautiful game, something that I find as valuable as the actual training itself, in terms of improving us as players. 

Eating beats Exercising anytime!

Its Monday again... Gym day!

For some reason I'm not as lethargic as i usually am on a Monday. Maybe its the magazine assignment I'm doing. It's my first magazine article and it is a personal profile of an up and rising star. So I'm probable running on adrenaline.

Or maybe it is because my colleague was helping me to buy Subway for lunch as i slog away in the gym over lunchtime...

2 things anyone can do to improve their team

There are little things we as players can do to help the team, regardless of our relative skill level or experience. All we need, is a little effort, and sometimes, just saying something encouraging.

Coach shared with us a nugget of advice the other day, after witnessing a shambolic 2-sided game displayed in training. 

"The losing team, especially at amateur level, is losing because they are operating  as 3 distinct lines of players- defence, midfield, attack. Each line not connected to the others."

4 main ways we all concede goals from

We were doing possession play that week during training. As usual, we started well. The team in possession starts off with quick passing, good off the ball running.

But a few minutes later, people start to slack off. Sloppy passing, trying to Messi-Ronaldo their way out of tight spots, no one running into open space to support. As a result, possession turned over more quickly.

Deadball situations contribute about 30% of a team's goals scored, as well as goals conceded.

Common mistakes when asking for sponsorship

Sponsorship.

Every team manager's wet dream, and normally it remains just that. A wet dream.

I'm currently embroiled in a 5 way discussion with various companies regarding sponsorship with my team. Quite a feat, considering we are just a simple amateur footballing club who are not exactly setting the amateur football scene on fire. 1 win in 5 games this season is testament to that.

So what makes us different from everyone else? How does one pitch to potential sponsors? What does the potential sponsor get in return?