Training on Monday 31 Dec

today we started off with some sprint drills. after that, we played two sides against this old man team. we destroyed them lah. after about 30-45 mins, we played 2 sides against each other, but only 10-a-side. coach and mr chiang played some more! after this, we went to the swimming pool at kallang bahru. near ex-VS, currently-CEDAR! end of training.

Training on Friday 28 Dec

today's training was on nus field 1 finally! she's recovered quite well i must say, although still a bit bumpy. never. it's much better than the swamp we all knew at first!

started off with 8 X sprints of about 30m. then we played half field 5-a-side. 3 teams in total, so the waiting team will act as neutral players. after this, coach went off to watch the SIM vs NP game. so we carried on with a bit of shooting, and free kick practice. end of training.

Training on Thursday 27 Dec

about 19 ppl in attendance. plus one times mark who is injured. started off with a couple of sprints. about... 10 i think? then moved on to crossing drill. pass to the L/R flank, drill low and hard to near post, with 3 in the box and one outside.

then we played two sides, but focused more on one half. the defending team, if they got the ball could then counter attack, but focus was definitely more on the attacking side.

after that we played real two sides. only thing is sometimes coach would blow the whistle and we would have to play with a new ball and react to the new situation that he created.

ended off with some combination play work for some, clearing for others, and shooting for some. end of training.

Quote of the moment

"eh zeyan, your basketball boots what size ah?"

-anonymous

Training on Wednesday 26 Dec

there were about 21 people in attendance today. started off with 12 X short sprint. about 5-7 metres. then did a 3 man full field crossing drill. keeper passes to the L/R flanker, who passes to the guy in the centre cirlce, who then lays the ball towards the corner flag for the other flanker to cross in and the other 2 finish. did about 8 reps.

after that, we did attack verses defence. shirt verses no shirt. cos stupid mark never come, never DELEGATE people to get the ball bag and bring the bibs. but it's ok mark. ice that ankle well.

after that we did two sides. and at the end of training, some guys practised finishing with coach. end of training.

Training on Sat 22 Nov

today's attendance was abysmal. but ok lah, it was a change from the original plan, so maybe people had plans in the morning (originally it was an afternoon match). we again played at the swamp in field 2. wa... panda really destroyed the pitch with his diving around man.

we started off with a crossing drill. from the flank, pass and layoff down the line, cross into the near post, with three attacking players looking to finish. we did left and right flanks.

then we did a couple of combination plays. for strategic and security reasons, i shall not post them here. suffice to say, if we could execute the moves in a match, it would be quite magical. finshed training with some shooting practice, that wasn't much cos of the mud. end of training.

so we've welcomed fabien back into the past 2 trainings. hopefully he'll continue to be part of this team.

also, for you guys that we're there, you missed a major taupok - panda totally suplexed chengwei lah. then crushed his lungs with his entire body. it was super funny lah.

Training on Friday 21 Nov

today was at field 2. it was more like a swamp man.

we played 2 sides on one half of the field, attack verses defence. each took turns to attack or defend. the defenders put the ball on the halfway line, attackers aim to score. after that we played regular two sides. short training lah. cos coach wanted to go watch the NP vs TP game which NP won 4-1. end of training.

Quote of the moment

"hmmm. it's still raining but we'll work on the track lah. even if fall sick, still got time to recover."

- Ara "black face" su

Training on Tuesday 18 Dec

today's training at wet and rained out NUS, i.e. track work in shoes. really short training lah. started off with 10 rounds easy jogging. then intervals - 2x400m in 90s; 3x300m in 70s; 6x200m in 32s. end of training.

today's training quite few people turned up leh...

Training on Monday 17 Dec

today's training was at st wilfrid's. wa... everybody came super on time sia. we were warmed up and ready for the first drill even before 1500hrs lah.

so we started with 2 agility drills. one was hopping. the other was ladder. each 6 reps. then we moved on to possession football, half field. 12 v 12. the team keeping possession would have one player each on the two touchlines and on the halfway line. free touch for them. the other team that was trying to score only has 2 touches.

after that, we moved on to attacking football. about 4 v 3. free touch. start from halfway line, attack and score, while defending team tries to put the ball on the halfway line. this drill then morphed into counter attacking football. the defending team (which has 3 players) would only have 1 in the defensive zone. the other two start from the halfway line. upon start, everybody would chiong back to the goal, with the attackers of course trying to score quickly lah.

then we had a zonal football drill. now it's 2 sides, but with 3 zones. in your own defending zone, 2 touch. in the midfield zone, 1 touch. in the attacking zone, free touch.

training was completed with a little physical with ball. crossing and finishing. everyone got into pairs. starting from the halfway line, the player in the centre sends the ball towards the corner flag for the other guy to cross. after that, they turn around and sprint to the other goal post, this time the finisher turns into the crosser. 3 reps. end of training.

Invite to Football Tournament

hey guys, the nus girls team organising a tournament on 17 Dec Monday at 5pm. it's a 5-a-side, street soccer (got walls) $10 per team with a total of 6 teams in the tournament. it'll be held near clementi MRT station. who's interested? quick drop me a message. they need to know interested parties by tomorrow.

God Bless
Fong Xiongkun
97552894

Training on Thursday 22 Nov

hello all. so on tuesday, nobody turned up, so i just did a 12km long run instead of the proposed programme.

for thursday, i'll still be there, but this time, i'll be there a bit earlier, cos i'm meeting some friends at 2000hrs. so for interested parties, i'll be at the track at 6pm sharp. seeya'll if i do.

oh and my no. is 97552894. or 96230640. but if you call the second no., must speak in chinese. i'm using that no. to force-train my mandarin.

Training on Tuesday 20 Nov

Hey guys... looks like coach still hasn't come up with a training schedule. let's just start on our own amateurish one lah huh... who wants to come? either turn up outside central library at 1900hrs, or at SRC at 1915hrs. you can call me if you're coming so that i'll know to wait for you.

max out is one hour lah. for tuesday, let's do... 6km run in 40mins, followed by 6X400m, 90secs per round. everything should be over in an hour, then you can go back to your oily books...

seeya'll!

p.s. i'll probably be running again on thursday and friday, so watch this space!!!

p.p.s sudi!!!! i'm sorry i didn't run with you today... had a lil' sum'in goin' on... IF YA KNOW WHAT I MEAN!!! hehe...

Quote of the moment

after a bad tackle...

"*&$$%#%@!!@#?! What the hell are you trying to do man!"
- nicholas "panda" lim

Training on 15 Nov Thursday

22 people in attendance. boots training. started off with monkey - however there are 3 sides; blue, green, red. one colour will be the monkey. whichever other colour loses possession to the monkey colour will become the new monkey colour.

after that did some sprint drills. face front go; face back go; run around the cone go; hop over the ball go; hop forwards over the cone go; hop backwards over the cone go; etc.

finally did some counter attack practice. broke up into groups of six. 4v2 half field. score within 30 seconds. everybody gets to defend 3 times i.e. 9 reps in total. end of training.

oh and we drew the friendly 0-0, although we could've scored a number lah. still, it was a pretty good performance.

next week, our own training kicks in. anyone wants to join me please do. 7pm at SRC track. max finish by 8pm. monday, tuesday, thursday, friday. watch this space for more updates closer to the days.

God Bless and rest well.

Quote of the moment

"busy lah. after exams i will be free."
- umar "ramu" ngalim

Quote of the moment

"i came to school at 1030. my lecture ended at 1045."
- sud "how-many-balls" di

Quotes of the moment

"don't know which country your ancestors from."
- coach "angry face" ara, to cheng "ah beng" wei.

"hokkien."
- cheng "ah beng" wei, in response.

"i said which country, you say hokkien."
- coach ara, in response again.

"kenyan mah."
- yu "ninja" da, eavesdropping.

"get those gremlins off the field."
- coach "angry face" ara, referring to eusoff hall football girls.

Training on Tuesday 13 Nov

today's attendance 13. weiquan, jo, wilson, yujun, vincent, yuda, chengwei, mark, fong xiongkun, zeyan, raihan, nicholas yip, and russell. coach came today too, and we wore boots.

started off with a couple of drills in pairs:

1. as X backpedals, Y will pass the ball to him. X will then lay the ball off for Y, who will pass back to him again. changeover.

2. with X facing Y, X pass to Y, then X run ahead of Y to receive the return pass, turns, then passes to Y, and so on.

3. X and Y now face front, and alongside each other. X pass to Y, then overlap to receive the return pass. X then passes back to Y, and overlaps again this time on the other to receive the return pass. and so on. then changeover.

4. Same as drill 1., but this time, the lay off will be first to the right side, then to the left side. changeover.

5. shielding drill. as you dribble the ball, keep an eye on your marker behind you. make sure you're constantly shielding the ball i.e. if the marker is on your left, dribble with your right foot. executed correctly, the player with the ball will end up dribbling right, then left, then right, then left, and so on. changeover.

6. shielding drill. this time, the marker faces the dribbler. as the dribbler drifts to the right, you guard him with your right foot in front of your left foot. and vice versa. changeover. end of drills.

then, we did a 2-man crossing drill. X is nearer the centre circle, Y is closer to the touchline. starting from the halfway line, X will pass to Y. Y will then bring the ball towards the middle as X overlaps him. Y will then send the ball towards the corner flag, where X will cross for Y to finish. only did with the right flank, so this drill favoured the right footers.

then we did a 3-man crossing drill. start from halfway line again. X is on the left, Y in the middle, Z on the right. Z will pass to Y, who will then send a long ball to the corner flag for X to cross for Y and Z to finish. only did on the left, so this drill favoured the left footers.

then we did a variation of the 3-man drill. but this time on the right. X on the left, Y in the middle, Z on the right. X passes to Y, who passes to Z. Z then sends the ball down the line to the corner flag for X to run onto and cross for Y and Z. the key thing is for X to time his run so that the point of release is before he crosses the halfway line, in order to spring the offside trap.

then we did another variation of the 3-man drill, this time on the right again. X and Y are within the centre circle, with Y as the target man. Z is on the right. Z will pass to Y who will lay off to X who will send a long one to the corner flag for Z to cross for X and Y.

finally, we split into 6v6, full field, free touch, anybody can be keeper. "for you to enjoy" said coach. end of training.

so anyways, since i'm here i might as well just say it - thursday's training starts at 1800hrs, NOT 1830.

okay. seeya'll. rest well. God Bless.

Quotes of the moment

"UNCLE SAM! the blue one (skipping rope) and the brown one got difference anot?"
- Cheng "Ah Beng" wei

while running during cool down, i said panda was fat, and he said:

"Opulent."
- Cheng "ah beng-but-ang-moh-tok-gong-one" wei

Training on Monday 12 Nov

today's attendance was 11. chengwei, junhao, yuda, vincent, sudi, yujun, fong xiongkun, panda, nicholas, weiquan, and chris kang was a guest for a while too. coach is still out with stones(?) so sam took us today.

started with 2 rounds warm up jog. stretch. then agility exercises - hops, zig zags, ball pushing, etc. 5 reps. then went into 5BX. then did 5 reps of 1 min skipping. then we did ambulance run i.e. shuttle run relay, but dribbling a ball. 5 players per relay team. did about 5 reps of 2-3 mins i think. and last but not least, 6X400m run. target was 65 secs, but nobody met it at all. in the end we did about 70+ and 80+, never went above 90 secs. not bad lah. but it was a real killer. i have a headache now. end of training.

so anyway, i guess we're all kinda disappointed by the no.s in training. of course it's not that we want to force you to be around (actually, deep down inside, that would be ideal!), but at least to let junhao know that you're not coming, so we won't be like, "let's wait a while more, maybe more will turn up." see, sudi so on, just now declare he's not coming tmr, but i tell you ah sud, you better bring your gear and make sure you finish your project before 1830hrs!

alrighty then. see you guys in school/on the pitch/track.

God Bless!

P.S. we might be getting a 50% subsidy for the KL trip! cos vincent is a horny bugger.

Quote of the moment

so we were all stroking the ball around, waiting for the match to start. ara started going around to the individual players and telling them which position they were gonna start in - keeper, defender, midfielder, striker, substitute, ball picker. then the referee blew the whistle, and we started shouting 'starting eleven!' and then he asked:

"eh, just now that one is the coach ah?"
-ze "drogba" yan aka chengwei's-buddy-times-same-pattern

Training on Friday 09 Nov

about 15 people in attendance. started off at the stadium. started with the regular agility - ladder, hop hop hop, zig zag, hop hop hop, sprint off. 5 reps. then we did 5BX. then we did a 4 man drill:

A..........................B



C..........................D

so A passes to D, and will switch positions with B. D will then pass back to A's original position (whereby B is now at) and switch positions with C. B will then pass to D's original position (whereby C is now at) and so on. continuous for 1 min. about 4 reps. then we went gyming. today was quite happening at the end - we taupoked mark and yuda cos it's their birthday. i think. for yuda, chengwei really went the whole hog - ripping off his pants and almost his underwear. lucky someone helped to pull them back up sia. end of training.

Commentary - Liverpool vs. Besiktas

once again, plaudits to liverpool. the english teams are really making good of themselves eh this year... still, let's see how besiktas made them look good. footage at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WY7zizJah8

1st goal - crouch was surrounded by 3 defenders, and yet the ball squeezed through for him to shoot. and after that, he managed to pick up his own rebound. wah lau.

2nd goal - what was benayoun doing all on his own at the far side?!

3rd goal - three defenders, and not one of them picked up rise as he drifted behind them into the penalty area (the danger area for crying out loud!) totally unmarked. and again, for benayoun, his defender was on the wrong side man! as one sportscenter presenter put it, "benayoun certainly hasn't put on anti-perspirant. defenders sure are giving him a wide berth!"

4th goal - keeper cock up lah. catch it, or push it out of the danger area - not into the 6 yard box!

5th goal - nobody picked up gerard as he ran onto mascherano's pass. then, gerard's defender committed himself (stay on your feet for crying out loud!). and as a result, the one-two with voronin gave him a clear run on goal.

6th goal - as the ball came in from the left, benayoun and babel were free. this was still not enough for besiktas's defenders to wake up. babel wasn't even troubled as he executed the cheeky backheel.

7th goal - need i say more? the defender cleared the ball against babel and it lobbed the keeper. wah lau.

8th goal - probably the most deserved goal of the lot. but still, a defender should at least have been jostling with crouch for the ball and maybe try to put him off.

ok man. heads up. stay on your feet. let's win ivp in style.

Quotes of the moment (edited, thanks vincent and evan!)

so we split into bibs, and no bibs. coach gave instructions on the game, and then he asked:

"so pass to who ah?"
-cheng "ah beng" wei

then, we split into two sides. coach said, 'keeper play for this team, the other team defend 3 goals". and then he asked:

"so keeper do what?"
-cheng "ah beng" wei

Training on Tuesday 06 Nov

today was finally boots! about 15 ppl for training. started on field 1 with possession play. two touch. each team had two 'goals'. the 'goal' is basically a triangular area in which a fellow team mate occupies. when team mate A passes to team mate B (who is in the triangle), team mate B has to pass to team mate C. team mate A then moves into the triangular area. after this we moved to field 2, cos there were no lights on field 1.

did some physical workouts with ball. 4 to a group. 2 balls each group. each group would then have 2 feeders. players are A, B, C, and D. cones are x, y, and z.

A....................B

x....................y


........CzD........

basically, both C and D will start from z. C will run to x and use left foot, while D runs to y and uses right foot. A and B will feed the ball to C and D respectively. C and D will then run back z, and now switch sides - i.e. C now runs to y and D runs to x. this will continue for about 1 min plus. then C and D will switch with A and B. the exercises we did were passing on the ground; side foot volley back to feet; control with thigh and pass back to feet; control with chest and pass back to feet; and head downwards to feet.

after that, we did shuttle run with ball. dribble as fast as you can for about 7 metres to line A, dribble back to starting line, dribble back to line A, and dribble back to starting line. total of 2 big groups. each would do about 4 reps, then rest while the other group did their 4 reps. this continued with variations in no. of reps, as well as patterns. e.g. one exercise required dribbling to line A and leaving the ball there, running to start line, running back to line A and retrieve the ball, and dribble back to start line. another exercise involved leaving the ball at start line, running to line A, running back to start line to retrieve the ball and dribble to line A, turn and dribble back to start line. there was also one exercise that was leave the ball at start line and run to line A, retrieve the ball from start line dribble to line A and leave the ball, run back to start line turn retrieve the ball from line A and dribble back to start line.

finally, we split into 2 sides. 7v7, but one side got goalkeeper, the other side defend 3 goal posts - score by putting on the line. free touch. did about 20 mins. then everybody ran 2 rounds, while chengkang, raihan and vincent practised shooting from 3 angles.

................................[_______goalkeeper________]


angle 1




.......................angle 2...................................angle 3

end of training.

today, we finally got our training jerseys! quite nice i must say. with that also comes an announcement - every week, there will be a joker of the week. this joker will then have to wear a special distinctive jersey (e.g. pink sailor moon hello kitty combined) until the next joker is found! also, i forgot to announce that mark and sudi are now officially the team managers for NUS Soccer 07/08! watch out for their arrows gentlemen. mark is quite the marksman i tell you....

God Bless guys. and rest well for those with injuries. our thoughts are with you.

Rumour of the moment

it turns out that cheng 'hattrick' kang and mark 'booby' koh are going to take their relationship to the next level. they are going to be brother-in-laws too! they were spotted with twins today having a sweet little tete-a-tete. "MARK MARK! KANG KANG!" perhaps this would explain their mysterious disappearances during the week...

Training on Monday 5 Oct

today was session with sam. 9 ppl at training. had agility training. high knee lift, jump jump hop hop etc. 5 reps. after that 5BX. then we did suttle run, but with ball. dribble about 15m, pass off, then wait for the ball to come back and go again. 5 reps of 1 min. then 5 reps of 1 min skipping. and lastly, 5 ab workouts - alternate leg, v-man, plank, cruches, row boat. end of training.

seey'all on tuesday.

Quotes of the moment (edited, thanks junhao)

"eh sudi! you got see your blog anot? eh, no you got see your picture on the blog anot? CANNOT SEE ANYTHING SIA!!"
- cheng "ah beng" wei

while dribbling down the left flank, he lost possession when cutting inside. so coach ara who was on the touchline said to him, 'you must understand the options available' and he said:

"i know i know, can shoot right?"
-cheng "ah beng" wei

Commentary - Arsenal vs. Slavia Prague

brilliant performance. almost like how team beckham plays. hehe. but seriously - i also believe slavia prague made arsenal good lah. view the footage at http://youtube.com/watch?v=dd0iAUcJsgM

1st goal - hleb had 2 defenders on him, yet he managed to pass the ball off to fabregas. where's the 2v1? they were virtually standing in a line, and did not cut out his passing lanes. and where's the guy who's supposed to be tracking fabregas's run? he was too far, was caught on his blind side, and even slipped.

2nd goal - poor defending off a corner. the first defender dunno what he's doing, missing the ball, and the clearing header was neither far nor wide, but simply set it up for hleb, whose marker was MIA as well.

3rd goal - need we say more? cock backpass, even cocker clearance.

4th goal - firstly, fabregas was totally unmarked in the hole between two defenders. where's the tracking/closing? then he passed to hleb who's run was totally unchecked.

5th goal - the one-two play was unchecked, leading to the final pass for walcott to finish. remember, when a player you are marking passes off the ball, stop looking at the ball and check his run!

6th goal - firstly, hleb should have been brought down for a tactical foul, but that's another matter altogether, so never mind. then walcott's first touch to fabregas - the slavia prague defender (jersey no. 4) obviously had to go and cover walcott and could no way cover fabregas. so where's the midfielder who was supposed to be tracking back?

7th goal - see pointer on 5th goal. when bendtner passed to eboue, there were 3(!) static defenders who did not check his run.

still, all credit to arsenal for being able to exploit the weaknesses and finish with aplomb. but don't get too carried away yet.

Training on Friday 02 Nov

Had 11 ppl for training today. no coach, no sam, nobody but us. so we went on a short run, from SRC to PGP via business, and back to SRC via NUH, macham A1 bus route. then we played court football at the tennis court with some civilians. 5v5 (inclusive of keeper), 2 goals out. end of training.

see you guys at tmr's game. remember - 4pm, wear blue.

God Bless

Training on Thursday 01 Nov

coach ara is still sick. so we had uncle sam again today. 15 ppl for training. did the regular strength and training. started with agility. the twist was completing a mathematical equation along the way. if you get it wrong, kena pump. 5 reps. then had the 5BX of hopping and jumping and twisting. then had resistance training followed by fireman lift. 5 reps. then today the extra bit was skipping. 1 min of skipping. 5 reps. lastly, we had 200m X 6, full speed, 1 min rest. end of training.

today's COCK OF THE DAY, is literally this SCC ang moh. forgot his jersey no. the cock went to the rugby post and took out his cock and did his business there!! wah lau! weiquan started shouting at him some more. but we kept him quiet after one shout la.

anyway, a big welcome to Zeyan who is a new trialist who trained with us today. if you guys do know, he's actually the ivp basketballer who was playing in the final quarter of the semi-final we went to watch. he's the monster who fought for every ball man! and an even bigger welcome back to weiquan! finally making his long awaited return. but his ankle is still a bit off lah. so still adopting a wait and see approach.

in the meantime, our thoughts are still with the other injured personnel in the team... latest casualty vincent (courtesy of ah beng!)

God Bless guys

Rumour of the moment

nicholas 'carlos' yip and cheng 'ah beng' wei are going to become brother-in-laws! apparently in a red carpet socialite gathering, cheng wei was seen to be hitting on nicholas's girlfriend. upon finding out her relationship status, he smoothly switched tack like a ronaldinho flip-flap and started asking about her sister! however, it remains to be seen whether this mysterious 'sister' will be making a public appearance any time soon... in the meantime, cheng wei will be clinging fast to his hopes and dreams. may he prosper and fight the falling birth rates!

Training on Tuesday 30 0ct

today coach sick. so sam took over. about 19 ppl for training. pitch was really wet, so we geared up in shoes. did the regular agility training. today's twist was to memorise a running pattern (e.g. cone 1 to cone 4 to cone 7 to cone 3 to cone 9), and execute it from memory. this involved going to different cones in a 3X3 format. 5 reps.

then we did the regular 5BX.
1. 50Xdouble toe hop. 25Xleft toe hop. 25Xright toe hop. (total of 100 hops lah)
2. 10Xdouble leg spring
3. 10Xdouble leg spring 360
4. 10Xdouble leg knee to chest
5. 10Xspike aka flying 'V'

then we had resistance (running against your partner who is pushing you back) followed by a fireman lift. 3 reps each. end of training.

after that, we went to play street soccer at the tennis courts. 3 teams, one goal out. after some left, became 2 teams. roughly about 6v6. then when left with 2 teams it was 7v7.

a big welcome back to yihang! he's now exercising his big toe. congratulations!!!! oh and another thing - i made a mistake in the previous post. that wasn't raihan's girlfriend who joined us for dinner on friday. it was his godsister.

Training on Friday 26 Oct

today's account courtesy of vincent, evan, chris, and wayne. about 9 ppl for training today. started off with the regular agility drills. step ladder etc. fun activity - you have to solve a mathematical equation during the drill, and when you finish, must give the answer to sam. otherwise ten push up. vincent and umar kena jialat jialat sia...

then did interval. 6X200m. sprint as fast as you can. rest for 1 min. finally, did fireman lift 3 reps of about 10m. then went to gym. did the various exercises, followed lastly by ab workout. end of training.

so in the end, we didn't play any wargame or capture the flag. ended up at fong seng for dinner/supper. talk cock, sing song, play mahjong - good clean wholesome fun. more of you guys should come next time! ppl who attended - raihan, sudi, fong, chris, evan, wayne, vincent, raihan's girlfriend, renji (ex-trialist, now in eusoff).

Quote of the moment

"eh! mark the neutral player!"
- fong "tmr-what-colour" xiongkun, nus footballer

Quote of the moment (revised - thanks evan!)

"my cousin is fully grown one ok!"
- andy "i-don't-want-to-get-sweaty" ng, nus footballer

Training on Thursday 25 Oct

about 16 ppl for training today. coach didn't come, so renyi helped out. he's an ex-nus player, currently coaching the nus girls' team, and some other college team i think... not sure lah.

started out with 2 touch possession football. half field. then we transited to 1 touch. then back to 2 touch.

4 key points:
- know where you're gonna pass before receiving the ball
- pass smartly i.e. not to a team mate who is surrounded by opponents
- short pass is good, but when it gets crowded, must 'thup thup thup, long ball' i.e. release from pressure
- train up on passing technique. sometimes idea is there, but execution is pangsai (chinese for faeces) want to pass to feet, make sure it's accurate. want to pass into space, make sure weigh pass properly.

then we went into two sides with one neutral team. about 5v5. free touch. 3 goal posts for each team, stop ball on the line.

key point:
this exercise was to train up attacking play. this means width (must open up when you have possession) and depth (must have players near and players far). don't be afraid to use the neutral players at the end of the pitch (see previous training's key point). don't always depend on individual creativity - some is good, but cannot last one... also look for the penetrative pass - passing into space behind an opponent for a team mate to run onto.

finished up with shooting practice, right and left foot, from the right and left sides of the penalty arc respectively. pass, lay, shoot. take turns. end of training.

Check it out!!

sEXPOSE! luke is pasted all over the walls in FASS man!!!! super hot lah luke... hair all nicely in place some more...

Quote of the moment

"eh, today so much solar radiation, how come still got puddle arh?"
- cheng "emo ah beng" wee, nus footballer

Training on Tuesday 23 Oct

about 22 players in attendance today. field 2 was open, so we used boots. started out with 2 rounds warm up. then we did 2 sides possession play. 2 touch football. every 7 passes 1 goal. or if you pass to your team mate through the various cones set up, also 1 goal.

after that we did 2 side football. but with a twist. see the thing is at any one time, half of one team will be running around the four corner flags. this means in the match one team will have a numerical advantage over the other team. the larger team then has to play with one touch, while the other team has free touch. once the runners return, the smaller team now becomes the team with the numerical advantage. so they now use one touch while the other team has free touch. each running group ran about 4 rounds.

then, we did 2 side football again, but this time 6v6, with neutral players on the outside. 2 touch football. did about 5 sets. then cool down with 2 rounds. following which 50 push ups 50 sit ups. end of training.

the keys of today's training - always know where you are going to pass, or what you are going to do with the ball, even before you receive the ball. next, when outnumbered (during the second exercise), stay close as a unit and soak up the pressure, instead of closing down aimlessly and being passed off the park. lastly (this point was brought up during the last exercise), play more direct football. instead of passing around the pitch to look nice, you can also look for the deep penetrative ball to the neutral player who can then knock the ball down for another player to score.

oh yes - and a big shoutout shout out to kola! (is that how your name is spelt?) PhD student (from nigeria i think). he joined us for training today, and maybe in the future too...

Quote of the moment

"I join nus soccer cos i thought goalkeeper no need do fitness training with the rest of the squad, but it turns out not to be..."
- david 'the legendary' lee

Quote of the moment

"The only reason I want to win the world championship is so I can get down to some serious drinking..."
- Kimi Raikonnen, New F1 Racing World Champion

Quote of the moment

"if i weren't a footballer, i'd probably still be a virgin..."
- peter crouch, liverpool fc benchwarmer

Rumour of the moment

in an amazing turn of events, david 'the legendary' lee has decided to run for eusoff hall prom king. despite his various attempts to downplay his intentions, he made an amazing u-turn at last evening's teamNUS night. "i know many said i wouldn't run, but after considering the competition, i feel compelled to at least give the other eusoffians something to cheer about." this no doubt has ruffled many feathers. chris 'face of the year' kang will definitely feel the effects of this latest declaration. his stork is going down man. and russell 'the original prom king' perreira (sorry no spellcheck) was equally taken aback and livid upon hearing the news. "i am appalled at the lack of courtesy from my counterpart. this was just unexpected, unethical, unprofessional, unfashionable, unclassy, unacceptable, and totally under the table. he'll be hearing from my lawyer soon. wait. what's my major ah?"

Training on Monday 22 Oct

today was shoes. both pitches were closed. about 16 ppl for training. we started off with 10 rounds, slow pace. did some stretching. then did 5 sets of 800m i.e. another 10 rounds lah. first two sets 3min 30s. 3rd set 4min. last 2 sets back to 3min 30s. in between each set, we did some strengthening exercises. 1st rest - 25 sit ups and 25 push ups. 2nd rest - 10 burpies and 15 tuck jumps. 3rd rest - same as 1st rest. 4th rest - i don't know what coach calls it, but it's basically a burpie without having to stand up. we did 10 of those, and 10 jack knifes. last rest - same as 1st and 3rd rest. end of training. tmr's match DON'T FORGET TO BRING SHOES.

Sunday 21 Oct game POSTPONED

since i'm here, i might as well just say it...

Capture the Flag

if ever we get to play "capture the flag"....

this game has to be played under the cover of darkness. more fun! basically, there are two teams, each with a flag. the objective of the game is to 'capture' the other team's flag.

each team has a homeland, making a total of 2 big areas (there is a boundary line, don't worry). you will hide your flag in your own homeland. when you are in your own homeland, you can catch opponents and put them in your jail. when you are in the foreign land i.e. the opponent's homeland, the opponent can catch you and put you in their jail. you can only be released from jail by being tagged by your own team member.

the idea then is to be able to infiltrate the other team's homeland, and be able to look for the hidden flag. once found, the game is over. i tell you, it may not sound so exciting on screen, but when you play it, and you manage to infiltrate, and you keep having to look over your shoulder while trying to locate that elusive flag... super high man i tell you!

Quote of the moment

"eh raihan! 中 间!"

- yuda

Training on Thursday 18 Oct

short training today due to the game. started with 2v2. free touch, put the ball on the line. each duo did about 5-7 reps. then we played counter attack football. basically, there are two boxes. red will keep possession while green tries to win it, and pass over to the other box, where all have to run over and do it again, but this time with green keeping possession. the 'monkey' team must always leave a player behind in the other box to wait for the long ball, which also means the team keeping possession will have 1 extra man lah. end of training.

oh and we lost the game to SCC 2-0.

Training on Tuesday 16 Oct

today, it was raining. bah humbug. still, thank God for the nice cooling weather. just hope it doesn't rain on thursday during the game. so we all gathered at MPSH1 once again. which serves as a reminder to all players - bring your shoes for every training. if scared heavy, can store with the hall people at least. or you can store with the central library 'locker' (that has no lock, but i can tell you from personal experience is quite safe one). or i'm sure junhao will loan you his personal locker space if you ask him nicely enough. 0155. outside MPSH male toilet. hehe... anyways.

about 20 odd ppl came for training. started off with zig zag runs from cone to cone. after 2 reps, we went again but this time every two cones had a different exercise - side skip, high knee lift, butt kick, cadence, back track, stride.

then, using the cones in the same position, we had a pass and move from cone to cone, 2 touch maximum, with the last player dribbling back to the start. did about 5 reps.

after which, we separated into groups of 3 for 3v3, put the ball on the line. 2 mins per match. played about 8 matches each.

lastly we had a seven-minute sprint exercise. basically, a relay/ambulance run, but with no competition, and no baton/cone. end of training.

after that, about 7-9 players went over to MPSH5 to watch IVP basketball where NUS entered the FINAL beating NYP 72-64 i think. wah lau. happy for them sia. well guys, if they can do it, WE CAN DO IT TOO!!!!

one thing to note - our traditional end-of-year training trip has lost its funding, so we'll have to self-fund if we do go. although it is optional, this trip is really really good for team spirit, game prep, and exposure. the more you pay, the further you go. let's do one times good one lah guys. GO LONDON!!! PLAY WITH PREMIERSHIP YOUTH TEAMS!! GET SPOTTED! MIGRATE! AND BECOME AN INTERNATIONAL SUPERSTAR!!!!!!

want to dream, dream big right...

VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

HEY GUYS! WHO WANTS TO VISIT UMAR FOR HARI RAYA THIS SUNDAY 14 OCT??? LEAVE A COMMENT, EMAIL ME (fongxiongkun@gmail.com), CALL/SMS ME (97552894), MSN ME (treeandtoilet2@hotmail.com), JUST LET ME KNOW!!! WE WILL PROBABLY MEET 10AM. HE LIVES IN TAMPINES, BUT I WON'T DISCLOSE HIS ADDRESS HERE DUH.

GET IN TOUCH!!!!

Quote of the moment

"For me, training is the most important thing... Now the players understand how important the training is and sometimes players come to me and say that they have played too much and need to train. When they say this, you know they truly understand..."
- Pako Ayestaran, Rafa Benitez's ex-gay buddy i.e. assistant manager

Training on Friday 12 Oct

had about 16 ppl in attendance. started off with the regular sprint drills by sam. run hop hop hop run hop hop hop hop run zigzag zigzag zigzag run hop hop hop run ladder run to the end. did 5 reps. DON'T FORGET THE KEY POINT - BURST OFF AFTER EVERY LANDING. then we did the sam 5BX. bounce on balls of feet 50 times, bounce on left/right foot 25 times each, 360 spinning jump left and right 5 times each, reach for the sky 10 times, etc etc. then we did a cute drill. 5 in a row. one whistle run to side A; two whistles run to side B. so started off with simply hopping from one side to the other, then progressed to facing funny directions, and finally to hopping in a circle. COCKS OF THE DAY have to go to junhao and fong xiongkun. one was the only fella to go in the wrong direction (good distraction mark!) and the other was the only one to fall down (raihan - why you never come and learn how to dive?!)

then progressed to gym. this week's exercises were bench press, power clean, bending down on each foot, leg circuit, and squats with weights. sorry i don't have the exact names. and of course followed by our favourite ab workout which had us grunting like a mass sausage orgy. end of training.

another COCK OF THE DAY has to go to previous prize winner chengwee. he was being a cock, so junhao whipped him with a towel and fong xiongkun kicked him in the hamstring. then chengwee ran towards H and asked for help - and then H slapped in the upper arm. WHAT A COCK!

Question of the moment...

"Eh, who haven't pay money yet ah?!" - junhao

Quote of the moment...

"everyone is human, everyone has frailties, and everyone makes mistakes... sometimes players go through a bad spell and have bad games, but you have to have belief, trust, and faith in your squad..." - steve mclaren, england manager

Training on Thursday 11 Oct

today there were about 16 ppl, including 3 keepers in training. we started off with 3 groups of 4. the four would pass around in a grid. upon the whistle, they would leave the ball and run to the next grid. did about 3 reps. then we did another 3 reps, but this time, upon whistle one would play a long ball to the next grid, and the passing would continue from there. then we did another 3 reps, this time we would pass the ball among each other along the way to the next grid. all this while, coach would be taking the keepers.

then, we split into groups of 3. we played one long ball, one short ball. C long ball to A, A short pass to B, B long ball to C, C short ball to A, A long ball to B... you get the drift. keepers continued with coach.

then we played two sides. 4v4. 2 touch. half field. the javelin was playing with us too. it hit junhao, but i think it rebounded off his thick skin. while 2 teams played, the other ran around the 4 corner flags. 65 seconds. one lap change. total we did about 4 laps i think. keepers did not have to run as coach would work with them for the 65 seconds - but i think nicholas may have ran once or twice.

then we finished off with crossing and finishing. two lines on either side of the posts. upon whistle, the first player in each line would run behind the goalpost, switching positions. one would then sling a cross field (only half the pitch lah) pass to the other player, continue running, and finish. did about 12 reps. the key was to keep the passing sharp, and on the ground. "with no pressure, and all the time in the world, i want to see some goals!" end of training.

An open letter to the unsung heroes...

Hi guys. congrats on the win today against tampines (4-1). however, this letter is to the unused subs.

dear guys. thank you for being there for us. i have been an unused sub before too, and i do know how it feels. there was a time when i was even challenging for a place on the subs bench, as sometimes there is a limit on the no. of available substitutes a team can have. once again, i want to to thank you all for being there for us. it gives us, or at least me, a sense of comfort and security, knowing that at any time, someone capable can replace me or any other player, and continue fighting for the team. at the risk of sounding preachy, i just want to encourage you guys - continue training hard and fight for your place. if not this year, then the next. every experience and training now puts you in stead for the present and the future as well. it would also be good if the other players who did not make it past the trials continue to give it a shot again next year. tryouts are not a once-off event.

so my fellow team-mates, i salute you, i appreciate you, i thank you.

God Bless.

Question of the moment

"how come coach's face today so black?"
- confidential

Quote of the Moment

"Football is a science, as much as an art..."
- unknown

Training on Friday 05 Oct (improved, thanks to joseph's sharp observational skills)

today, about 12 ppl for training. started off at SRC. shoes. did 3 reps of sam's sprint circuit. do a header, ladder, zigzag forward-backtrack, do a spin, hop hop hop, sprint to finish. after that we did 4X200m on the track. about 1min20s active rest, i.e. jog across the field to the start point and go again.

then we went gym. did about 4-5 exercises, followed by ab workout. ALWAYS do an ab workout after any gym session, according to sam. the exercises were - bench press, power clean (weightlifting's clean-and-jerk without the jerk), medicine ball throw, hopping leg circuit, and one leg squats. i'm not so sure about the terminologies, so don't quote me. everybody got a 'card' where you put your name, and record the weights that you've been doing for a particular exercise, so that you can increase the weight week by week. end of training.

ok, so COCK-OF-THE-DAY has to go to CHENGWEI. as chris so aptly put it, "he's a walking diplomatic disaster". chengwei and H had done a bit of kicking around before training started, so he assumed they were now best friends. during the warm up jog, he ran up to H, slapped him on the back, and exclaimed - i really mean exclaimed, not asked, not said, not talked - "SO YOU'RE FROM KENYAN LAH! (to which Junhao said, 'eh, you from singaporean ah?') EH, KENYA GOT CAPITAL OR NOT??!" i tell you, i think H really wanted to give him one-times-good-one man... then, chengwei started rambling on and on... "EH, YOU GOT GO GEYLANG ANOT? GOT 30 DOLLAR ONE LEH! eh, why you never join FASS ah? the girls damn good one you know! you don't like is it? you got mid-year exam anot ah?" then, later in the gym, we were getting into groups according to weight, so that we wouldn't have to adjust the weights so often - objective was to lift/push/whatever 60% of your weight. so chengwei was pushed to H, jo, and darren. then he started whining "eh cannot lah, i my arms very weak one leh..." SO TELL ME... is he cock-of-the-day or WHAT?!

Friday's TODAY Newspaper

fabien! your picture is in the newspaper! it's not an article about you, but it shows you marking some guy who scored the winning goal against the young lions...

Training on Thursday 04 Oct

today, there were about 16 people in training. first and foremost, a big shoutout to nicholas the left back who has just been recalled! hope you can manage the trainings...

first thing we did was to do a passing drill. men at four corners - ABCD.
A B

C D

man at A pass to man at C who pass to man at D who pass to man at B. after passing, man will run to the corner that he passed to. did clockwise and anti-clockwise.

then we did another passing drill, aka the four-man-drill.

man at A pass to C who lays it back to A who cross-passes to D who lays it back to C who cross-passes to D. man will run to the corner that lay-ed the ball off for him. did clockwise and anti-clockwise.

then, we did 1 v 1. 2 groups would do at the same time, i.e. there would be 4 people in the box, while the others are supporting players. after that it became 2 v 2. did about 4-6 sets i think.

then we shifted over to field 2. played attack vs defence. 9 v 6. took turns being on attack and defence.

then lastly we did fitness. 8-10 sets of half field run, ie. from halfway line to corner flag to corner flag to halfway line = 1 set. must be under 32 sec. but we apparently did it too well, so coach says next time will be 28 secs. end of training.

ok! here's praying and wishing recovery for the various injureds like weiquan, chengwei, fabien. sorry if i've missed anyone out.

God bless you guys.