14 June 2019 - Message from the Director of Sports - TISKL In Touch - 14 June 2019

14 JUNE 2019 - MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR OF SPORTS

U15 Boys Volleyball Friendly

Monday 29th April saw TISPC host Thunder Volleyball boys in a warm up for the upcoming competitions. The boys were off to a good start and shot out of the blocks with strong serving all round. Excellent passing at times helped the team to win against TISP U15 boys 25-22. However, in the next game against their U18 team, Taylor's KL struggled in the beginning as they lost points due to lack of communication on the court but the boys made a good comeback and it was 24-24 meaning deuce point. Puchong were able to hold their nerve to win the next two points and take the game 26-24.

U15 Girls Volleyball Friendly

The U15 girls dusted off their volleyball shoes for their first fixture of the season against a very strong Puchong side. Despite the obvious improvements the girls have made in terms of their consistency in service the girls now really need to focus on their communication on court and receiving more powerful services with more confidence. Despite results not necessarily being what we would like a close final set which finished 13-15 in favour of Puchong has set up the girls appetite for hopefully a better performance in their KLISS round 1 fixtures on Friday.

U13 Boys Volleyball Friendly

The U13 boys started off the volleyball season on a good note with the Thunder boys unsettling TISPC in a friendly game at the Thunderdome. The boys were in full control of the game right from the beginning and won in straight sets. The B and C teams also had a good hit out against Puchong B with many playing Volleyball for the first time. This was definitely a good practice match just before the first round of KLISS Volleyball.

U13 Girls Volleyball Friendly

With only a session of training after the Easter Break, the U13 Volleyball girls were visited by our sister school, TISPC on the 30th April for a friendly match before the start of KLISS round 1 in two days time. It was good exposure for our youngest teams to get the feel of playing in competitive Volleyball beforehand. The friendly ended with the Orange team lost 0-2 (7-15 and 9-15) and the Red team won 2-0 (15-13 and 15-1). Good luck to the girls for KLISS Round 1 this coming Thursday!

U13 Boys KLISS Volleyball

On the 2nd of May, Taylor's KL hosted the first round of the boys' KLISS Volleyball against their usual round 1 opponents; Taylor’s Puchong Lightning, Nexus Wolves and KTJ.

Both Taylor's teams took to the court first. Team Thunder started off really well but the game was a tight one with both sides seeming to be equal in set of skills and teamwork but TISP just did enough to win the first set. However, the Thunder boys then got some consistency in their game and took the final two sets to start off with a most important victory.

The boys confidence from winning a tight game was apparent as they won 2-0 against both Nexus and KTJ. Their reward for winning is to host the Finals on June 13 when Nexus, Tenby and BSKL will attend all aiming to take home the KLISS trophy.

U13 Girls KLISS Volleyball

May 2 also saw the U13 Girls Volleyball team in action at TISPC for the Round 1 U13 KLISS Volleyball. The aim was to finish in the top two in order to proceed to the final round in June. With 11 players ranging from Year 7 to Year 9, Team Thunder's youngest VB team managed to control the first game well. They won 2-0 against Nexus before another battle with TISP. Losing 2-0 during a friendly two days earlier somehow affected the motivation of the girls. As a result, team Thunder lost to TISPC, but this time they did not give up easily and dragged the game into a third set. The Thunder girls lost 1-2 however it was good to see there were some decent rallies going on in the second and the third set. This left Thunder with no option other than winning the next match versus KTJ to make sure they reserve a place in the final round for this season. The last game of the night went very much according to plan. Credit to Melisa Ho for her unstoppable serves which led the team to a 15-7 win in the first set. Nothing much different in the second set, with the girls winning 15-6. The U13 girls finished second overall and this has given them the opportunity to play in the final round for the first time in 4 years time which will take place at Tenby on the 13th June.

O15 Boys Volleyball Friendly

The O15 boys minus many involved in the IU Day headed off to AISM unsure of how they would perform with many of the team missing. The first game was against AISM U16. It was a very sloppy game with many of the AISM boys being unable to play consistently. This in turn led to lots of unforced errors from Team Thunder as they let their intensity drop. Despite this, they were too strong, winning the game 25-19. The second set was against the older U18 boys. They were a lot more composed and we finally had some decent rallies. The AISM boys just got over the finish line first, winning 26-24. The final set was a mixed AISM team which meant there was lots of stopping and starting and no real rhythm to the game. The Taylor's boys just did enough to win 25-23 giving them some confidence before the KLISS tournament on the Saturday.

O15 Girls Volleyball Friendly

The O15 girls headed off to AISM with the boys team for their first hit out with most of the team still in the U15 age group. 3 sets of 25 were played and the court was 2m smaller in length but overall the girls coped well with it. It was pretty okay for the first and second set as the girls won 25-21 and 25-23. The overhead serves of the twins, Natalie and Ashley Koh were too hard for the opponents to return back. The girls also won the third set 25-17. Since there was enough time to play a last match of 15 points, we managed to play enough for the girls to experience and overcome their fear for the KLISS Volleyball this Saturday. There were few rallies and the girls enjoyed the game so hopefully they are ready to play the next upcoming match.

Players: Natalie Koh, Ashley Koh, Tang Shung Yuiq, Jing Wen, Wen Jing, Eunice, Chong Cheng, Grace, Hoyi, Reishan, Josephine and Zhi Ying.

U11 Boys KLSL Football

May 2 was a busy day as the U11 boys football also played their rearranged KLSL Cup Final at Puchong. Two of the key players were unable to join due to injury so this gave an opportunity for a few of the Red team to get their opportunity to play. From the total 3 matches the boys managed to draw 1 game against HELP and lost to St.Joseph's and the home team TISP. It was a good competition as it tested the fitness level of our players. Luck was not on our side as we lost both games with a 2 goal margin. We were leading 3-2 until the final minute where HELP managed to convert a last minute free kick, giving them the points to be in 3rd place.

U15 Boys KLISS Volleyball

Friday at 4pm is never an ideal time to head out to KTJ but given the fact that IU Day had been planned on the same day made things much more difficult for Mr.Prem and the team. Of the 10 selected to play, only Aakash was able to do so as the excuses came flying in. Many were involved in IU, others had transport issues, others just didn't want to go without their friends. However, as is the case in life, one door closes another opens and with 42 U15 boys attending training this allowed the Red team boys to come in and gain some exposure. Nexus pulled out as they also had issues with boys not being able to attend so it meant the boys only had KTJ and Puchong to play. Only 4 days earlier, the boys had beaten Puchong but this was a totally new team and with no time to get used to each other, they went down to two 2-0 defeats. The boys had fun though and they will be given the opportunity to play together in the Plate at BSKL on May 30.

U15 Girls KLISS Volleyball

Despite making significant improvements from their friendly fixture vs Puchong earlier in the week the U15 Thunder girls could only manage a 3rd place finish in their KLISS round 1 competition meaning they will play off for the plate on May 30 at BSKL.

The girls showed big improvements in their communication on court and certainly gave both Puchong and Nexus a fight for the victory before clawing their way to a 2-0 set win over KTJ. The girls now have plenty of time to prepare themselves for their next fixtures and hopefully can get some just rewards for their steady improvements.

U9-U15 KLSL Swimming

The team headed to IGB on Friday 3rd May for the inaugural KLSL Swim Meet. This was the first time we had also ever had a combined Primary and Secondary Swim Team. Following both teams 5th placed placings in KLISS, and there being less events to cover, confidence was high that they could at least match or even better 5th place. Unfortunately 3 Secondary swimmers failed to turn up on the day and with many of the U9 girls unable to compete in every stroke we again had far too many events with no swimmers in meaning lost points in the overall team event.

There were some very good individual swims, Hayley and Asley again dominating at U15 whilst Keshawn, Jake, Cai Yi, Sean and Brandon won themselves some medals.

Sadly with 31 events remaining, the lightning alarm went off meaning an immediate halt to events. Apologies to Michelle (U15) and Andy (U13) whose two events were still to take place but safety always comes first.

At the halt of the meet the scores where as follows:

1st - HELP 834
2nd - SJIIM 802
3rd - APIS 651
4th - Puchong 633
5th - Sri KDU 610
6th - TISKL 607
7th - IGB 472
8th - Fairview KL 184
9th - King Henry 8th 128

With the points from the events with no swimmers, 3rd place would certainly have been possible.

All personal times are all available on the Google Classroom, congratulations to all those who broke any Personal Best's.

O15 Boys KLISS Volleyball

Again, decimated by students unable to attend due to IU commitments, a raw and somewhat inexperienced team headed to Tenby on Saturday 4th May knowing that they had to play their best ever games if they were to worry the likes of ISP and Tenby.

The boys first game was against Tenby B and it was close game with very little between the teams. At 16-16 it was anyone's game. Tenby then hit a purple patch and the score was suddenly 23-19. The Taylor's boys failed to recover and went down 25-21 meaning they would have to beat both ISP and KTJ to qualify for the finals. First up where the eventual Champions ISP. Although ISP won comfortably 25-16, there were moments when it looked like Team Thunder had the better of them. Sadly, the lack of consistency hampered them and it meant that the KTJ game would be their last game. The boys seemed to lack any real motivation in this game and went down to their third defeat 25-19. Would the boys involved in IU have made any difference? Who knows. The boys will have an opportunity to improve when the KLSL fixtures come around at Puchong on June 14.

O15 Girls KLISS Volleyball

The O15 girls headed to TISPC for the KLISS Volleyball Championships. Despite knowing that realistically the would find it difficult to beat the more experienced and older girls teams like Puchong, KTJ or Tenby, they seems really motivated and had high hopes of causing a few upsets. There were 8 schools participating this time. Group 1 consisting of IGB, BSKL, Taylor's Puchong and HELP. Group 2 seeing ourselves, ISP, KTJ and Tenby. The first match against Tenby Eagles saw the girls play a bit sloppy in the first set losing 7-15. The girls got themselves focused and managed to win 17-15 in the second set. The rubber set, first to 9 points was just too much for the girls after all the effort of set 2, going down to a 9-4 defeat. The next match saw the girls go up against a much older KTJ team. The first set was won 15-11 and hopes were high to make it 2-0, but the opponents got to serve first and it was out of control as one of the KTJ girls overhead serve proved unstoppable and the girls lost 15-0! The decider was more even and luck was in KTJ’s side as they won 9-7. Moving on to the final group game against ISP, the girls were very low on self-esteem and lack of confidence as winning this match wouldn't put them through. A 6-15 / 12-15 loss meant 7th place in overall this year. Hopefully they will make a comeback as it is not over yet and play better in the upcoming KLSL competition at Puchong on June 21.

Players : Natalie Koh, Ashley Koh, Tang Shung Yuiq, Jing Wen, Wen Jing, Eunice, Chong Cheng, Grace, Hoyi, Reishan, Josephine and Zhi Ying.

U11 Boys & Girls High 5 Volleyball

History was made on numerous levels inside the Thunderdome on Wednesday 8th May. not only were these the very first games of High 5 Volleyball to take place (H5VB is a modified version of the sport designed by Mr.Ratcliffe when in Kuwait and adopted over the years to its current form) but the Boys had 6 teams taking part, A - F teams, such is the interest in the sport.

Taylor's Puchong brought along 3 boys and 2 girls teams and with our teams, including three girls we had 14 teams and over 100 students present.

The first real shock was that Puchong hadn't been taught how to serve yet which is certainly the most important skill and also the hardest skill to master. This actually gave the Puchong teams a huge advantage as it allowed them to throw the ball over to start the game which is both easier to do and harder for the opponents to catch. Once in play, the games were fast flowing and all teams were enjoying their time on court. An upset occured when TISKL Boys B beat the A team but they were soon brought back down to earth as they were then defeated by the unbeaten TISKL Girls A, showing that gender is irrelevant in High 5 Volleyball. Congratulations to all those who stayed back and training continues on Tuesday mornings at 7am and in CCA. The KLISS competition takes place for both boys and girls at TISKL on Wednesday 12th June.

KLISS U13 Badminton

U15 and U13 played their KLISS Mixed Team Badminton tournament on 11th May 2019 at TISKL Tenby Setia Eco Park. It was a fulfilling outing as we manage to retain both our Championship Trophy for the fifth year straight! All the hard training and time spent by the students, parents and coaches paid off handsomely. Even though we were the favourites, the students were told not to be over confidence and focus on their matches. Below are the results:

U15
a) Team Event : Gold
b) Individual : Bryan Chang ( Gold ), Mun Kit ( Gold ), Mun Bean & Kah Sheng ( Silver ), Yue Hang, Kashvn & Jeremy To ( Gold ) Amanda Yap ( Gold ), Ashley Tan ( Silver ), Natalie Koh & Weng Jing ( Gold ), Eunice Yong Tong, Reshika & Joyce Ng ( Bronze )

U13
a) Team Event : Gold.
b) Individual : Jonas Cheng ( Gold ), Melcom Yap ( Gold ), Choy Chi Jian & Erfan (Silver), Ong Tae Ern, Mun Bin & Winston ( Gold ), Yee Mun ( Gold ), Sandhya ( Silver ), Priscilla Goh & Megan To ( Gold ), Maya Gabriella, Melissa Ho & Lazima ( Silver )

KLISS U9 & U11 Badminton

The U9 and U11 played their KLISS Mixed badminton matches at Tenby on 24th May 2019. They went with the ambition to retain their Championship titles which we have defended for the previous four years! After knowing that the U13 and U15 teams had already retained their championships, there was a bit of pressure on the Primary students to maintain the momentum. After some hard fought battles especially the U9 team they both managed to win four Gold ( out of eight Gold ) and four Silver. Bellow are the results for team and individual results:

U9
Team Event : Gold
Individual : Darius Chai( Silver ), Terrrance Chan ( Gold ), Satcveen & Aliff ( Silver ), Deron Perera & Shrithar ( Silver ), Mikayla ( Gold ), Dehne Chai ( Gold ), Anya & Moukshita ( Silver ), Aashvi & April & Xin Yi ( Gold )

U11
Team Event : Gold
Individual : Ryan Tham ( Silver ), Dennis He ( Gold ), Damien & Mann ( Silver ), Ryan Chan & Aiman(Gold ), Rachita Raj ( Gold ), Yan Toong ( Gold ), Reanna Ng & Qi Yan ( Silver ), Tanishaa ,Marissa Goh & Marissa Lee ( Gold )

Epsom Invitational U13 Netball

The U13 Netball Girls travelled to Epsom College sacrificed their weekend for a Netball Tournament. This was the first match for the girls this year as the Netball season only starts next term. The tournament had always been a big tournament every year, but this year, there were only 4 teams GIS Dragons, KTJ, Epsom and TISKL Thunder were up in the U13 category. The first match was against the Dragons. After not been played netball for quite a while, to play the hardest opponent first wasn't a good start. The girls started the game with great possessions but just couldn't convert them into goals. The game ended up with a very close score, we lost 4-5. Team Thunder just lost their shooting touch, the same thing happened again in the second game but this time Ms Yati did not wait longer. She made few major changes to the lineup after lost the first half 0-2 to the home team, Epsom College. Fortunately, the second lineup played very well. They managed to overtake the Epsom Girls in the second half and won the game 8-2. With only one game left, team Thunder has no other option other than winning the next game if they want to improve their last year ranking (3rd). The girls played KTJ in the last match of the day. This time, as expected the game was very straight forward. Team Thunder won 7-0 and has finished second overall in the tournament.

Players: Megan, Priscilla, Maria, Zi-Er, Irise, Natalie, Ying En, Clarissa, Gladys and Rachel
Coach: Ms Yati

Epsom Invitational U15 Netball

Players: Megan, Priscilla, Maria, Zi-Er, Irise, Natalie, Ying En, Clarissa, Gladys and Rachel
Coach: Ms Yati

KLISS U15 Boys Volleyball Plate

The U15 boys were so ready, physically and emotionally for the Volleyball Plate tournament held at BSKL. Spirits were high and hunger to win was more than evident. They played the most intense game against IGB, who were the winners in their first game against the hosts, and beaten them by 2-1. However, things didn't go well in the next game and boys lost to BSKL 2-0. All three teams had won and lost a game and each and based on the points difference Team Thunder finished third in the U15 Boys Volleyball Plate.

Chris Ratcliffe
Director of Sports