27 June 2019 - Message from the Sports Director - TISKL In Touch - 27 June 2019

27 JUNE 2019 - MESSAGE FROM THE SPORTS DIRECTOR

KLSL U13 Boys Red Basketball Bowl Finals

Our U13 Boys played their KLSL Basketball Bowl finals at UCSI on 10th June 2019. Our first match was up against a much older Fairview KL team. The boys started nervously and a little slow in attacking. They played a fast attacking games and easily won the match with a score TISKL-14 to Fairview's-42.

The 3rd/4th place play off match was against SKIS and our boys played well and we were leading 16 - 6 in the first quarter. But after the interval SKIS played a fast counter attacking games and this made our players confused and tired. In the end SKIS were triumphant 20 - 29. Thanks to all players for trying hard.

KLSL U13 Boys Red & White Volleyball Bowl Finals

The pressure was on as its the first time many of the boys had competed in a competitive volleyball match and it's also at home. Team Red had a comfortable win against TISP C 2-0 win meanwhile team white had to play the decider match to beat MIGS.

In the second round team white lost to TISP "B" in a straight set and team red continue their win against Peninsular International school(PISA).Team white didn't qualify to the semi as they lost in points and team Red continue their journey to final against TISP B with a 2-1 win.

Team red went down in a neck to neck final match against MIGS losing 9-8 at the decider round. As the 1 touch rule is allowed in KLSL it gave an advantage to MIGS who kept pushing the ball back to our side, catching the Thunder boys by surprise.

However, these boys have a lot of potential but they could not handle the pressure and made some mistakes which cost them the last two games. Hopefully, the team will learn from this and overcome their faults in future.

KLISS U11 High 5 Volleyball

History was made on Wednesday 12th June as the first ever High 5 Volleyball competition took place at TISKL. Such is the interest in this fast paced inclusive sport, Team Thunder managed to get 9 teams in the competition. Many of the schools are yet to include it onto their Primary Curriculum so hopefully next year will see more schools playing.

On the girls side of the draw there were 8 teams, TISKL entering 4 teams. All teams did really well but it was the Orange and Red girls who went through to the semi finals undefeated. Team White were unfortunate and lost all their games but two were by just 1 and 2 points respectively. Team Black, made up of Year 5 students were close to going home as they won 1 and lost 2 in the group stages, however, due to Nexus and Tenby also having the same record, points difference came into play and they had the best record meaning they joined Red and Orange in the semi finals.

The first semi final saw the Black team go head to head with Team Orange. The older Orange girls proved too strong winning 15-4. There was a shock on the other court as Puchong defeated the Red girls. The red girls bounced back straight away from this set back in the 3rd / 4th place play off as they dominated Team Black 15-3.

The final saw Puchong and Team Orange go to battle. The TISKL girls had already beaten Puchong in the group stages but this would count for nothing with the final being a completely different competition. It was nip and tuck all the way throughout, never more than two or three points separating the teams. The team of Eloise, Van Yi, Maya, Betty, Lazima and Melisa started to get nervous towards the end and Puchong added to their impressive girls volleyball season winning 15-13.

There were 10 teams in the boys section, with TISKL entering Orange, Red, White, Black and Maroon. Although Team Black (the Year 5 boys) didn't make it through the group stages they certainly won the prize for most passionate team, celebrating every point won or commiserating every lost point. Hopefully they will learn from this for next year. Team's Maroon and White battled hard but luck wasn't on their side and they also didn't make the finals along with Nexus and Tenby. The semi final matchups saw two TISKL vs TISP fixtures, Orange vs TISP A and Red vs TISP B. Great performances from both Thunder teams meant that the inaugural H5VB Boys Final would be an all TISKL affair. It was fairly even at the start but the speed of Team Orange proved decisive as they pulled away at the end to win 15-11.

Well done to all players on a great achievement.

KLISS U13 Boys Volleyball Cup Final

The U13 boys assured themselves a bronze medal after beating Nexus Wolves 2-1 in the KLISS Volleyball Cup final at TISKL. Unfortunately they were not able to beat Tenby Eagles losing 2-1. Team Thunder lost to BSKL lions 2-0 who ended up winning the trophy.

However, these boys have a lot of potential but they could not handle the pressure and made some mistakes which cost them the last two games. Hopefully, the team will learn from this and improve for the KLSL Cup Finals at Puchong.

KLISS U13 Girls Volleyball Cup Final

On June 13, the U13 Girls Volleyball went to Tenby for their Cup Final. This was the first time the U13 Girls team ever qualified for the Cup Final. There were 5 teams altogether, which meant team Thunder had to play 4 games. ISP were up first. The girls managed to win this in straight sets (15-6, 15-9). It was so good to win the first match of the night, the girls hoped the luck would stretch until the end of the tournament. Thunder then played the round one Northern Pool winners, HELP for the second match. The TISKL girls tried their level best to control the game but it was very unfortunate for the girls that the HELP girls were too strong, losing 0-2 (8-15, 10-15). After playing the tough game, next up were another hard one, team Puchong who were the southern pool winners. Team Thunder lost in straight sets to Puchong in the first round the previous week, with more training and better preparation this time, the girls were hoping to give a better fight. The first set was very intense, Puchong were leading by 7 points but our girls did not give up easily. With a couple of great shots and consistent serving, Team Thunder managed to win the first set with a very close score, 16-14. However, they lost their focus in the next set and lost 9-15. This forced a third and final set. There was no difference, the Thunder girls still struggled to take their opponents shots and lost 1-9. With only one game left, Thunder has no other option. The girls had to win this last match to bring back Bronze medals. To lose the first set 8-15 wasn't a good sign but, credit to Melisa Ho who became the hero of the second set. With her powerful serves, they won 16-14. The last set of the final match of the night was super intense. Tenby was leading by a few points ahead, but our girls have given their best and able to level the score 8-8. It was so unlucky that the last service was out and this has given Tenby the winning point. It was so good to see very good sporting spirits among the girls. Hope they can come back stronger in the next season.

KLSL O15 Boys Volleyball Cup Final

History was made at Puchong on June 14 as not only did the hosts win their first boys Volleyball title but the Taylor's KL B team defeated their A team in a competitive fixture, and what a fixture it was. Sang Woo and Kuhan in particular where not going to let their usual team mates but now opponents down and battled harder for every point. Just when it looked like the A team where getting back in the game, silly errors would let them down and the B team came away with a remarkable 25-21 victory. Both teams lost to SJIIM and Puchong but beat Peninsular, meaning third place for Team B and 4th for Team A.

KLISS U13 Boys Red & White Volleyball Bowl

After the defeat in KLSL final, the boys had one last training before heading towards BSKL. This time the boys were much better prepared and focused on the objective that was getting both the teams to the final. Both team members were shuffled to have equal strength.

Both teams had a shaky start winning in the deciding set. Team white beat BSKL and team red beat Tenby B, 2-1. For the second match both team gained their confidence and went on to win in a straight set 2-0 against TISP B & C. Team white got their redemption backs when they lost to TISP B in KLSL. As both the team were top of the table they qualified to play in the finals.

As the first objective of the competition was achieved, both teams were told to play under the guidance of each team captain. This is to train the student to have self confidence. Team white emerge as champions and its the 1st ever TAYLORS THUNDER emerging 1st and 2nd for KLISS U-13 Boys Volleyball Bowl.

KLISS U13 Girls Red & White Volleyball Bowl

The Thunder Dome was hosting the Bowl Final for the U13 Girls Volleyball. It was a round robin game among 5 teams; Thunder Red, Thunder White, Puchong B, Puchong C and Help B. Team Red was undefeated and won the Bowl by beating Puchong B in the final 2-0. Team White with the majority of the Year 7 girls who were playing their very first competitive Volleyball fixtures lost to their teammates (Team Red) in the semi but won the 3rd/4th play off against Puchong C and finished 3rd overall. Well done to both teams. The girls will be playing again for KLSL Bowl Final next week, Good luck!

U15 Boys Basketball Friendly

The U15 boys basketball team went to Puchong for a friendly fixture (to assist Puchong with their iGCSE’s). Team Thunder started off well and were leading in the first quarter against their much older opponents. However, due to a lack of communication, wrong passes and weak defense in the final three quarters lead to a comprehensive 60-38 defeat.

U11 Mixed Tee Ball Orange & Red Cup Finals

Yet again, everything worked on in training was forgotten when it came to the competition.

Disorganised fielding, running unnecessarily and poor batting was all on show in their first game of the day against ISP. The Pumas, fresh from FOBISIA looked like they'd been playing for years whilst Team Thunder looked like fish out of water. Putting ISP into bat was a good decision until they scored 11 runs, meaning all the Thunder team needed to get home to win. This didn't take long to dissolve as batters hit the ball to the same fielder who punished each and every batter. An 11-4 loss was certainly not what coach Mr.Ratcliffe had planned. A few honest words after the game seemed to spur on the team as they improved significantly in game 2 vs Tenby. An 8-4 win meant they were still in with a chance of a medal. Up next were BSKL and yet again the students showed them far too much respect and a 9-4 loss was another bitter pill to swallow. This set up the last game vs KTJ as a battle for bronze as they had also beaten Tenby and lost to both BSKL and ISP. Putting KTJ into bat, the team saved their best fielding display for the end as KTJ only managed 4 runs. As usual, Team Thunder made hard work of what should and could have been a comfortable victory. When Ryan hit the winning home run to give TISKL a 7-4 victory the boys and girls were very happy that their hard work had paid off with a bronze medal.

KLISS U9 Mixed Tee Ball Orange

It had been a difficult built-up to the first tournament for the U9 team due to the weather, nearly every Wednesday the lightning alarm going off at CCA time, and therefore having to train indoors. Also the fact that not all players had been going to the training sessions also showed during the tournament.

TISKL 4 - 8 KTJ
Team Thunder fielded first in their opening game against KTJ and seemed to forget everything that they had done during training, they seemed like rabbits caught in the headlights of a car! KTJ did not bat exceptionally well but poor decision making and lack of communication cost Team Thunder valuable runs. When it was our turn to bat it didn't really improve as half the team were out after batting the ball directly to the Pitcher or First Base.

TISKL 8 - 9 BSKL"B"
There was some improvement against the “B” team from the British School but not sufficient for Team Thunder to earn the win. The most memorable moment of the day was when Gabriel caught a "fly ball".

TISKL 1 - 10 Tenby

There really was a huge gap between the two teams, Tenby were organised and every player knew exactly what they were doing whilst Team Thunder once again seemed to freeze and forget everything they knew.

Hopefully after this experience Team Thunder will have learnt the need to be focused and do the basics well for their next competition, KLSL.

Back row: Deron, Darius, Xander, Umar, Landon, Gabriel, Saqlain
Front row: Fatima, Aarini, Mayra, Qaireen, Sophia, Alia

KLSL U9 Mixed Tee Ball Orange

What a difference a day makes!

The tournament at St. Joseph's was a different format to the one Team Thunder played the day before at Tenby, each game was two innings and the scores of both innings added together.

TISKL 19 (11, 8) - HELP 14 (8, 6)

Aarini, Team Thunder's captain, chose to bat first and this proved to be an inspired decision! In the first innings 11 out of the 12 batters managed to get home and this gave the team's confidence a big boost. This was a totally different performance to the day before. HELP managed to get 8 home runs which meant that Team Thunder had a lead of 3 runs after the first inning.

In the second innings we managed to continue to bat well and got 8 players home, meaning that HELP needed to get all their batters home to win the game. A good fielding performance, including Xander catching a "fly ball" meant that Team Thunder won the game by 5 runs.

TISKL 9 (1, 8) - SJIIM 11 (11)
Unfortunately, the "Ghost of Tenby" came back to haunt Team Thunder in their game against St. Joseph's! TISKL were put into bat first and only Alia managed to get home in the first inning, the other batters hitting the ball directly to the Pitcher or 1st Base and not giving themselves a chance to progress. SJIIM were near faultless in their batting performance and got 11 players home.

In the second innings, Team Thunder corrected the errors from the first innings and managed to get 8 batters home but this was not enough to make SJIS bat again.

In fairness to Team Thunder it has to be said that SJIIM team was made solely of boys as they did not have any girls playing for them something they will need to address when they join KLISS next year.

TISKL 13 (7, 6) - SKIPS 19 (10, 9)
The final game was a mixed bag for Team Thunder, they didn’t play badly but made basic errors that allowed SKIPS to take the lead in the first innings and were then chasing the game in the second inning. SKIPS experience of playing tee ball in FOBISIA working in their favour.

Having beaten HELP in the first game it meant that Team Thunder came third and got the bronze medal.

Back row: Deron, Gabriel, Umar, Xander, Darius, Landon, Saqlain
Front row: Fatima, Mayra, Qaireen, Sophia, Aarini, Alia, Christina

KLSL U13 Girls Orange Cup Final

With a last minute drop out, the KLSL Cup Final was left with only 3 teams. Thus, the game points were increased to 25 to give more game time for the players. The battle between three schools began with Tenby versus the KLISS Champions, Puchong. Surprisingly, the champion lost 1-2 to Tenby. Then the second match was TISKL up against Tenby. Another unexpected game, Thunder Orange revenged their loss in the last competition and made a brilliant comeback after losing the first set. The girls were much more relaxed and played better this time. With a few amazing rallies, the TISKL girls managed to control the possessions throughout the game and ended with Orange winning 2-1. With having the same points with Tenby, team Orange had to make sure they win this last game against Puchong to bring back Gold medal. Losing the first set brought the teams teams confidence down. The girls started to panic and missed quite a few easy shots. There was no difference in the second set, but they still cannot take over the Puchong girls, Team Orange lost, 2-0. With all three schools won a game each, it was very unfortunate for our girls because they were down with only 1 point (the only team got beaten straight set) and this has given Puchong the opportunity to finish first and Tenby second. Thus Team Orange came back to school with Bronze.

KLSL U15 Boys Volleyball Red & White

The KLSL U15 Volleyball saw team Thunder send 3 teams. It was a round robin schedule where all 5 team will play against each other. Team black won two of four whilst white had 1 win. Team red wasn't lucky as they lost all their matches, but they didn’t go down easily. All the teams who played had to play their best as team red were giving them a tough time only to go down with a margin score of 21-15(against Tenby), 21-18 (against Help), 21-16 (against Team Black) & 21-17 (against Team Red) .

Tenby who were the home team won the competition by winning all their games meanwhile Help came in second after having only 1 defeat to the home team.

In all it was a good experience to all 3 team Thunder as it gave enough experience for the students to know what to accept in their upcoming KLISS match which is scheduled next Thursday.

Team thunder Black was in 3rd place followed by Team White and Red.

KLSL U11 Boys Tee Ball Red

As the boys arrived at SJIIM there were already dark clouds looming above making the likelihood of getting all games in unlikely. With that in mind it was important to start well. First up for Team Thunder were Sri KDU who were fresh off their FOBISIA adventures so in some ways were the favourites due to playing tee ball in Phuket. Sri KDU batted first and managed 8 runs due to some sloppy fielding by the Taylor's boys. Set a target of 9 meant the boys would need to be smart and not run unnecessarily. Some excellent batting allowed TISKL to score 11 runs to take game 1. Game 2 was against the hosts who looked a lot more composed than Sri KDU. They fielded well but the Thunder still managed 8 runs. Would this be enough? The last SJIIM batter came up at 8-6 knowing he needed to get himself and his two runners home to win. However, it wasn't to be as they only managed 1 home giving Team Thunder a very close 8-7 victory. SJIIM then beat Sri KDU 9-6 so TISKL were top after the first round. Round 2 started and again Sri KDU were batting first. Team Thunders best fielding display kept Sri KDU to 7. Team Thunder were 5 home from just 5 bats and well on their way to victory when the downpour came meaning an early finish. This meant that just the first round of fixtures counted and Team Red were crowned Champions much to the delight of the boys.

KLSL U15 Boys Volleyball Orange Cup Final

Team Thunder finished off its remarkable run after winning the bronze medal in the KLSL U15 Cup final hosted by TISKL. The other participants in KLS Volleyball league were HELP, TISP, SJIIM & APIS.

Taylor's made a good start and won the first set in the first game against HELP but the euphoria did not last long and HELP bringing on their top guns in the next two sets made it a big challenge for the hosts and boys lost to HELP 2-1.

However, in the second game, Taylor's pressed on with their serving and scored some easy points and won the game 2-1. The victory in the final two matches against TISP and APIS could have put the Team Thunder on solid footing but boys lost to TISP 2-1 and emerged winners against APIS 2-0 create suspense in the final scores.

Taylor's scored overall 12 points along with SJIIM. As TISKL were winners head to head against SJIIM, finished 3rd in U15 KLSL Volleyball.

Mr.Chris Ratcliffe
Director of Sport