my sentiments exactly

Reached home not too long ago after supper at macs and more imptly, after the friendly with the APAC ladies team.

A team with players of sorts. Strong individually but still needs time to gel as a team.

Yes. We were beaten by them. But we didn't lose thoroughly. At least we took home with us important lessons. I'm not really sure whether the other girls have the same sentiments as me. But, I would just like to blog about how i felt and learnt from this game. (i should be rushing my CB report out now. but somehow, i felt that reflecting takes priority. promise this will be a short one so that i can get back to CB and then have enough sleep for my 830am lesson later.. zzzzz)

No doubt i thought that we were courting death by agreeing to the friendly. Playing against the best from all over Singapore is definitely a challenge itself. However, after going through one season of Div 2, and 2 IVPs, and after watching countless matches, I have understood that no team should underestimate themselves. The ball is small and round. There are no guarantees in any match and every team should really put up a good fight for their own sake. For the coach's sake, for the team's sake.

Yes. Other than the satisfaction gained from saving shots, what really drives me to carry on despite being mentally and physically drained, is witnessing how my team mates ran and gave their best. To top it all off, my coach's yelling and screaming also spur me on. I know that i have already repeated this a lot of times. But i see the need for stressing this point to myself. To not forget about my motivation and to always give my best for every game.

If i were to go into any game, thinking that my team will lose, then, won't it be better off to not play the game right from the start? Since we have already decided to play the game, we must well maximise it and play our best. Prove our mettle and turn the tables around!

What Dennis said during debrief made a lot of sense to me. Its the BELIEF that makes a huge difference. Believing that we will triumph and give our all.

For myself, today's game was the first real match after IVP. I certainly have a lot to improve on. My mental strength, my stamina. I know i'm a big fat sore loser for rolling on the floor like physically, after conceding every single goal. How would the other team view me? More imptly, how will these actions impact my team mates?

I have resolved to face every goal. To recognise that i can't do much after the goal is scored. What i can do is to buck up and make sure no ball will reach the back of the net anymore. Belief, a short one it seems, means a huge difference.

A difference between winning and losing, performing or giving up.