For you

The freshie who is anxious and worried about catching up to the standards of the seniors.
The senior who is in his final year and desperately needs to balance studies and cheer amongst other endless commitments.
The captain who is trying to cover all grounds but on some quiet nights, falls prey to doubt and uncertainty that nothing is ever under control.
The vice captain who is worrying over how best to support the captain and the team as competition draws nearer.
The flyer who has fallen from stunt yet again for the umpteenth time but needs to force a smile so that training can carry on and morale is not dampened.
The base who is adjusting his wrist guard, feeling the clicks in his wrists and wondering if they will ever feel normal again.
The coach who is imagining the routine, the grouping, the music, feeling frustrated and tired, and then going back to imagining the routine, the grouping, the music, again and again.
The alumnae who comes down for training almost every day (possibly more often than some of the current members), trying to pass on as much knowledge and spotting and moral support to the current team, not knowing if they will be useful or appreciated but does it anyway for the love of the team.
The spotter who is not officially part of the team but comes down every so often to help spot and support the team that he knows the routine as well as anyone.
The one who still loves cheer and especially the memories of the team but knows there is no going back.
The one who no longer loves cheer and is genuinely surprised that given enough time, one can really let go of something that you really really once loved.
The ones who are so far away from cheer but for some random reason or no reason at all, still comes back to this blog, unsure of what to expect, but coming back nonetheless.

This post is for all of you, for who you were, are and might be. Cheers

After the end of a season

Well the end of IHCC season is here, normally I wouldn’t write down my thoughts but having going through the journey from a different perspective I thought that I would pen my thoughts down (or type since this is the computer age. What is writing with a pen man? Hahaha).

So this season was drastically different from the others that I have seen. We did not ASU for the first time in 3 years. Immediately you could see that everyone was at a loss after performance, not sure what to think of and not sure how to act because no one in the team has faced such a situation before.

Our current situation reminded me of an anime called Kuroko no Basket( Yeah I watch anime too so sue me). Basically what happened in one point of the first season was that there are 2 main characters who were starting players in the same basketball team. What happened was that they had expected to have a close match with one of their opponent teams with a strong player but instead they got beaten so badly that their score was half of their opponents’ score. One of the main characters started to doubt his style of play after the words of the other main character of seemingly to want to get stronger by himself and gets distracted resulting the loss of his remaining 2 games and the elimination of his team in the tournament.

Basically after the 3 devastating losses, there was a period of uncertainty between the 2 main characters if they could work together to win or to work separately. But after pulling themselves out of their feelings of frustration on the loss, they figured out how they can improve themselves individually to not let down the other team members and became more determined to win the upcoming tournament. In the end they not only came out stronger entering the next tournament but also having defeated the team that doubled the score the previous tournament and eventually winning that tournament being the champs.

Now I understand that it is an anime, all fiction and cliché the main character gets defeated but comes back stronger. But I learnt several life lessons from this story. Not everything goes according to plan in life, but what we could do recover and fight on, figuring out what went wrong and we fight or train hard for the next season and proving to everyone that we are still contenders in IHCC (You can still cry over it for a while because after all you guys shed blood, sweat and tears for this and yet it just did not turn out your way). There is no guarantee we will be where we want, but what we are doing we are creating a chance for a stronger Vikings next year.

Also, whenever we reach an end goal, the euphoria felt is only temporary. The reverse could be said when we failed to reach the goal. But when we look back at how far you guys have come (especially the freshies. You have no idea how much you guys have grown or how much potential every single one of you have), you would not only not believe how far you have come throughout this HO journey but also all the fun memories and bonds you guys forged as a team. All these things are going to stay with you forever. So remember every season, every HO journey is unique. The people in the team will never be the same in any 2 seasons.

Ultimately when we look back into this season, don’t see it as a failure, but see it as something that help increase your chance to become stronger next year. After all, Micheal Jordan did not win his first championship in his first few times but finally succeeded when he learnt to rely on his teammate more. Have more confidence! We have it in us to reach the mountain top again.

OK that’s all for my thoughts I guess for now. Hopefully it helped and sorry if I rambled for so long. Probably had no structure in it too. Anyways jiayou guys for next season and remember to cheer for each other and enjoy the journey. It’s good to have aim for the mountain top, but always remember enjoy the scenery along the way. Also remember to help your teammates out. You never know when the times comes when they cover your ass. Ultimately it is a team performance, uniquely yours.

Wilfred

Hello, it’s me

LOL what a lame title. But erm it’s really me. 😅 I may not be in Vikings anymore but I still come here every now and then to read what the seniors wrote, and they never fail to inject some positivity in me. I appreciate it even more now than I did when I was in Vikings.

It’s going to be an intensive period, and I know this batch of Vikings cheerleaders will pull through it, but I hope they get to take away more than just a cheer experience. It’ll be tiring but it’ll be worth it! Jiayou!

Hiatus

You can take a person out of cheerleading, but you can never take the cheerleader out of a person. (Khoo, 2015)

a year on..

I remembered a long time ago somebody once told me that when the person was a freshie coming into NTU, there wasn’t much on Hall 5 on google. But there was this blog and i guess it was the warmth and family love that was felt, which inspired the person to try Vikings. I hope the feelings still holds today, despite circumstances and i hope somebody new out there in the near future will chance upon this too.

So as i sat alone in Paris waiting for my next flight, it made me wonder what happened exactly one year ago and how the past year had been.

Exactly around this time last year, i was having the cheer moment of my life, the wedding routine was my most enjoyable, if not it’s my favourite performance. Its not about what the outcome were but the whole journey instead. We cried we laughed we drank. Looking back now, time flew, our coaches had been happily married for a year, many things had happened, and yeah, we improved our ranking by 1.

Yes, things changed within this 1 year. I could still remembering the hangover (not from the wedding) which is the thoughts that my seniors (TG, TS, HW, Dom and Nghia) are leaving the team and its only left with Sam and i from here on out, but now, a year on i too, have graduated.

But i guess the only thing constant from all these is our love and passion for cheer and Vikings still remains. In a while time, i will be starting work and I’m not sure if i too could carry on my own cheer journey but at least I’m glad that there are still ppl in Vikings to keep it going. Yes, we may have our dramas, our ups and downs (our ratings were definitely a hit), but the show have to go on. What we felt, what we fought for, and what we believed in were definitely real. Every family usually have its own shit to deal with, ours were slightly shittier given there were 25 ppl. It’s definitely something that i will miss, something which i wouldn’t be able to own any part of in the future. And im sure each year carried it’s fair shit.

2 champion medals in 2 very different seasons. They say we won, but nobody mentioned what we lost too. Im sure we will pick up and prep for a new season ahead. Im not going to say the cliche “its not gonna be easy, its gonna be worth it”. Rather, its something that your gut feeling tells you to do. If you ever felt the hardwork, the tears and sweat of those before you, those with you and those after you, then you will find something within you to make you commit. Even Rome wasn’t built in a day.

I have made a promise to help Vikings in any way i can, so i will be back if im free. But for now, i shall finally hang my medals, to take a back seat and see what the future beholds.

 

“We’ve come a long way from where we began.”

Nothing better to do

Just wanna say there’s this TV series Vikings that’s pretty interesting and it reminded me of Vikings hahaha ok that’s all train safe and have fun! 🙂

There you go again

Year 1 I joined cheer for the awesome team spirit and family feeling I have never felt before from anywhere else.

Year 2 I joined cheer to make Vikings a team that others in the community will recognise. A name that others will associate not only with entertaining routines but more importantly our unique culture of never giving up on each other even in the darkest and most impossible times.

Year 3 I joined cheer because I failed badly in Year 2 so I had to join back to redeem myself. Walking away was the easier route but I know many years later I will look back and despise myself if I made that decision.

Year 4 I joined cheer because it was my last chance to try to fulfil the aim I never achieved back in Year 2. I was lucky to have an awesome bunch of teammates with me, both seniors and juniors and of course my dearest coaches.

So you see, the reason one joins cheer changes every year. It is impossible to be sure of joining every year because every year is unique and different and follows a different storyline. Every experience moulds and crafts that reason to join or quit.

Have I ever lost passion for cheer? Yes I have and it comes and goes. I might even have lost it since Year 2. That’s why to me, passion is a fleeting feeling. It’s a little unreliable because it goes away when it wants to and leaves you floundering. I choose to give up on passion and pick up commitment because that means I have made a choice and I will stick to it no matter what. No matter what.

Have I ever thought of quitting cheer? Yes, many times. Cheering is tiring both physically and mentally. Especially in Vikings where we are all kinda linked to each other and therefore easily affected by one another. Quitting always comes to mind when the teammates I value very much either leaves the team or graduate, or when the people in the team are not behaving in a way I wish they would. But I was lucky that during those times, there will always be one person that remains committed to Vikings and makes me want to do the same. And also because ultimately when I feel like leaving because Vikings and cheer has become so shitty that I just feel so tired and not wanting to give a fuck, I ask myself if not me then who.

There you go

And so it is that some time ago, I promised Jasmin that I will be this blog’s resident writer should she be able to hit her heel double down. Of course many things have happened since then. I have gotten myself a job (on the other side of Singapore) and she has worked very very hard. Very happy and proud of her for she has raised the bar a little higher but at the same time showed that it was possible.

I have written from the perspectives of a freshie, a capt, a senior, a graduating senior, an alumni and now I write from probably my permanent perspective hereafter, that of a supporter. Had the opportunity to drop by yesterday and it was just a great feeling to see everyone again, including the coaches. These are old friends and I’m just glad we all made some great memories together. Seeing how they keep trying so hard to fulfil that requirement of one time asu for all groups at the same time, it makes me feel immensely proud that I was a part of endorsing this stubborn albeit sadistic practice. When they all automatically answer ‘no’ whenever coaches ask if they needed a break, deep down I think they are being silly to refuse yet that is also what I have come to expect from a Vikings cheerleader – a little silly and stubborn but with a lot of fighting spirit.

I won’t be a resident writer but I will write once in a while so in case at times you feel low about yourselves, you can come here and hopefully absorb from positive vibes from a very proud supporter that will always be in awe of your progress and spirit. Jiayou!

Teamwork

Teamwork makes the dream come true, but a vision turns into a nightmare when the leader has big dream and a bad team. I am not saying we are a bad team; just saying that if we do not have the same goal in mind, the faith in each and everyone in the team, even if we are all elite individuals, we will still be a bad team. When a team outgrows individual performance and learns team confidence, excellence becomes a reality.

There are times where I am down and feel incompetent as compared to other members of the team because of my slow progression in terms of skills, which thus resulted in me feeling that I am a burden to the team. I tried and tried and tried and nothing seems to be right and there are times I am on the verge of giving up. But it’s the team that makes me carry on trying and never give up. Some might show concern, some might not but ultimately I believe all of us are working towards the same goal – strive to improve together and do our best together.

Also for a team to work towards the goal together, there must be love. Regardless of whether your love is towards the sport, the team or abit of here and there. It is required for us to walk this route together. It is a formidable force that cannot be seen or measured, yet it is strong enough to bring us to that ‘moment’ and offers us more joy than any material possession could.

“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.”

Humility

Hello Vikings! Today I thought about something a little bit sensitive. Sensitive as in I believe some people will feel like I am directing this to them when I’m actually not, while others might feel like this doesn’t really concern them when actually it does (perhaps just for a fleeting mo or at some random point in time?) hahaha so take it with a pinch of salt regardless!

From time to time, if not constantly, it is good to remind yourself that you are not irreplaceable. Regardless of how skillful you are or how influential you are, you are not irreplaceable. Nobody is irreplaceable. Without you, stunts can and will still go up. Sure, it might take longer or it might be tougher, but at the end of the day, life goes on even if you’re not a part of something you once deemed impossible without you. So when your nose is stuck in the air, sneeze and remind yourself that you are not irreplaceable, that no matter how skillful you are now or can be, someday somehow someone will replace you. Humility is a virtue.

Without you though, there will definitely be a hole in the team. Because although you are not irreplaceable, you are invaluable. Although stunts can go up without you specifically, having you around will always make a difference. We are the ones that make up Vikings 2014/2015, no less no more. The memories we have forged or are going to forge, the blood sweat tears trophy medals sprain and fractures we shed win or sustain are ours to keep, not yours not mine not theirs. So at times when you feel like you are the weakest link, don’t give up! Because you are special in your own way and if not you, then who? What better way to support your family members, who believe in you, than giving your utmost and show that you, too, believe in them and yourself? “When it seems like you have nothing left, can you give more?”

Unity is strength (Actually it’s a pharmacy LOL) and cheesy as it may sound, we are only as strong as our weakest link. Strive not to be the weakest link, but don’t wish for others to be that weakest link as well. When we are divided, it is easy to fall prey to harsh criticism and low self esteem. When we are united, it is easy to have fun and improve together.

Always remember that regardless of where you stand now, others were encouraging, helpful and tolerating when you first started out (and still are), because the mats taught us all to believe, trust and love. Remember this magical feeling, because beyond skills and experiences, this is the most valuable thing that has kept the Vikings fire shining bright and it is our duty to share and pass this beautiful value along.

So Vikings! Let’s just have fun together okay!! 🙂

*”You” and “We” are used loosely here ok! It doesn’t indicate where I stand, I could be the “You” or “We” that was referred to, so don’t think I kp or what ok!! Peace! ✌️

**I hope somewhere somehow this somewhat strikes a chord for somebody ’cause I actually contemplated for quite some time before deciding to just fts and post this up. I’m sorry if this offended or angered you, love me still? 👉👈👉👈

***I wonder… Ten years down the road, will I still feel that posting this was worth it?

****I just reread it and some parts don’t really make sense hahah just let your imagination run wild (Positively) okay? Love you!