Softball

I first started playing softball in secondary school, under rather unexpected circumstances. Throughout my stint in the team I was more of a bench warmer than a regular player. Despite the grim prospects within the CCA, I remained committed and trained to my best of abilities. I grew to love the game even though I was often left out of action. I also learnt about the importance of team work - as my coach always said, "Softball is a team game."

When I progressed to JC, I thought it was time I moved on to something else, so I left the team. For many years, I never thought about playing the sport again. While I did not sell my glove and boots away, I stashed them in some obscure corner at home - totally abandoned and forgotten.

In my second year as a Hall resident, my friend Mafer, who happened to be the Hall's softball team captain, asked me to join the team. She knew I had a bit of experience, exactly what the team needed at that moment as an entire batch of champion-winning players just left the team. I thought about it and decided to help her out. The first thing I did was to search through my entire house to find my glove and boots. To my amazement, I found them in pretty good shape - no mould and definitely not rotten. After slight cleaning up and seasoning, they were back in good shape.

From then on, it became a three-year (coming to four) commitment. I learnt a lot more about the game and discovered greater value in playing the sport - I got to know many awesome teammates and the training sessions often became my only workout. Quite a good way to keep healthy and fit eh? Although the team was never in smashing form to win champions, I thoroughly enjoyed being in it - the camaraderie, the team spirit and the love for the game.

Team KE 2011/12

Then recently in the off season, through the introduction of a friend, I started joining a random group of people (all older than me) on weekly Saturday games on the university field. Speaking about randomness, the players hail from all walks of life - current undergraduates, alumni members, current professors, friends-of-friends, etc etc. Chinese, Malay, Indians, Caucasians - all are welcomed. No formal communication or organisation needed to exist - as long as enough people turn up at the right time at the right place, the game would proceed. So far there have been very few occasions when I left disappointed. We play mainly for fun, though when the score is in a tie towards the end things can get a little competitive at times. Whenever I told my friends about my Saturday games, their eyes would simply grow bigger in disbelief as most simply could not fathom the randomness of it all.

The randomness did not stop there. For the past two days, through some new friends I made during the weekend games, I was invited to join another random team of people in a softball tournament. What an experience it was - a bunch of complete strangers playing together in competitive matches! It did not matter very much if we won or lost any of the games. All of us were in it for a primary objective - to have fun. We cheered each other on and covered for each other's mistakes. It was purely enjoyable to play with such nice and supportive teammates.

From where I started as a softball player, to where I am today, I must say that it has been quite a journey - an unexpected beginning, lots of ups and downs, a long hiatus and a fairly remarkable comeback. In the process, it has taught me a lot about life. I would still love to play the sport as long as I can - if I can find the time to play in the near future. I am glad that once again, softball has become part of my life.