Q1) How does team training for a competition like Pesta Sukan differ from individual training for a competition?
Gracie: Individual training is different from team training as the group needs a lot more attention and effort whereas individual training can be personalised. Take our group/team. We are amateur players who want to be more competitive, many of us started playing Pickleball less than 2 years ago.
Firstly, you need the mental maturity to see this as more than a social game. Pesta Sukan is a full-on competition and we take it seriously. Which is why we do lots of drills among ourselves, get coaches in (flying them in sometimes) even do a playing/training trip up Malaysia (JB-KL-Penang), taking 20-25 players at a time.
Everybody gets trained while the competitive ones can even do private lessons. We also play many friendlies. There is camaraderie in team training and when we wear our Greenwich green and step onto the courts, we show our unity and fighting spirit as a whole. (Gracie is the one-half of Jumbo bosses)
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Q1) How does team training for a competition like Pesta Sukan differ from individual training for a competition?
Gracie: Individual training is different from team training as the group needs a lot more attention and effort whereas individual training can be personalised. Take our group/team. We are amateur players who want to be more competitive, many of us started playing Pickleball less than 2 years ago.
Firstly, you need the mental maturity to see this as more than a social game. Pesta Sukan is a full-on competition and we take it seriously. Which is why we do lots of drills among ourselves, get coaches in (flying them in sometimes) even do a playing/training trip up Malaysia (JB-KL-Penang), taking 20-25 players at a time.
Everybody gets trained while the competitive ones can even do private lessons. We also play many friendlies. There is camaraderie in team training and when we wear our Greenwich green and step onto the courts, we show our unity and fighting spirit as a whole. (Gracie is the one-half of Jumbo bosses)
Team at Pesta Sukan
Q2) What is the team's priority (strategy, pairings, consistency etc) and why?
Gracie: For us, it’s simple – team bonding. We would like to win but we are not a NUSS or SRC. BUT we have the most supporters and the best supporters so when any one of us plays, we turn up in our green jerseys to support them wholeheartedly. People have asked me if they can buy our t-shirts. Of coz not! (laughs)
William: We have a good and strong leader in Gracie. And her priority is always the team so she provides a lot of support and comes up with a lot of initiatives to keep the group motivated (like tonight with the food and friendly games). Last year we took part, paid $10 and got a lot of games and were happy. This year feels different coz we have had proper coaching and training…the expectations are a lil higher. We hope we do well to show our appreciation to her (Gracie).
Gracie & James
Q3) What are you doing as an individual member of the team to balance competitiveness with team camaraderie?
Catalina: This is my first year taking part in Pesta Sukan and I'm so excited to play in in the Dream Breakers (format of PS). We have different players of different ages and I barely know them. But we came together to train and it’s been quite magical how we’ve clicked and have been able to train well together. Every one helps when it comes to competitiveness and team camaraderie.
Reynold: I play all over and used to play in JB with Gracie. After I started working, I continued playing with Gracie & Co at Greenwich. And coz I play all over, I meet many young players. And coz our group is mainly older/senior people, we needed younger players to make up our Pesta Sukan teams so I became the recruiter. (laughs)
Catalina & Captain Vincent
Q4) Are you using AI (or any other data gathering) to track individual or team performance and see what can be improved?
Stanley: So we 16 people x 2 teams. We used AI to record and analyse our play. The players start with a benchmark game and as we record and run AI analytics, we can find out their weak points and what drills are recommended. There are even KPIs to be met like, how often someone needs to come to the kitchen, who is over relying on his/her backhand (Gracie) etc.
We share the findings with everyone so they are mindful when doing their own drills. We regroup after 2 weeks to record and analyse again, track the improvement…or regression (laughs). The players really appreciated this input. AI is like an unspoken teacher that helps us in our journey to being complete players.
Q5) What was the main injury concern in the runup to Pesta Sukan?
Gracie: Injury is tough. Besides dealing with everyday injuries like falling on top of long-term injuries, we have people falling in court, getting bruises etc…but they get up and continue playing. We’ve had people snap their tendons and out of action for 6 months and come back stronger! Like I said, we may not field the best team but our spirit is strong and we will pull through regardless.
Catalina: The main injuries concern in the run up are the usual tennis elbow and meniscus inflammation coz of all the training. The captains and the vice captains (one per team, we are sending in 2 teams) oversee our players In terms of mental well-being, we have always been very united and strong…always about positive vibes.
Training Sessions in Malaysia
Q6) What are your expectations for the team’s performance and personal goals during Pesta Sukan?
Catalina: I'm playing Women’s Doubles as well as Mixed Doubles (on top of the team event). One of my games is with Gracie. Can we medal? I'm not sure. The important thing is that we do well as a team and our partnership works well. I think that is more important than winning a medal. We'll definitely do our best.
Vincent: Everyone hopes to win. We’ll try our best. It’ll be a good experience!
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