SAMANTHA FOO (HOCKEY GIRLS)

The Goal Getters

One of the highlights of being a student in Millennia Institute is being part of MI’s hockey team. Hockey has transformed me into a better person. There were many teachable moments and opportunities where values were caught rather than taught. It took me a while but I finally understood what I learnt during Skills Future Programme on teamwork and communication and applied these in my trainings.

My teammates enjoyed playing on the Hockey field because when we played as a team, we increased our control of the situation. At the same time, we could focus on perfecting our hockey skills one at a time until we mastered all of them. Besides mastering the physical skill sets required for the game, the drills also increased our mental strength and made us more resilient in the face of challenges from our opponents. During my time in MI, I learned to respect my teammates and peers and work effectively as a team. While there were occasional minor squabbles that would erupt in the heat of the moment, we learned to be better people by calming down and walking away from a tense situation first. Later, when everyone was more settled, issues could be clarified. Playing hockey had also shaped us into more understanding and empathetic people who were able to gauge the feelings of others and bring everyone back to the same goal during times of disagreement. The hunger for success united the team, and motivated us to train harder and fight harder regardless of the outcomes of our matches. Whenever we faced defeat on the field, our hearts grew stronger and we promised to come back stronger than before.

Through playing hockey, I also learnt to respect myself as a person – by accepting my strengths and weaknesses and adapting to the changes around me. I was able to better manage my time, make better decisions and prioritise my assignments over other distractions. Of course, the journey was not always smooth sailing, as balancing studies and training was no easy task. While I am not the brightest student, I am grateful for the constant reminders from my teachers to be consistent and to go beyond my best effort to unleash my potential. I am also thankful that MI is a place where we help one another no matter where we come from and who we are. Having friends who will go the extra mile to help me with the things I am unclear about is really a blessing.