 It's not everyday you get to be in the company of one of the best female floorball players in the world. Well, GSN had that privilege in the last week as we were accompanied by Miss Jill Quek who is known to be one of the best female floorball players in the world to run the GSN Floorball Programme. It was truly an honour to be able to partner with 13 Shining Stars, the floorball coaching company which Jill runs in Singapore. The GSN Floorball programme, which had 3 different focal points - Girls' Clinic, Coaching Floorball and Boys Clinic - ran from the 14th-15th March at Balik Pulau Sports Complex. Although it was a packed up programme, nonetheless it was an exciting and beneficial one. Jill who came along with her junior coach, Jacintha conducted all the training sessions with great insights into the fundamentals of coaching and playing. Participants came from all over, from KL and yes, even from Sabah! The coaching session which was held on the 15th March was a full-day event covering key areas on such as the hardware of being a coach, the practicality and technicality of coaching, observation skills and so on. This session was split into two categories - (1.) the classroom session where Jill emphasized on the hardware and the being of a coach and (2.) the on-court session where Jill and Jacintha conducted and simulated a training session for us to observe.  GSN - 13 Shining Stars Floorball Programme with Jill as our keynote guest.  Jill (left) & Jacintha.  Classroom session on coaching.  Participants evaluating their values and notions on coaching.  Jill observing players during the on-court session. The Girls' and Boys' Clinic also saw a big pool of participants, all excited to learn and see what Jill has to offer. Being one of the top female players in the world, Jill's technical skills have been said to be one of the best. Her aggressiveness, burst and speed, jaw dropping ball handling skills and powerful shots were all seen on court as she demonstrated these basic skills to avid floorballers in Penang. It's hard not to be awed and inspired by this petite buy highly skilled lady! It was also great to see how young players who attended the coaching clinic rose up to the challenge of coaching during the Boys Clinic. One of the key things GSN hopes to develop and grow from here is to empower floorballers, young or old, experienced or inexperienced, to rise up to the next level be it in coaching or playing. The whole objective for this programme is primarily to inspire and then to empower people to take their game to the next level.  All eyes on the lady who is highly skilled.  Jill demonstrating some of the different shots.  Jill coaching the girls.  Jill was truly an inspiration to all the girls who attended the Girls' Clinic.  GSN hopes to see more coaching rise up from this programme.  Participants came from all over. Here we have participants from KL. All in all, we all had a great time learning from one another. It was also a great opportunity to meet different ones in the floorball scene. A big thank you to those who travelled all the way from KL and even Sabah just to be part of this event! We truly appreciate your presence with us! Some are already asking if GSN will be organizing another one next year... The answer? Well, just continue to be keep an eye out for us. For now, we'll keep you guys in suspense ;) Keep floorballing! Add Comment  About September 2010, GSN decided to initiate a run for a cause event in conjunction with the 2010 Penang Bridge International Marathon. We decided to organize a run for the Penan tribe, a minority group of people in East Malaysia, Sarawak. With that, we sold running vest in effort to raise funds for this people group. Fast forward to January 2011, mission accomplished! With the support and contribution from various individuals, we've successfully raised the fund for Penan! From 19th-27th January 2011, the leaders of GSN made a brief trip into the interior of Miri, Sarawak to visit and shower the Penan people with gifts. From slippers, sarong to food supplies, these are some of the daily necessities that we've gotten for them as we visited and stayed with them for almost a week. The connection that we made with the people, the sharing of lives and the relationship built there reassured us that sports has the capacity to even impact and build individuals/community outside of the sports field and truly, that's the core of what GSN is all about - building champions wherever and whenever we can!  Arriving at the runway where we had to hike into the Penan village along with our supplies.  Securing the supplies before our hike. The people there were more than happy to receive simple daily essentials from us. It was a joy and privilege on our part to be able to shower them with gifts. For those who have contributed, know that we also represent each one of you as we presented those gifts! Your heart of giving and support has definitely made a difference in their lives! Being with them also assured us that we need to be involved a whole lot more with community. As we progress into 2011, one of our main aims this year is to get ourselves in touch with community work. Even while we stayed with the Penan, we even played sports like "sepak raga" and badminton with them! This goes to show that sports plays a key tool to connect, communicate and impact communities all around!  The Penan people trying out their new slippers!  Playing 'sepak raga', or commonly known as 'sepak takraw', with the young people there.  Playing Badminton! Let's continue to have a passion for sports and people. Will GSN be organizing another Run for A Cause event? Why not! Continue to stay with us and be part of us as we seek to build champions from all walks of life, empowering them to be a positive influence in our community and nation! Building Champions! 2011: Intentional Growth! 03/03/2011
 2010 was a great year for us at GSN. It was our first full year as a network and with the many people we've come into contact with through sports. 2011 will definitely be more exciting! As we hit the first quarter of the year, we want to share some of the things we are focussing on this year and hopefully, this would get you excited too! Last year, GSN focussed very much on building foundational blocks of network through initiating events and putting in place key leaders. This year, we want to pick it up from there. Hence, this year it's about initiating intentional growth. One of the key things we really want to grow this year is this whole area of networking and partnering with different sports people, leaders and organization not just to learn from them but hopefully, as small as we are, to build them up as well. As such, we've managed to partner up with one of the best female floorball players in Asia (or rather, the best player) Miss Jill Quek of 13 Shining Stars to conduct a floorball programme from the 14th-15th March 2011 in Penang, Malaysia. We treasure and hope to grow with such people. Networking is something that we definitely want to develop. In relation to networking, this year we want to begin to be involved in the community around us. Last year, we took our first small step by raising funds for the Penan tribe, a minority in Sarawak. This year, we want to take another step to use sports to impact the community around us. As much as we are passionate about sports, we are also passionate about growing people and commun Another area we really want to grow in as well is leadership. We want to start igniting a keen sense of leadership among players and youth who are under GSN. GSN is in the business of building champions, as such this year we want to challenge people to not just have a passion for sports but also to have a passion for positive leadership. Spearhead Floorball Club, a floorball club under GSN has come up with Spear 1.6 - a leadership forum/training for young potential leaders in the club with the intention of sharpening them to be a positive weapon in the area of leadership. Materials, equipments, development, etc. - all these are key resources that we need which we really want to grow. Partnering and networking would be a key medium in order for us to achieve this. We will be stepping out to look for partners in effort of raising funds and sponsorship for GSN. We want people to catch hold of our vision for sports and people and through that, be part of us. It's going to be an exciting year for sure! We hope that you will continue to run alongside us as we continue to make an impact in the sports arena and the people we encounter. Should you want to know more about GSN or perhaps even partner with us, do drop us a line. 2011, a year of intentional growth. Time-Out 2010: Be Strong! 12/04/2010
We had our second Time-Out camp and it was awesome! :) Last year, we had a positive response with that, we decided to carry on Time-Out for the second time. Time-Out is primarily a sports camp catered for youth between 13-17 years of age with the objective of using sports and team building activities to impart knowledge, skills and above all else, positive characters. This year the theme for Time-Out was "Be Strong", focussing on the three different elements; Physical, mental and skills/techniques. The Air Itam Teambuilding Centre served us well as the venue/hostel was in tip-top condition. We had in total 16 energetic participants ranging from 11-15 years old. The overall programme for Time-Out this year was directed towards empowering the participants to Be Strong in every area of their lives. So we had activities like watching a sports movie and also sessions of Character Study, whereby participants come together to understand key values and positive characters that they will need to develop in order to be strong mentally. Besides that, participants went through different physical activities as well such as the rigorous team building activities, ball game and even morning exercises.  Participants going through Character Study.  Participants going through rigorous team building session. One of the key things that most participants had to learn in this camp was on team work. Participants were put into situations where they had to learn to cope with each others' weaknesses while at the same time to also learn to trust each others' strengths. It took time for the participants to open up to one another but eventually they did and t was great to see how different people contributed and helped each other in the team.  Learning to depend on the team and not on yourself.  Learning to fall and trust that your team mates will be there to catch you. "Kia kaha" comes from the Maori language which means "Forever Strong" and that has been the key tagline for Time-Out 2010. We want these youths to see the importance of being forever strong, not just on the field but also of the field. Many times, youths are misled by the temporal satifsfaction of winning games and competition that they neglect the essence of a true Champion, that is to be a positive influence on and off the field. Hence, we also emphasize on the mental and the character element. We truly believe that each of this youth has the potential to be Champions! GSN is looking forward for more Time-Outs! For now, stay strong! Kia kaha!  Why so serious?  Now, that's more like it! RUN FOR A CAUSE! 11/30/2010
 Yes, we've conquered the Penang Bridge once again! But this year, with a reason and purpose. This year, GSN is raising funds for the minority group of people from Sarawak called the Penan. To do that, we've urged people to run the annual Penang Bridge International Marathon while donning the "RUN FOR A CAUSE" running vest which GSN had designed. So far, the response has been really good! Even though PBIM is over, there are still a couple more vests left which we will still try to sell in effort to raise the fund by early January 2011. PBIM this year was somewhat interesting due to the unpredictable weather! It rained during the 42km and 21km run and boy did it rained hard. But rain wasn't going to stop the runners as they took on the bridge with great determination. For those who've been training with GSN prior to the run and made it to the finishing line, great job! All those running at Bukit Dumbar paid off, eh? ;) GSN will definitely be looking forward for PBIM 2011. A new year with a new challenge. 42km, perhaps? :) Youthwave Challenge 2010: Making Waves! 04/15/2010
The Youthwave Challenge takes place annually with each passing year gaining bigger and better response from the public. This year, the Wave Challenge 2010 (WC), did exactly that! And GSN sure ain't going to miss the "party"! With a last minute glitch, this year's WC had to be relocated to SMK Bukit Jambul instead of usual venue, Balik Pulau Sports Complex. Regardless of the last minute changes, the response still stood strong. With captain ball, floorball and the newly incorporated, dodge-ball, as part of the WC this year, the premise of SMK Bukit Jambul shook with great enthusiasm as many came flooding in.  An ocean of participants all ready to compete! Since GSN has adopted Bukit Jambul Floorball Club (BJFC) and Convent Green Lane Floorball Club (CGL), it was about time to dip them into a pool of good competition where other various floorball clubs and teams will be participating in as well. BJFC sent two boys teams and two girls teams while CGL sent four teams in total. Simultaneously, GSN's very own Spearhead Floorball Club also managed to participate in the event, represented by one team. Floorball is definitely making "wave" in Penang!  BJ!  CGL!  Spearhead! The floorball corner was jam packed! BJ, CGL and Spearhead all had their chance to strut out their skills on court. Even though it was their first WC outing, they did relatively well! In fact, one of the CGL teams managed to steal the second spot in the ladies' category! Congratulations to them! Job well done indeed! The rest did play their hearts out and that is what counts. It was also a good opportunity for most of them to meet new people from the Penang Floorball scene. Many of them had the chance to see better teams and players do their stuff on court. It was definitely a good eye-opener for them all. Hopefully this will inspire them to better improve themselves! WC is a testament to highlight the power of sports as a medium to reach out to young people, to empower them and to build them up to be the champion that they can be. Even though it was a 'fun' event for many, our hope here at GSN is that this will be the small opening for us to begin to shape these young peoples' lives. Building Champions! Floorball Workshop: Two Thumbs Up! 03/30/2010
The demand for floorball has been escalating of late. "Floorball, floorball and more floorball!", and so goes the resounding chant of many young people in Penang these days. Indubitably, floorball is gradually picking up and getting momentum, especially in the public schools. As such GSN launched its first ever floorball workshop this year, focussing primarily on secondary school students.  GSN held the workshop at the FRU base at Rifle Range road on the 20th March 2010, a Saturday morning from 9am-1pm. Yes, it was a gruelling 4 hours workshop! It must be acknowledged that the workshop was a collaborative effort between GSN and Team Unihoc, a team consisting of well-equipped, knowledgeable and experienced players. A big thank you to Team Unihoc for stepping in to be part of this workshop! By about 9am, a good number of 26 players arrived with high spirit and anticipation, all ready to absorb every bit of knowledge, skill and advice possible! The workshop focussed on several key elements of floorball such as personal development, offensive and defensive traits and so on. Players were divided into several groups where they were escorted to different "focus station" led by different key players from Team Unihoc. From doing drills that enhances one's understanding on backtracking, fore-checking, body-check, shooting and so on, every player had the opportunity to try-out what they've learnt and also ask as many questions as they want.  Although it was a tiresome 4 hours workshop, all the players were excited and showed no sign of fatigue! Great sport they are! Like all young people alike, what everyone was dying for was game time and what more with the presence of team Unihoc, everybody wanted a taste of a match with them. Game time was of course part and parcel of the programme. However, game time wasn't merely to play and to have fun. It was to be a platform for the players to put together what they have learnt in one piece and hopefully, try to apply them on a real game situation. Players are then able to gain confidence through the process of application. Some managed to execute certain skills and techniques while others weren't. It's okay. The important thing about the workshop is to impart knowledge to the students and to try to help them understand certain techniques and above that, to build their confidence as floorball players. Overall, the workshop went well. Many came back asking for more! It was fun having the students being part of this workshop and to see their burning enthusiasm on court to learn was definitely a bonus. GSN hopes that this workshop has been a fruitful one for all who came. Don't leave behind what you've learnt but start applying them people! You can only grow from henceforth.... Be the champion that you can be!  GSN Floorball Workshop 2010! Chasing Dreams 03/27/2010
Sports CG finally launched its first meeting last Saturday evening at Gateway City Church and it was great! Although only a handful confirmed their interest in Sports CG in the beginning, the turned out was surprisingly overwhelming. In total, nine people attended the meeting. Even though most of the people who attended came from Spearhead Floorball Club, we believe that more people from different backgrounds will eventually be part of this CG as well! Being the first meeting ever, it was to be a light and easy session for a start and what better way to do it than to watch a Sports heart moving movie! Yup, we transformed Gateway City Church from a sanctuary into its very own mini Cinema! The movie is called "Dreamer", which focusses on the character of Ben Crane (played by Kurt Russell) and his daughter Cale (played by Dakota Fanning) as they journey together to save a horse and to chase the dream of winning the biggest horse race. The movie highlighted several good points of which we discussed for a bit after watching it.  We all have dreams in our lives. Some people call it dream while others call them vision, either way it speaks of an end of which we set our minds to achieve. Dream is a powerful thing that enables a person to do great things and to even go through great trials. It drives a person forward. Some people dream of being rich while others dream of travelling around the world. With every dream comes challenges that we will need to face. Challenges that will either make us or break us along the way. In the movie, Ben and Cale Crane had to go through several obstacles before owning the horse they wanted but they persevered through those challenges. Their eyes were locked upon their dream of owning that particular horse. Similarly, as we chase our own personal dream, we need to be aware of the challenges that we may face and to prepare ourselves to face them with courage. What are some of your dreams in life? Why do you think you have those dreams? Are there any particular challenges that you are currently facing in pursuit of your dream? Are you facing those challenges or are you running away from it? Celebrating Chinese New Year! 02/21/2010
Chinese New Year is known for red packets, lion dance, fire crackers and most importantly, family reunion. But above all else, it's the time spent with families that makes it a special occasion. In conjunction with the Chinese New Year season, GSN had their very own sort of reunion with the many people they have had the chance to be in contact with through sports. The reunion, or party as they would call it, was purposed to gather together people from all sports background for a time of getting to know each other, have fun and of course, to celebrate the festive season together as a family. The turned out was good but the whole event was even better. The group of people that attended was mainly students from different schools. A big part of them came from GSN's connection with them through floorball. Being a young and energetic bunch, they were just great to hang out with. The lined up of programmes included a variety of pot bless food, watching the a video of the World Floorball Championship 2008 and a string of wild and crazy games. We even gave out 'ang pows' to them! What exactly was in it? Well, read on and you will find out! It was great to have this young group of people who were very sporting, friendly and crazy enough to have a good time together.  Energetic group of youth! GSN seeks to build champions. Therefore, we see the importance for us to take time to get to know the people that we are in contact with. We had the chance to have little conversations with different individuals through this gathering and it is through such sharing and bonding that we seek to develop their character and virtues in life.  Watching a floorball video.  Preparing themselves for the wild and crazy games! Game time was pure fun! Penny did a good job preparing crazy games for the young bunch to just hang loose. From finger wrestling, to leg wrestling, to eat-as-many-mandarin oranges-as-you-can-in-1 minute, to displaying their 'stage comedian' skills, to charades - everyone had the chance to just be their crazy self and had a good laugh at the same time!  Penny doing a great job with the games!  This is how you do the leg wrestle!  And they all showed their leg power!  Ruben versus Daniel!  The three stooges trying to crack some jokes! As much as we all had fun, we wanted to leave something that was of value to this group of people before they went back home. GSN had a 'lucky draw' with a little twist. Instead of using numbers for the draw, we had inspirational and motivational sports quotes read out as the draw. Remember the 'ang pows'? Well, inside each ang pow that we gave out, we inserted a sports quote! Each sports quote speaks of different key principals and core characters that we felt was important for us to impart on this young group of sports enthusiasts. Such values and principals once caught, can rapidly boost their potential to greater heights and that is exactly what GSN wants to do, to empower people to embrace their potential - to build champions!  Hafiz receiving his lucky draw! At the end of the night, we can truly said that we all had a great time. We truly are thankful for the opportunity that we have to be part of the lives of this young group of people, people with great potential. Although Chinese New Year is already coming to an end, we hope and pray that our meeting with this people will not be just a one-a-year affair, but one that will continue to develop. The birth of Spearhead Floorball Club! 01/12/2010
Gateway Sports has been expanding since day one and it ain't stopping any time soon! From adopting secondary schools for floorball to the birth of GSN's very own floorball club, Spearhead Floorball Club! Spearhead finally launched its first club training last Saturday morning, 11am-1pm at Kompleks Belia. The turned out was great! 21 people came with great excitement. GSN truly believes that Spearhead Floorball Club will continue to grow, in fact GSN believes that it will explode into a club that will be the leading element in the Penang Floorball scene! We are excited for Spearhead. As the governing body to Spearhead Floorball Club, we really want to empower the club to be the best they can be. After all, we want to build people, clubs and teams into champions. (Please click here to go to Spearhead Floorball Club's official blog) |
