Student-athletes far from sitting back at home

When the circuit breaker extension to June 1 was announced, swimmer Maximillian Ang could not help but feel disappointed.

The 19-year-old SEA Games bronze medallist, who trains at the Singapore Sports School (SSP), has not been able to swim for three weeks now.

SSP athletes, whose training routines have been disrupted after circuit breaker measures kicked in on April 7, have had to make do with working out at home. They are also now spending more time watching and analysing videos of matches while juggling academic lessons.

"We miss being in the water and we're afraid that our performance and water feel will be affected," said Mr Ang, a sports and leisure management student in a diploma programme jointly conducted by SSP and Republic Polytechnic.

He and his teammates perform visualisation exercises of racing at the pool. "It's an exercise we do before competitions, but now, it really helps us to feel the water. And we are becoming better students of the sport. Usually, we don't have much time to analyse races," he said.

His teammate Clydi Chan, 16, a Secondary 4 student, said: "Even though I miss the water, I try to look on the bright side and use this circuit breaker more productively.

"We get to rest more, which is quite rare for us. It's good to catch up on school work and we are able to do more land-based exercises."

They have adjusted to a different routine for home-based learning: Academic lessons start in the morning and last until the afternoon. For all SSP student-athletes, physical training starts at 4pm and lasts about 1½ hours.

Mr Ang and Clydi meet their squad of about 20 swimmers and two coaches for online training, which includes core strengthening and body weight exercises, from Mondays to Fridays. "Exercising brings the team together," said Clydi. "We don't have to be physically together to stay bonded and we support one another to make sure we progress."

She added: "We're not burning as many calories as before, so we have to also watch what we eat so we don't gain weight."

SSP Secondary 4 student and footballer Irfan Iskandar Iskandar is in the same boat. Since he cannot play with his team for now, his home-based training includes ball control and footwork drills with the help of a wall. He runs up 10 flights of stairs at his block and does core strengthening exercises.

"Once a week, the team meet online to work out and we take a video of our daily exercise to send to our coach," said Irfan, 16. They also watch videos of football matches and discuss players' performance.

Said Irfan: "Because of limitations, we can't really train ball possession or play as a team. But I just take this opportunity to work on my strength. On days of no training, I will still do my own exercise drills."

Still, cancelled sports meets - local and international - have dampened students' spirits.

SSP principal Ong Kim Soon, 53, said: "(There was) disappointment initially because some competitions lead up to higher-level ones. But with the Olympics postponed, it has helped to ease some pain."

Acknowledging fears that students' performance might be affected, he said this period is a chance to self-reflect and adapt.

"With training done remotely, students need to be more self-directed and take more ownership of their growth and development. Coaches also have to let go a little," he said. "Now that things have slowed down, it gives (the students) time to think about why they are training, their own strengths and weaknesses."

SSP shooting academy head coach Lim Chea Rong, 40, said training had to be modified as students could not take equipment home.

The athletes have physical training at least three times a week, and a theory lesson. One day is set aside for those who need more attention.

"It's easy to monitor and correct their posture face to face, but we can't see very clearly through the individual screens," said Ms Lim, adding that coaches had to quickly find ways to engage students.

"It will take some time for athletes to go back to their previous form. But we try not to just look at what we've lost, but what we've gained."