Coach, mentor, nanny – MGS softball coach Elaine Chua wants to instil lifelong values
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Methodist Girls' School softball coach Elaine Chua has spent 19 years with the school, winning multiple titles.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE – Cutting an imposing figure on the field, softball coach Elaine Chua is often seen screaming instructions at her charges during games.
A self-described “coach, mentor and nanny”, the 44-year-old led Methodist Girls’ School (MGS) to the B Division championship this season and most recently guided the C girls to a runners-up medal against Nanyang Girls’ High School.
Chua has won multiple titles with them across both divisions since working with them from 2005 – they were C Division champions in 2010, 2013, 2016, 2022, 2023 and B Division winners from 2017 to 2019, 2023 and 2024.
She also coaches MGS Primary and Maris Stella High School (Primary) and also in the A Division with Anglo-Chinese Junior College.
She told The Straits Times: “I’ve been coaching since 2003 and have learnt a lot of coaching styles. But most importantly, how to be strict, yet know when to be able to share a joke with the girls. Sometimes they share their troubles with me like a friend.
“Sometimes they (former students) come up to me and say hi or text me after many years asking to meet up for a meal.”
One of them is former MGS softball captain Jolyn Ho, who meets up with Chua regularly despite leaving the school over 12 years ago.
Ho, 28, who is now a dentist, said: “Coach Elaine’s impact goes beyond the game. As a coach, she got us to reflect on our experiences together as a team.
“Guiding us through the tough moments in our training and games, she instilled in us values of perseverance, teamwork, and resilience that will stay with us for life.”
On her bond with Ho, Chua said: “We started with a typical coach-player relationship, mostly communicating about team-related matters since she was the captain and naturally received instructions from me.
“After she graduated from junior college, we began hanging out more and talking about things beyond the team. We became friends who respect each other, but of course, once a coach, always a coach. So, she still gets a bit nervous when I suddenly call or shout her name.”
Chua hopes to promote the MGS values of “godliness, excellence and love” in her players even after they graduate, noting that she also wants them “to learn resilience and respect”.
One of the more memorable moments in her coaching career was during the 2013 C Division final, where they were down 17-0 and she had to rally the girls.
She said: “Tanjong Katong Girls’ School came out strong, and we struggled to find our rhythm, feeling desperate and lost as nothing seemed to go our way, despite my efforts to calm the team during a timeout, the girls were mentally defeated.”
But they pushed through after her pep talk and turned things around in the third inning to beat TKGS 20-19.
She added: “It was an intense, draining game, but this episode taught me resilience, to never give up and better prepare for future challenges. I don’t usually see much crying in the changing rooms, but I always tell my girls, ‘if you are going to cry, cry tears of joy’.”
MGS softball coach Elaine Chua wants to instil lessons of resilience and respect in her girls.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
Besides coaching seven days a week, Chua also works as a clinic assistant with a chiropractor on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. To cope with the demands of the job, she believes that it is important to have balance.
She added: “My passion for the sport kept me in it. Sometimes I play softball with my friends during my free time, but it is important to try out different things to prevent burning out as well.”
