Victoria School clinch three-peat in B Division boys’ floorball; Swiss Cottage retain girls’ crown

SINGAPORE – Playing in this season’s National School Games (NSG), Victoria School’s Vincent Hyun has had to adapt.

The 16-year-old, who also plays for local club Black Wondersticks’ youth team, is usually fielded as a forward in a conventional six-a-side format. But he has been deployed as a wing-back defender in the inter-school competition, in which the B Division floorball is played in a five-a-side format.

While he initially struggled to adjust to his new role, his perseverance paid off as his contributions helped Victoria clinch a third straight B Division boys’ floorball title on April 15 with an emphatic 9-2 defeat of Catholic High School at Our Tampines Hub (OTH).

Flying out of the blocks, Victoria raced to a two-goal lead inside the first three minutes, setting the tone for a dominant display.

Vincent, who scored the opening goal after just 1min 25sec, said he was glad to show that he could flourish in his new position.

“I’ve been having to play like a wing-back defender,” Vincent, who is of South Korean descent, said when asked about the positional tweak. “It’s been very difficult for me to transition into a defender and be able to both defend and attack at the same time.

“That’s probably one of the main reasons I struggled a lot this season. But thankfully, (at the) end of the season, I was able to show off what I could do.”

Vincent credited his peers for their encouragement and motivation, saying: “That’s really what pushed me to the edge. They’re the ones that really gave me the extra boost to go the extra mile.”

This will be the last NSG for him and his Secondary 4 teammates as they will be graduating this year, and that gave them something more to play for.

Captain Hazique Nidal, 16, who scored two goals, said: “The Sec 4s, it’s their last year. I could see that they really, really wanted to win this title and that’s why we went inside the court and gave it our ultimate best.”

Coach Jatin Nair agreed, adding: “It’s going to be bittersweet because we’re quite close to this group, and we’re going to miss them. But we’re happy it ended on a very sweet note.”

Despite the disappointment of the defeat, Catholic High captain Julian Teoh said his team put up “a good fight”. He added: “We fought to the end, and I think that’s what’s worth it.”

In the B girls’ final, defending champions Swiss Cottage Secondary School retained their title by thrashing Tanjong Katong Girls’ School in the final.

It was a scrappy match until the third and final period when Swiss Cottage suddenly ran away with it. A flurry of five goals put the game beyond Tanjong Katong, and just like the boys’ final, it ended 9-2.

Swiss Cottage captain Durga Devi, who netted one of the goals in the late scoring spree, called it a true team effort. “It was all through hard work. Better mentality. We all learn from each other,” she said.

Another goalscorer, Deanna Ellysha, had a nasty fall after the start of the second period, forcing her to withdraw from the court temporarily before returning for the third period.

“Even though I fell down, I never gave up because of my teammates and teachers’ encouragement,” she said. “And it led me to scoring another goal which lifted the team’s mentality and confidence.”

Coach Nahendran Alagappan was proud of his team, particularly Deanna’s ability to pick herself up despite her difficulties. “She asked for it,” he said. “She was feeling okay (after the fall), so she wanted to give a last 100 per cent.”

Tanjong Katong captain Ganesan Gabashiha said her team were not too disheartened to finish as runners-up, adding: “We’re really grateful for this opportunity to be playing at OTH and I think our team is satisfied with our achievement.”