The water polo match of my life - first draft

Now this is the story that was requested by my teacher and I believe this story has to be one of the masterpieces among all the stories and essays that I have written so far. Hope you will enjoy it and please input all good and pleasant comments in the cbox. Thanks a lot and help is much appreciated.

I was on my way to water polo Singapore National Team training when a wave of nostalgia swept past me, the very moment I drove past Hwa Chong Institution. I recalled the swimming pool within the prestigious institution was once my very training ground while I was in secondary school and junior college. Without hesitation, I made a detour down to the Co-Curricular Activities Board (CCAB), which was a stone’s throw away from the institution. In a jiffy, I arrived at my destination. The scene was reminiscent for the swimming pool in CCAB was the location where the A-Division National Finals was held. A flashback of the past instantaneously appeared in my mind and my mind transformed into a movie projector, re-enacting the day of the A-Division National Finals.

On the day of the A-Division National Finals, the entire team had a surge of confidence rushing through us and were one hundred percent sure that we would trash our opponents, ACJC and emerge as victors. We anticipated that history would repeat itself and we would be claimed as the champions for we have done so during the C-Division and B-Division National Finals. After a period of time, the match was about to commence in several minutes. Nicholas, the team captain and I exchanged glances and we nodded knowingly with confidence in our eyes and the fighting spirit that was within us, the drive to win the championships. The whistle went “BEEH” and the match was in session. Being the ace of my team, I propelled myself forward with long powerful strokes, with my eyes riveted on the ball at all times. In the first three quarters of the finals, I was full of energy and had scored all of my five shots with dead accuracy and immense power. The goalkeeper tried to save my shots, but his efforts were futile. However, we were caught off guard when the team from ACJC retaliated, they fought back and the score was tied up in a short span of time. The score was neck to neck, one moment we were leading, the next they had turn the tables on us. Both teams had to push beyond their limits in order to known as the winners. At the end of the third quarter, the score was seven – six, we were only ahead of ACJC just by one goal.

Now, this was a crucial moment, the last quarter would determine the end result of the match, whether we win or lose. The coach gave us a pep talk and pointed out our weakness and the flaws in our gameplay. He even told us to incorporate some of the techniques that would bound to help us escape from our defenders and get ahead of him. The pep talk gave us new energy and boosted our self-confidence. During the start of the last quarter, ACJC unleashed their “secret weapon”, that water polo player was approximately one hundred and eighty six centimeters tall. He was substantially larger than all of us, and I instantly knew that he had the ability to overpower us effortlessly. Indeed, he was the powerhouse of the ACJC water polo team. In less than a minute that the last quarter started, he banged against us and that blow felt like a massive weight had crashed onto our chest. He then immediately penetrated our fortress of defense and scored the equalizer. That equalizer was what infuriated me, incurred my wrath. Enraged, I played seriously rough and attempted to score a goal in order to tie up the score. There was just one problem, I let my anger let loose and get the better of me. I could not remain calm, the thought that was revolving around my mind was that no matter what circumstances, I must score the goal.

The clock was ticking and there was only a minute left before it was the end of the match, it was indeed an insane rush against time. Now we were facing two incredibly strong opponents, ACJC and time. In the last five seconds of match, the powerhouse player from ACJC droved in and charged towards goal, scoring the winning goal. That was it, the defeat of the Hwa Chong Junior College water polo team. I could not face up to reality. Being the champions for two nationals in row, this was unacceptable. The word “defeat” had never existed in my dictionary before. I stood rooted to the same spot for a few minutes, my mouth agape with obvious disbelief. I was traumatized and rendered speechless for the fact that we were the first runner-ups instead of the champions. At that juncture, the floodgates burst and rivers of tears streamed down my flushed cheeks.

Luckily, Nicholas, the captain of the team was there. He gave me encouragement and that losing is not the end of the world. There will always be another competition sometime in the future. Then, I plucked up my courage and decided to face the truth and accept defeat. It is impossible to reverse time and return back to two hours ago and get a second chance at winning the A-Division National Finals.

Although this incident happened some years back, furthermore now that I am a Singapore National Team player and I get to represent the nation in worldwide competitions such as the Olympics and the Sea Games. I have learnt that some times one must accept the fact of losing in order to improve his skills and technique. As the saying goes “ life is not always a bed of roses”, one is bound to face obstacles along the pathway of life. Therefore, one must never even harbor the thought of giving up. As long as you have that kind of mindset, you will be able to overcome all odds and you would be able to succeed in whatever you do.