The Outdoor training

SO the League is over and it's time to work toward WAVE CHALLENGE!!!!

Players been recruited, teams forming and named, it's time to get to the drills

This week's training was held in Hamid Khan, the old place where the FB used to train before moving to the PBSM building. The reason being, flag days was on that weekend so we couldn't use the usual indoor facility.

The weather was awesome, although it didn't seem like there was gonna be any practice at all. It had been raining all morning and the sky was still loaded with clouds till about noon. As we were preparing for the training session, Alex messaged and said no training today due to bad weather and the floor being too wet to do anything so the fanatics thought of an idea.. practicing in our usual arena.. location not to be disclosed due to privacy issues.. but as we were planning... another message came and training was back on..

I have to admit.. it's my first time after so long playing floorball on rough floor.. it was fun though.. even though it was heartbreaking to drag the blades across the stony surface.. still it had to be done.. :)

this time around... training was done with the small posts that would be used in wave challenge.. well i wasn't around long enough to see through the whole thing.. so i'll let the pictures do the talking :) as soon as i get them haha.. Cheerio for now!

EDIT: say helloo to the PHOTOS!

so this is how ya do it.. (ball control)


Gary. Ever-ready to smile for the camera.

James. More inclined to focus on the ball than to mind the camera.

Tim. More inclined to focus on the camera than.. anything else?

After some other drills, after the face-off.

Per Yue looking very calm. Eureka badgering for the ball.

Coach doing what he does best: talking.

Tim doing what he does best.

And while they rested..

Pink Stick vs Blue Shorts.

Pink stick gets yellow ball.

Photographer getting a nice shot.

Photographer getting artsy-fartsy.

One drawback at Hamid Khan: no walls!

End :)

10 -1 or 1 - 0? Super Late Update on The GAME!!

So the PFL is over and it's time for the celebrations? Maybe since we have a good reason to.
The final game for the FireBRANDS was against the Dalat Falcons, one of the top teams in the league and basically the defending champs. Our goal points were down to -12 and we just drew our last game. The stakes were high flying and there were three ways this match could go.

OPtion Uno..
FireBrands Lose.. but put up a good fight with whatever they have left and gain some experience

OPtion Two..
FireBrands draw.. still say at the bottom of the table but at least tied two games

FireBRANDS win and move one notch up. Getting 5th overall in the league. and our cousins the frontliners 300 get a medal!! WooHOO!!

The game started with lots of anticipation as everyone was anxious to know the outcome of this match.. Will the FB previal? Will the Falcons hunt them down? OUr players started off with sparks ready to fly.. (and i mean this in a good way) everyone was excited about the game and ready to play.. our routine warmups, prep-talk and prayer before the game.

So everyone headed to the rink waiting for the whistle to blow.. the stands were full there were people who had to stand beside the seats to watch.. It was the first time in PFL history that a Div2 match had so many in attendance. THings were all pointing in an uncertain yet good looking outcome of the day or so it seemed at first.

The game started and quickly our goal was penetrated.. lets say it's the first time our goal was ever bombed first with the first lineup in field. But the effort was quickly replied by ever so vigilant forward Daniel Tan, powering up and running around the post like a vulture ready to strike and with a chance he managed to score what would be our sole goal for the game. Unfortunately it wasn't one that would hold up the scoreline to a draw.. as the Falcons were quick to react again with constant ramming on the defense. Goal after goal the number flipped and flipped on the scorecard..

The FireBRANDS were still spirited and had hopes of bringing a tie..
The condition of the key players however were in a volley.. Some of them had uneasiness and stomach problems right before the game, whether it was because of the game or some food they ate we don't know.. Another guy had slept at 4 that morning finishing his assignment and presentation.. so the lack of sleep and nutrition definitely was the cause of the puncture..
Finally the coach planned a scoring game for the key players bringing all out and putting in the kids.. we were down to 8-1 and switching between players ready to put in the line of attack but suddenly realizing the outcome.. the coach called the A-team out and let the kids play for experience.. this time we were already down to 10-1 and the kids did a great job in holding that even though they were not really conditioned for it they held up and did clear the ball many times :) Great Job to the undersized troops with oversized zealousness.

Although it ended with a 10-1 scoreline at the end.. although we lost the game, deep in our hearts.. the hearts of Fire, we felt like winners, warriors who never give up even till the end of time. because we are FireBRANDS!!!!

AND.... because we are firebrands... we have a star among us.. CONGRATULATIONS to our goalie Bryan for winning the all-star goalie award..

to read more about the game details please visit borakborak or by clicking here

On the first day of holidays my true love gave to me...

...a bucketful of sweat!

So the whole bunch of old(er) guys (and gals) were at Youth Encounter.

So what?

Training on the 14th went on in the spirit of floorballing, with a good 12 people showing up (including three Frontliners and three girls), and the Coach-who-drove-all-the-way-from-KL-at-3a.m.-in-the-morning-for-the-300-against-Phoenix-match.

Semangat betul!

Latihan bermula dengan pemanasan badan dan diikuti oleh beberapa...

...oh this will never work!

Training kicked off with warm-ups and was followed by a few drills.

Pertama sekali, ULAR-ULAR!

I mean Snakes.

With Coach Jason accentuating over and over and over again about BODY (legs especially!) MOVEMENT.

I don't think the next drill has a name, but here's how it went:
1. Pass to Mikey/Nick.
2. Run to the other side as if it was a life-or-death thing.
3. Mikey/Nick passes back to you.
4. You shoot.

This time the emphasis was on: Always use two hands and keep your blade on the ground.

After some time, step 4 was replaced with:
4. Repeat steps 1-3 and shoot.

Moving on, 3-on-3s!

4 teams. 2 badminton courts (the middle one was left unused). A whole lot of running. Gallons upon gallons of sweat. Beautiful lobs. Passes which kept going out. A tiny goal (two cones). An invisible crease.

What fun!

(Apparently Coach's planning to repeat 3-on-3s often in the future to get some movement/flow among the players. Meaning that the centre doesn't always stick to the centre, the forward doesn't always stick up and the defender doesn't always stay behind. Kena ada itu flow and dynamics: everyone's constantly moving around, switching roles, playing up and down.)

And what did we learn today?

Sri Pelita kid (I didn't notice who): We have girls now.

Oh yeah!

Pergi JenamaApi!

I mean.

Go Firebrands!

The Game We Hoped To Score

So finally we had to face our counterparts in the dreaded league. Although we supported them, although we cheered for them, even though we will continue to cheer for them and hope for the best of their outcome we had to play our best against them. We had to put our mark on the table or be left to scorn.. haha well maybe not that bad but we definitely had to make a statement in this tourney as a fresh new team being ever so vigilant and persistent in the battle for pride and glory.

As our equally coached counterparts came with a massive herd of 15 players possibly, our small barn yard boys were out numbered with only 8 + 1 to face the Spartans. With a face off between two commanded team of one general the team left alone had to pick a sprite for the replacement commander. Lucky for us we had Lin Ken (which and whom we are ever so grateful for/to) giving out tips and guiding us from the spectator's stands and also cheering us on at halftime giving us whatever valuable advise that would help us in our endeavour; our road to glory!!!

With our players only down to 8 running around seem to be a lot more taxing than before. With the main man Mike from the 300 to be wary of someone had to stand between him and the net which our raging Bull, Andrew did. With Jason Ong suffering from a leg injury and our cilipadi Chan Per Yue on leave, our main line was mainly rotating in roles taking turns to move up and stay down. 20 minutes did seem to be a very long time on the court with so many calls to be aware off as we had been penalized for numerous times in one of the previous games we managed to keep it close to none but was detered by James when his stick was found to be in the goalie's crease... sad but oh well.. the team managed to keep the ball away from the goal mouth with the 2 minutes power play.

One highlight of this match would be the penalties for both teams surprisingly. Well the one against us was caused by James from the previous call.. and same was with the other team when we got our chance. Both teams had their goalies come out strong to block the shot but with our lack of experience in taking penalties the young Daniel mistakenly pulled back the ball which caused a disqualified penalty, it's part and parcel of learning this relatively new sport.

All in All it was a good game that we played and hope for the best in the next face off.
Congratulations again to the team and thanks to all our supporters, we finally have one point on the table!

Through a Spectator's Eyes

So, you've heard it from a Fireliner's view, now it's time to hear it from a fireBRANDS' supporter.
Now I may not play floorball (I'm more of a Captain Ball person, you see) or understand the game completely, but I know enough to say that today's match was definitely worth the watch (even though my favourite player, Chan Per Yue was absent from the match)!

Shall I begin with how I was "warmly" welcomed into the court by the Frontliners' Captain, Michael? Yes I think I shall.
So I walked in just behind today's Center, Andrew through the doors closest to where the players were gathered. I then continued my journey cross court to the bleachers where Joyce was seated and where Sarah Khoo was very dutifully opening the blinds? As i passed the side of the court hidden beneath the cap I stole from Le Roy, I had not noticed a floorballer practicing his shooting just beside me until I heard a rather sharp, loud whoosh-ing sound pass me just inches away from my face. Had I been a few seconds later to walk past, I would've met my fate with a floorball ball to my face.
But of course, Captain Frontliner did apologize numerous times as I stood there in shock. Lol. It was sorta funny looking at his facial expression. I think the application of "look right and left and right again before crossing" would've been much to my advantage here if I had known better!

The match only started pass 11 and the rest of the fireBRAND noise-makers were no where to be seen. First half of the match for us started with a bang with Dan scoring yet another first-goal-of-the-match, giving us the lead 1-0. Being the fireBRANDS that we are, we made the whole place a ruckus even though there were only less than 10 supporters by the bleachers..? Ohhh yeahhh, that's the fireBRANDS power right there. LOL. Anyway, the match continued and the kin cheong-ness grew as the first half ended in a 2-1 lead for us :) Oh and not forgetting our very own fireBRANDer who played for the opposing team (haha, it's better than calling you "the fireBRAND who betrayed us", Tania) who fought over the ball with Dan numerous times! It was kinda funny watching no.5 vs no.5 going after the ball. I cheered for you, Tania!!!

The rest of our usual supporters then joined us in time for the second half along with our stand in coach for the day, Linken. Poor guy probably went home without half his hearing after sitting on our side of the bleachers. Nonetheless, I'm sure our team was thankful for his guidance and for giving us supporters even more to cheer for! Linken's words to us before the second half started, "This should be an interesting second-half" (or somewhere along that line, I'm sorry I can't remember the exact words) definitely came true.

Second half of the fireBRANDS vs Frontliners match was nothing short of exciting. The heat was on at it's maximum. The supporters were full-on ready to lose their voices. The weather was getting hotter. The crowd was getting restless. The players were getting tired. The camera batteries were dying.

fireBRANDS' team went full throttle, head-on with their attacks and Bryan's goal defence was at it's peak. We were shocked at Michael's sudden half-court goal which brought the score to 2-2, but we didn't let it bring us down. I missed that shot though. I must've blinked or something. Anyway, our fireBRANDS spirit and ever famous "never say die" attitude was given a loud awakening after that shot and floorballers' engines at turbo speed.

Before we even realised it, the match had come to and end as the final whistle was sounded. And even though we didn't win, we didn't lose either, so that's good :D

So to the fireBRANDS floorballers, game well played! Though saying "well played" may be a bit of an understatement for us who are relatively new to this sport. Keep up the fireBRANDS spirit, you are the fiery floorballers, after all.

To describe your performance today in one word ;- AWESOME.

Thank you for giving us supporters a fun match to watch... and sore throats. You make us proud to be a part of the fireBRANDS :)

Signing out.-

Pictures will be added as soon as
I get my lazy self to upload them into the computer!

by Chew Yan Y

The Fireliner Speaks.

Accused of betrayal, the Firebrand/Frontliner has decided to write a personal account on the recent Frontliners 300 v Firebrands match.


I really don't know why I bothered waking up so early.

I had a healthy two hours before June'd come and fetch me (thank you june!), and I felt like practicing floorball.

Went to get the stick, and guess what? I forgot - it wasn't with me.

Pfft.

So I read Sejarah Tingkatan 4 instead. Yes, before that floorball match I so very badly and desperately wanted to win (partly so that Andrew won't have a chance to scoff at me lol).

..

Gosh the black jersey's huge. I was drowning in it.

..

The morning at Dalat started off with exchanging grins with Andrew while thinking of the repercussions of a loss.

Yup, one thing Firebrands has which Frontliners definitely lacks sometimes: a bunch of supporters.

Really, I didn't know whether to be happy or otherwise to see 'em in one awesome group in the stands.

I think the warm-up was kinda lackadaisical.

..

So the first half was pretty great, for me - at least I got to go in there (the court I mean).

Go in there and chase after that pesky fella (apple-green number 5 with Mikey's old pink stick) who basically ran everywhere.

And so it happened while I was out of court, watching from the sidelines as the ball came towards our goal - Daniel Tan taking very good advantage of the loopholes in 300's defense - and, to say the least, it was messy. Scrappy. The horrible ball-bouncing-helplessly-in-front-of-goal-as-huge-clump-of-people-try-in-vain-to-clear-it scenario.

You could see that everyone's stick was trying so desperately to clear that ball. Except for that one pink blade which kept uncannily calm until the perfect moment and...

...the pink blade slapped the ball.

And the ball went past Soon Khai, and the Firebrands supporters cheered and Daniel Tan was all smiles.

Oh crap.

What a way to start off.

The goal was nothing like the ones from the land where Henrik Quist and Swiss cheese comes from. It was messy. But still, it was a freakin' goal.

..

And after what seemed like really, really long moments, Mikey equalised, thankfully. Great job Mr Cheah.

..

And boy oh boy those Firebrands were quick and more than happy to reply, this time with a beautiful long shot from (correct me if I'm mistaken) Andrew (the big, fat (no offense! but relatively, he was?), hulking number 10) and the ball went past Khai like lightning, flying past the keeper into the top of the net.

EDIT: Sorry. Pesky (you know how he runs everywhere...) number 5 scored that goal, not Andrew.

..

So we shall skip now to the second half, when I didn't get to play, to the dismay of my adoring fans who just came from JYB. Haha.

It's okay I'm used to it. Plus firstly, I wasn't the only one and secondly, cheering from the sidelines still counts.

It was extremely excruciating waiting for an equalizer, which took like forever to come.

Even more dumbfounding was June getting sent off (from the first half, spilled over into the second) once for I-don't-know-what, secondly for walking over to the sidelines once her 2 minutes was over, thirdly for the same reason as the second time. It's okay, we would've done worse without you, June.

Mikey was placed in defense with June/Roselyn backing him up, and Megan centre, and Julian/Tristan/Kenneth as forwards.

And the Coach's (who I forgot to mention lost his voice so Kuan Yang did most of the shouting from the stands instead) plan finally paid off, well into the second half, when one of Mike's terrific long shots found its way past Bryan.

What a relief.

Mikey looked like he'd just won the lottery.

Andrew won't have much scoffing rights after all.

..

That was it for the match, and I wasn't happy, obviously, cuz firstly I wanted to win against Firebrands and secondly, like Carrard said, most of our hopes for a medal went up in flames.

..


Conclusion?

I love being a Frontliner. Darnnn I'm gonna miss you guys.

But still.

I'm a Firebrand. And that's that.

(And yes, it was hard but I've thanked God for the draw, even though I don't like the measly one point when we could've gotten two, but ah well, give thanks for everything.)


One last note: Unfortunately Andrew still managed to scoff mildly at me and I had to endure countless references to the floorball match later that night. Pfft. Though, I admit, as a Firebrand, I'm happy we (Firebrands) got a draw. As a Frontliner though, I'm not satisfied with the draw we (Frontliners) got.

posted by tania loke

The game ahead

FireBrands vs Frontliners 300

This will be an even more interesting game compared to the previous one. why? Because the last one we didn't have our coach with us.. but this time around, not only do we not have our coach with us but we're actually playing against our OWN coach's OTHER team.

I bet you no other teams had to ever do this before lolz... playing against their own coach. lets make it a closer distinction.. coach-less playing against your own coach :D:D now how's that for a start. Being the youngest team in the league, the underdogs and last on the table no to mention the -12 goals under the mark we've had to endure the experience of getting whopped by last years underdogs team who miraculously made it to the top half of the table and 1/3 of the game without "proper guidance".

But we are firebrands, this is where passion begins, this is the fire that never dies and never will, we are FIREBRANDS!! Through hardship and challenges we will prevail strong at will, winners at heart! The score board is not what counts, what counts is the spirit we have to face whatever comes our way!!

God speed fireBRANDS!! play with FIRE!!
again.. the stand in guy is anxious about the outcome :')

Most attendance Training Session...

OK well maybe the title isn't so accurate or maybe it is.. Lol.. but it was quite a huge turnout this first quarter well at least so far..
And that's 2/3rds of the people who are there.. a lot of people I'd say :)
and here's more of the action captured on session...

goalie Bryan.... and the rest of the team... Going through the drills

[left pic]Uhm.. posers?? Lol.. not really (oh spot Ps Edward if you "can't") [right pic] Now that guy was so fast I can't tell who he is.. -.-

and last but not least.....

Da Coach.. Mr Jason Chan...... wonder what was he saying... "toilet that way?" or "GET OUT NOW!!!" certainly didn't seem like it... or maybe "UFO!!" haha oh well that's it i guess..
10 cheers to those who made it :)