The 3 Rs and the game we hold so dear to our hearts

Article by SG Basketball Coach Victor Tan

SG Basketball Family Year-end Outing in December 2019

COVID-19 has given us a new normal, with home-based learning being a huge feature for the students in Singapore. Amongst the assignments lavished upon my two kids, I found one topic particularly interesting. The 3 Rs of protecting the environment- Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

The letter R plays an equally significant role in another environment, our WORKING environment, but with a twist.

A working environment in basketball involves many parties, such as coaches, players and parents. In the coaching corner, we coaches are used to be the dominant figure in the set up - incessant barking of instructions to our players, setting team rules and essentially moulding the team in our image. We are passionate about our work and set everyone a high standard to attain. However, over time, an unwanted by-product or phenomenon rears its ugly head. We tend to speak more than we listen. It is either “My way or the highway”.

The writer has more than two decades of coaching experience. Two decades of championship winning experience can play tricks on your mind, inevitably crowning one as the center piece of the universe. Sometimes I fear I have lost the ability to listen.

Adding the 3 wrong Rs - Reckless, Rigid and Refuse, to our working environment can be hazardous.

A FACTION of true purpose can become a FRACTION of what it is meant to be.

While we are meant to TAP into the potential and strength of our players or colleagues, instead we dwell upon their weaknesses and get TRAPPED in a web of negativity.

The game we love. The game we hold DEAR to heart, becomes DREARY in an instant.

Removing the right R can have similar dire effects. A BROTHER can easily become a BOTHER. A partner in arms can disintegrate into an apparition of pain and loathe the sight of each other.

Fortunately, here at SG Basketball, we practice RESPECT, RESOLVE and RECIPROCATION. We reinvent. I have learnt so much from my colleagues. From the original venue of Kaki Bukit, then to Turf City and to the newest Under Armour Court at Chai Chee’s Viva Business Park, our rapid growth is due to the great stewardship from our management and all the right Rs practised among our team of coaches. Complying with the latest government regulations, we will continue to refine our coaching methods and processes to meet the needs of our trainees, parents and business partners. We are RESOLUTE in presenting the best version of ourself at every turn.

I am honoured to be a part of the SG Basketball family. May the R in our slogan “Rise As One” steer us through this storm and conquer more new frontiers in the near future.

Better times last year pre-COVID where we had fun as a big family at a family karaoke session