Brighton Yip
What is an average CCA session like?
A weekly affair, we would all gather at the courts on Wednesdays and Thursday, loud and zestful as we change into our sportswear. We would chit chatting about the events that had happened during the day. Test, scoldings, anything that goes. We would leave for the courts when the other CCAs start setting up their training avenue and leave when the sun goes down or when the tennis ball is hardly visible from the gloom.
On court, training was hardly ever stringent. We played matches, carried out fundamental drills but most importantly, banter each others mistakes. Balls went missing, strings snapped, but the one thing that stayed present throughout was everyone’s laughter, and that I would say separates us from the rest of the CCAs.
What do you enjoy most about your CCA?
Just being on court with my teammates is what I enjoy most. It’s the time of the day where we forget all our worries, and play the sport we love. Our coaches taught us to play the game, but what we learned was to love the game.
As seniors, what is your CCA looking out for in prospective members?
Though we may have missed out on any silverware this year, and do hope that the succeeding batches have the ability to claim the trophy, what we are truly looking out for is members that will learn to love tennis. Only then would they have the passion, determination and tenacity to train hard for what they want to achieve.
What do you think was the highlight for your CCA last year?
Being one game away from the semifinals and proving doubters wrong about who were were. We were a new school, unheard of and even look down upon, with no history of anything, we created history by being the first CCA team to reach quarters, only to fall short by one game to the school that eventually placed third. This achievement solidified the unity and chemistry within the team – to trust one another and work together for better results in the next year. Love means nothing to us, because we don’t give up till the very last ball has been hit.
Megan Elizabeth Ong
What is an average CCA session like?
Training sessions with the guys and the girls are worlds apart. With the girls, we do our best to make the most out of our training, being serious where we should but also having a few laughs and mid-training gossip sessions during breaks. With the guys, it often feel like you’re teleported to a wet market, where banter is the exclusive dialect, but they use it as a tool to spur each other on and push themselves to be their best.
What do you enjoy most about your CCA?
More than just CCA mates, we celebrate our successes together and carry our shared losses as one TEAM. Even when things don’t look in our favor, our girls never lose faith and support each other through it all, continually lifting each other up. Tennis may seem like an individual game, which even I have always had the impression of in my decade of playing the sport. However, this past year-and-a-half changed my perspective and taught me to play not just in a team, but FOR a team.
As seniors, what is your CCA looking out for in prospective members?
We want people with a keen interest in the sport, diligence and resilience to spur them on when trainings get tough, and most importantly, a sense of commitment — to the CCA and to themselves — to drive them to persistently train hard and aim to maximize their potential.
What do you think was the highlight for your CCA last year?
For me it would probably be our tennis BBQ. During training sessions, we’re split into our respective teams at different time slots so we don’t get to interact with each other much. The BBQ was probably the first time our entire CCA managed to come together and I think it was a rather pivotal moment for us. It set the foundation as we welcomed our J1s this year and came together as one full tennis CCA. Being a captain of this amazing team has been such a surreal experience for me, and I’m so grateful to have been a part of EJ tennis.
The Origin* 