From Cuddles to Courtside: Baby Steps into the Sports Arena
"Open your eyes, ref!", "Referee kayu !", "That was a foul, ref!" These were the words that involuntarily escaped my mouth as I stood courtside, watching my daughter represent her school in the recent MSSD Petaling Perdana Under-12 Handball tournament. It was her debut in a team sport, and let me tell you, the rollercoaster of emotions was in full swing. With each goal she scored (three in total, to be precise), my pride swelled like an overinflated balloon. But alas, her school's journey came to an end in the group stage, winning one game and losing three. As the tournament approached, I found myself in an interesting predicament. You see, I knew next to nothing about handball, apart from what I gleaned from sporadic TV viewing, usually during the Olympics. But armed with memories of my father, or as I affectionately call him, Papa, and his tenure as my field hockey coach, I ventured into coaching territory. Hey, sports are sports, right? So, I borro...