Life as an "Elite Junior"
Life as an "Elite Junior"
22 Dec 2021
How would I sum up life as an “elite junior”?
Non-stop squash and school!
As an elite junior player, I regularly competed in international tournaments before Covid started and still play local tournaments and currently play in the division 5 men's league matches weekly for the Football Club. What I've realised about playing in the men's league is that the higher you move up divisions, the men I play against will get less courteous and will do whatever it takes to win. Personally, I think playing in the men's league is great as it benefits my game and helps make me tougher player. Since the men I play with are more physical and play at a faster pace than women do, I am forced to get used to playing at a faster pace and for longer periods of time. As of now, I represent Singapore and am part of their national squad, but since I live in Hong Kong, I train here and attend local regional training every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
In the days in between, I organise games and training sessions with friends at the Football Club and play lots of friendly matches (which are always really fun). However, I am also a full-time student in my final year of high school and admittedly, balancing being an athlete and a student can be really challenging at times (trust me). But don’t worry! I’ve learned quite a few ways to balance this.
Firstly, it really helps to organise and live my life according to a calendar. Or at least to just regularly update my phone calendar and reminders whenever a new task comes in, so whenever you have free time, you can check the list of things you need to complete.
Next, I allocate a specific amount of time to complete those tasks. For example, squash training: 2 hours. Or, economics chapter 10 reading: 1 hour 30 min. This really helps me properly plan my time out and has the added benefit of making me really look forward to my free time!
Lastly and most importantly, I make sure I have time to myself and take breaks when I need them!!! Breaks are very important to keep you going in the long run, so I definitely schedule these in when deserved. Remember - work hard, play hard!
Life as an elite junior can be challenging at times but it’s also extremely rewarding. To all my teammates and training partners, thank you for training with me, and I hope we continue to win all our matches this season!
Paige Hill