SYG

Heavy eyes, tired legs and a sore back are the results of a weekend at the State Youth Games (SYG). I was dumbfounded at the amount of churches that camped out at the Warrigal caravan park, around 50 in all!!! It was like a mini-community with kitchens, a moive arena, a concert hall, toilets, dirt tracks, and lots of other facilities.

It was FREEEEZING COLD when we got there at 8pm on Friday. I'm not joking... i NEVER expected it to be half that cold. The fog surrounding us was so dense that you couldn't see 5 metres ahead. My hands went numb almost immediately and i just didn't feel like moving. It was a natural freezer. Going to sleep was difficult last night; i woke up every hour because of the chills that penetrated my sleeping bag.

I played Soccer and Table Tennis on Saturday. Managed to get through to the semi-finals in Soccer after 2 draw and 2 wins in the group stage. Jin, Phan, Naan, Dieg and i formed the "leadership group" (Jin's idea) and lead by example on the field. It was CRAZY! I like a random rover running up in attack and defence; playing all three positions. Yea, the opposition were really rough though. Jin and Phan got corked in the thighs; Jin cramped up in both legs while Phan ended up limping at the end of the day.

I wasn't spared either -.-" I got shoved around and mocked at because of my size. This random dude attempted a full-blooded volley clearance, but his boot connected with my neck (just below the vocal cord) as i was through on goal -.-" The ref gave me a free-kick, which i converted, but that foul was horrendous! I didn't feel it then, and i just pretended to wince in agony, but i sure am feeling the effects right now. My throat feels all bruised, and i tend to cough for no reason x.-"
Well, we scored 3 goals and kept cleansheets for all our games in the group stage. However, we got thrashed 3-0 in the finals against Mitchem and their MASSIVE 20+ year old players -.-""" They were way outta our league, but Phan, Jin and i managed to tease them a little. lol! I got one of them so pissed with my stepovers and body shielding that he angrily shoved me over. Oh... i scuffed two one-on-one chances with the keeper... lol! THinking about it now... we wouldn't have lost if i had converted those chances =(

Table-tennis was rather boring. I won my first two matches with 2-0 scorelines, and i got knocked out in the quarter finals to a friend of mine, Shiwen. haha! He's a good bloke. Anyway... we had pasta for dinner along with delicious home-made Chicken and Corn soup! Boo yah!!! I was used to the extremely cold conditions by then, so that made sleeping easier. Oh... i love the times when a group of us would sit around that "bon fire" to have a lil chat. That warm feeling while dazzling at the dancing flames, along with the good company of friends, gave me a lil taste of heaven.

We set out at 8.30am for Indoor Soccer on Sunday. The rules were a lil dodgy, but we managed to get through the 3 group stage matches with 5 goals and straight clean sheets - 1 draw and 2 wins. That put us in the semi-finals against Sale. That's a game that i'll never forget. We dominated the entire match, but were unable to slot one past their AWESOME keeper. We had about 10 good shots on target, but all of them were saved. Anyway... here comes the AMAZING part..

The match turned into a fight for endurance as the ref blew for a Golden Goal Extra Time (meaning that the first team that scores wins). HOWEVER, we had to play with 3 players and NO KEEPER!!!! LOL! That made us fully exposed to counter-attacks; Jin, Naan and i were on. Naan stayed in goals while Jin and i continued to dominate the game. A random dude got so frustrated and tired that he took a full-blooded swipe at my calf. -.-"""" That really hurt...but i had to play on. Jin and i continued to pile on many shots on target, but the keeper stood resolute. Just as fatigue started to creep into my legs, the Naan chipped a long ball to Jin, who calmly took it down with one touch and volleyed it into the back of the net with the next!!!! LOL! HE ALMOST TOOK THE NET OFF!!!!! Jin you LEGEND!!!! =))))) We were through to the finals!!!!

Jin and i were dead tired and Phan was suffering from the injuries coped from Soccer the day before. Still, we held a tight defence against a formidable TLC side who had three skilful players on the move. It all happened so quickly, but i took the ball from our defence, took a touch round a defender and blasted the ball which swerved into the bottom right corner =))) LOL! Apparently, the keeper had no chance, but i don't remember a thing! The spectators burst out in amazement as the entire team gathered for a group huge. haha! That was an amazing experience... one that i'll NEVER forget. Jin, Phan, Dieg, Naan, Matt, James and Tony put in fantastic performances to finish the match off 1-0. =))) That crowned us Indoor Soccer Champions!!! BOO YAH!!! WELL DONE GUYS!!!

gtg for dinner now... Australia vs Japan at 11pm tonight!!! Don't miss it!