This post is four months late, as I’ve been procrastinating on my writing backlog. But with the new season approaching, I want to share this as a symbolic way to wish for a better 2025 season! This is a reflection on my first season coaching the Mixed Team of Malaysia and our journey to the 2024 World Ultimate Championship in Gold Coast, Australia, from August 31 to September 6.
The “Before” Mood
I was incredibly excited to showcase our values, training, and identity on the world stage.
While I often think, “I could have done more,” given the constraints and time, I know I did my best and have no regrets.
The Quotes and Nuggets
I’m obsessed with quotes because they’re cool and beautiful. They convey profound wisdom condensed into a single sentence, capable of resonating and propagating far and wide. Throughout the campaign, I would randomly share quotes with the team, hoping they’d become guiding principles for the culture we aimed to build.
Here are some of the top ones (self-rated):
-
Only if you truly give can you truly receive.
-
If you start seeing your teammate as another person, a friend, you will be able to play for them.
-
There are many things happening around the world every day, but you can choose what to focus on. See the good in your teammates.
-
We don’t care about the past or the future; we focus on the present.
-
Being a competitive athlete means first accepting the possibility of defeat before making sacrifices. Otherwise, you’ll have regrets. We must treat each journey as an unrepeatable experience in life, and winning it is a bonus. (Stolen from Grubby.)
-
三年学说话，一辈子学闭嘴.
-
The line between being straightforward and being rude is thin. We must tread it carefully.
-
Your glory on the field is impermanent. What truly matters are the connections and friendships made along the journey.
One moment that touched my heart was receiving a card from Kai during our phone case exchange session. Seeing “Focus on the Good” written in it made me realize my words had resonated with a fellow player.
The Wind
We expected the wind, but for me, it was stronger than anticipated. Most players were unprepared for such conditions, with only a few having experienced something similar during U24 Perth—and that was six years ago.
On Day 3, every team resorted to huck-and-pray strategies because, with winds above 20-30 km/h, the game changes completely. During our match against New Zealand, I hit my lowest point of the two weeks in Gold Coast. Sitting at the far side of the field, I couldn’t even mutter a word, overwhelmed by frustration. It wasn’t that the team played poorly; it was knowing we’d put so much into the campaign only to face conditions that rendered both teams helpless. I’m grateful to Greg for taking the lead as the main shot caller during that game. Without Greg and George’s support alongside the coaching team, the tournament workload would have been unbearably heavy.
Our strategy factored in the wind, but it wasn’t enough. Some of us struggled with resets. This experience led me to reflect on how we can better prepare for such conditions. Training in Malaysia’s calm climate makes it impossible to simulate strong winds. The only solution that I hace in mind now, is to focus on eliminating throws that are ineffective in windy conditions (e.g., bladey or soft passes lacking spin). With more Tapirs now having faced these conditions, I hope we’ll collectively reinforce this understanding: “This throw won’t work—we were there, and we got smashed.”
Vs Chinese Taipei
This was perhaps the most pivotal game of the tournament. Winning it would have placed us above the top 16, and we believed we had a solid chance. We scouted their team thoroughly, identifying their main players, strengths, habits, and weaknesses.
We had a clear plan going into the game. We prepared a line most comfortable playing against the upwind point. On defense, we set up dedicated matchups against their best players and implemented a team strategy to force the disc sideways.
Under these windy conditions, both teams adopted similar plans: look for hucks to score downwind. Even if it resulted in a turnover, the opponent would have to grind through the upwind to score.
We largely adhered to our plan, and our players executed it well—except for one critical mistake I made as a coach. I didn’t field our best upwind lineup for an upwind D point. The players on the field managed to force a couple of turnovers but couldn’t convert them into a score. It was a painful error, one I corrected in subsequent games. Had I made the right call, the outcome might have been a 1-point game instead of a 3-point gap.
The A-Team
Working alongside Greg and George was a privilege.
We each brought our own flair and approaches to the game, complementing one another and but importantly, we covered each other’s blind spots. Most importantly, we resolved our differences because we shared the same goal:
“To maximize the gain of experience for our player, for the advancement of Malaysia Ultimate”
The Struggles
Beyond the wind, there are more that didn’t go as planned. Here are a few:
-
Opening Ceremony: We had to leave halfway for a last-minute training session to address tactical concerns.
-
Scheduling: As our first large campaign, the schedule planning wasn’t solid. We ended up rushing between cooking (to save costs), team meetings, reviews, next-day preparations, and mental homework. I underestimated the logistical demands, and without a dedicated manager, it was chaotic. Weekiat’s support was a godsend.
-
Multiple Roles: I wore several hats during the tournament, which distracted me from focusing solely on coaching. This impacted the time I could dedicate to individual players on and off the field.
-
Not Winning Games: Losing made everything harder. Though we won two games, we didn’t win the ones where we felt we could cause an upset, If just one win could have made a difference in the team’s morale, it would have also made the coach’s job much easier. When we don’t win, every decision just seems wrong.
While these challenges were tough, what matters is turning them into lessons for future campaigns representing Malaysia.
A Pleasant Surprise
The Spirit of the Game (SOTG) award came as a pleasant surprise. While I’ve always believed in integrity and sportsmanship, I hadn’t emphasized the SOTG as much due to perceived flaws in the scoring system. For example, Kurt Gibson’s perspective on the France vs. Canada Mixed Semifinals resonated with me (video).
Nevertheless, as a coach, my goal isn’t just to work with players to become better athletes but also better people. Winning the SOTG award made me proud of the Tapirs for embodying and showcasing the values we preached.
The Tapirs Film
Special thanks to Jun Hao the man! For creating a wholesome video for the team. Inspired by scenes from the 2024 Paris Olympics, where athletes’ friends and families offered support, I wanted to remind our players that they were backed by many back home. And I knew how powerful can it be for having someone you love to support you by your side.
The goal was to make everyone cry—and we proudly achieved that!
Revise them here: Instagram YouTube
Empty Cup for a New Season
Without club commitments, I had plenty of time off Ultimate Frisbee aside from the national team. After the tournament, I spent 3 months in South America which will most likely be my next blog posts! This relationship with frisbee has refreshed me, and I’m eager for a new season with familiar faces and hungry new joiners to build on what we’ve achieved. Stepping back from ultimate after the tournament was mentally rejuvenating.
I’ve decided to continue coaching—still in my third year of it. Like any craft, coaching takes years to master. My first two years were just me winging up things on the spot. 乱做一番. As I enter my 30s, I’m determined to refine my skills through consistent effort, focusing on depth rather than quick gains that once led me to shift directions too quickly.
.jpg)
And… Some Lighter Moments
And many more moments I regretfully didn’t capture (please share if you have any!)
-
Everyday cooking fun
-
Chill moments on the amazing fields
-
TikTok videos with Greg and George. We were fined because George is always late and we were his buddy.
-
Freezing cold pool moments
-
Team dinner at the beach
-
And more…