SportCares back at the HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens!
As a nation, we are slowly adapting to the new normal with the recent changes to the safe management measures. For SportCares, it meant the opportunity to bring some special events back into our programming. And yesterday was a perfect start for us to do so.
After a long wait, SportCares got to step back into the majestic National Stadium for a community activation clinic led by HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens Ambassadors Nathan Hirayama and Waisale Serevi.
Held on the National Stadium pitch, the clinic saw 11 participants aged 6 to 12 come together with three youth coaches from SportCares’ new community initiative, Project Kind, learning and building upon their fundamental rugby skills from these rugby legends.
It was a little hard for the participants to contain their excitement of being on the pitch of the National Stadium, and it was visible too, with them running around and getting their photos taken by the crew on site. But the moment they saw the legends, Hirayama and Serevi, walking towards them, the excitement turned into nervousness for some and inspiration for a few others.
Without wasting any time, the legends shared some words of encouragement and kicked off the morning with a few drills and activities for the participants. One of them even got to go up against Hirayama during one of the activities.
Serevi, nicknamed “The Wizard” by rugby commentators and widely considered the greatest rugby sevens player in the game’s history, brought the clinic to a close by sharing some memorable words of motivation for the participants. He pointed out the words, believe in yourself, printed on the back of the SportCares T-shirt the participants were wearing and said, “Wish you all the best, and I love the words written behind on your t-shirt. It says believe in yourself, and this is very important. No matter what people say, don’t worry about it, keep believing in yourself”.
We spoke to one of our youth coaches assigned to Project Kind, Nur Shahirah, and she mentioned “I hope that by playing sports, it does not only teach them (the SportCares participants) the importance of physical fitness, but also teaches them life values like having courage, perseverance, and a never give up attitude…From seeing their smiles and energy today, it showed me that they had a lot of fun.”
Echoing similar thoughts was 12-year-old Shazrie Rizki, the participant who got to go up against Hirayama during an activity at the clinic, “I’ve never met a legend before face to face. It was very fun to play with them because they set up very activities that we were practicing in our training programme. Through the rugby programme, I’ve learned how to be calm when faced with challenges.”
We would like to thank the organizers and sponsors for giving us the opportunity to meet the legends and create an impactful event for our participants.
Now we go back to the drawing block to plan the next special event on our calendar.