{"id":3380,"date":"2010-02-26T10:23:42","date_gmt":"2010-02-26T15:23:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.wykontario.org\/?p=3380"},"modified":"2010-03-02T20:46:00","modified_gmt":"2010-03-03T01:46:00","slug":"the-sporting-life-at-wyk-iiithe-football-fields","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wykontario.org\/?p=3380","title":{"rendered":"The Sporting Life at WYK III\t(The Football Fields)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Small Field<\/span><\/p>\n

When you enter the school through the main gates at Waterloo Road, you can see a driveway rising directly in front of you.\u00a0 Immediately to your left, you can go up a few steps and will see a small, rectangular field, about 40 feet wide and running east about 120 feet towards the northeast corner of the WYK campus.<\/p>\n

This first and smallest field is obscured by the much larger Grass Field rising about another 8 steps to its south.\u00a0 It was least used by the students.\u00a0 Close to the entrance and thus the shortest exit, people from the neighboring community would use it regularly, especially in the mornings and at dusk.\u00a0 In those hours, you can see football and badminton play, individual and small group exercises – some with Chinese swords and spears, dogs and other pets.<\/p>\n

Lined with trees and shrubs, secured by high fences, there is an intimacy with this field.\u00a0 During the 1960s and to this day, WYK allowed the public to use it – one of the many contributions made to the community.\u00a0 It can be called The Community Field.<\/p>\n

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A Grade 66<\/p><\/div>\n

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B Grade 66<\/p><\/div>\n

The Grass Field<\/span><\/p>\n

Going up the stairs, or just continuing up the driveway, you will see the Grass Field.\u00a0 This is a major feature of WYK: what we were known for.\u00a0 The entire west sideline runs close and parallel to Wyliy Road.\u00a0 Separated by sloped grades and fence, it was also tree lined.\u00a0 You can see the traffic on Wylie Road, and people in their vehicles or pedestrians can see the green grass.\u00a0 Over the years, when I told people I attended WYK, many would say, \u201cyes, you have that football field.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Grass Field is actually small in size for regulation play.\u00a0 But young teenagers growing up in Hong Kong, it was big.\u00a0 It was also meticulously kept and vigilantly guarded by Father Cryan.\u00a0 The grass felt like carpet.<\/p>\n

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The school teams practiced there, with some PT classes or the occasional games, depending on the condition of the field, and as allowed by the school.\u00a0\u00a0 More importantly, matches were played there \u2013 inter-class, inter-house, and inter-school.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the afternoons when matches were played, we would get changed after class as fast as possible.\u00a0 For the big games against other schools, we might be excused from class a little early, so the opposing teams would be warming up when teachers and students streamed out from the classrooms after the bell had rung.<\/p>\n

In those matches, you could see a few hundred students, joined by teachers and priests.\u00a0 They stood at the sidelines, or sat up the slope between\u00a0the chapel and the main building, facing the field.\u00a0 In most match afternoons, I would see amongst students, my friends and teachers.\u00a0 Mr. Francis Kwong, in his impeccably tailored suit, was usually at the sideline, cheering us on with Fr Kennedy, Fr Finneran and others.\u00a0 You would expect Mr. Ho and Fr Reid up the slope, standing on the overflowing bank, keeping a bird’s eye view and assessing the proceedings.<\/p>\n

Excitement filled the air.\u00a0 The noise and sudden roar of the crowd in close proximity escalated our efforts.\u00a0 The contests were usually close, at least for a large part of the matches.\u00a0 Time, space and motion felt differently: acute, concentrated, at times heart thumping.\u00a0 The one goal games were memorable.\u00a0 We would be elated at the winning, despaired with the loss.<\/p>\n

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A Grade 67<\/p><\/div>\n

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4x100_67<\/p><\/div>\n

The players I recall on this field were Joseph Wong and his brother John, Lau Po Kwong, Kwok Wai Kee and Ng Ping Ching.\u00a0 It is a privilege to have played there.<\/p>\n

The Sandy Field<\/span><\/p>\n

You can go up to the Sandy field only from the walkway, passing by the table tennis area and the office of our Physical Education teachers.\u00a0 In those days, Mr. Chu and Mr. Mui would be around there, giving you greetings or talked sports with the students.<\/p>\n

This is a field for 7-a-side play, although at that age, any larger number could join.\u00a0 It was all sand, fringed by small patches of grass at the far edges.\u00a0 On dry and windy days, the dust will rise and swirl.\u00a0 After a game, you would find sand inside your shoes.\u00a0 Your skin, hair, and clothes were dusty.<\/p>\n

This is the place where most of us started football and where the most number of games were played.\u00a0 PT Classes, Football Classes, pick-up games before and after school, games in the midday sun were all played there.\u00a0 Very often, a few games were being played simultaneously. Almost every student had played there.<\/p>\n

We were used to the sandy surface.\u00a0 On this field, you have to be able to glide and slide, in addition to the moves of playing football.\u00a0 There were students who mastered the surface and excelled in their games.\u00a0 Amongst many others, Tony Feng and Charles Yip were skillful and brilliant.\u00a0 Eddie H.K. Wong, Lau Po Kwong, Timothy T.H. Choy had flashing speeds\u00a0 I played a lot with David Chong, Andrew Chu, Tse Tak Keung. Ted Hsiung, Philip Chan and Shiu Sin Por, especially from Form 1 to Form 4.\u00a0 There were times when I felt we lived there.<\/p>\n

The Sandy Field changed with the seasons.\u00a0 In the fall, it was usually warm and comfortable.\u00a0 As it turned to winter, the air became heavier.\u00a0 Dry and windy days brought on the fore-mentioned dust, even cracks on your lips and skin.\u00a0 Then spring arrived.\u00a0 There was sweetness in the air, punctuated by the periodic rain when the air was clean and the dust disappeared.\u00a0 Up on the west slope, there would be all shades of freshly green.<\/p>\n

We played under any and all conditions.\u00a0 All games were good.<\/p>\n

The Sporting Life<\/span><\/p>\n

Three years ago I was in Hong Kong.\u00a0 On a late October afternoon, I went to WYK.\u00a0 I went up to the chapel, and walked the angled pathway to the open corridor of the main school building.\u00a0 The School Hall was there across the parking lot.\u00a0 Then I walked down a bit of slope and down the stairs, towards the table tennis area.\u00a0 The grass on the Grass Field was a faded green, with patches of earth running along the centre, from goalposts to goalposts.<\/p>\n

I went up the stairs to the Sandy Field.\u00a0 It was paved to a hard surface in the 1970s. I had walked on it many times in the 1980s.\u00a0 A game was going on and I watched for a few minutes.<\/p>\n

Exiting the fields, I walked down the driveway.\u00a0 Somewhere behind the chapel and the watching area of the bank, the sun had started to cast shadows on my path.\u00a0 Approaching the exit, I turned to look at the Grass Field, and towards the Sandy Field beyond, at those fields of dreams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Small Field When you enter the school through the main gates at Waterloo Road, you can see a driveway rising directly in front of you.\u00a0 Immediately to your left, you can go up a few steps and will see … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[117],"tags":[115],"class_list":["post-3380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports","tag-tim"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wykontario.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wykontario.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wykontario.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wykontario.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wykontario.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3380"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wykontario.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3589,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wykontario.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3380\/revisions\/3589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wykontario.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wykontario.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wykontario.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}