In it to win it

Today’s post was written by Carlos Lichty, who is doing his service at the Laboratory Middle School at Satya Wacana University in Salatiga.

For my service assignment, I was placed at a local Christian Middle School named UKSW SMP here in Salatiga in Central Java. My main duties included teaching and assisting with English and PE classes. However the first week I found myself with more loosely based work which varied daily. One such day I was sitting in a shared office space when the PE teacher came around the corner and asked if I knew how to play ping pong. I jumped up excitedly with a “yes” as I followed him into one of the main areas of the school where there was a table, two paddles and a ball waiting for me. The PE teacher, whose name is Pak Peter, then walked away and quickly produced a student who entered the ping pong area. We introduced ourselves and I found out that his name was Ellyananda wahyu jati, and he was also quite the ping pong player. It became clear very quickly that they wanted me to practice with Ellyananda in preparation for his upcoming tournament just a few days away. As a preface, I have actually played a fair bit of ping pong in my day, whether it be intense matches with my dad, or long drawn out afternoons with my friends in their basement. That being said this student was really good and I found myself having to adapt to his concentrated playing style that kept me on my toes. The beauty of these sessions was that we both benefited from each other, and it was also clear that there was progress being made. I was able to show him a new way of serving that made it hard to know where the ball was going, and he showed me a different kind of form for hitting my forehand shots. I had been missing playing this amazing sport so not only was I happy to help but it also made the day fly by. After our last session, we sat and shared some water as the middle of the day Indonesian heat can really take a lot out of you.

 

The next day was the start of the long awaited tournament and I was told that morning that I was able to go! They told me they wanted me there as a secondary coach behind Pak Peter (but I think mostly for moral support). That morning I was taken bright and early at 7:15AM by motorcycle to a nearby school that would be hosting the tournament. I was driven by another teacher, Pak Aldo, as we met up with Pak Peter and Ellyananda inside of a large gymnasium. The gym was already filled with people from parents to coaches to the very students who would be competing. This tournament was  represented by schools all across Salatiga where students from SD’s (elementary) SMP’s (Middle School) and SMA’s (High School), would compete in a double elimination style tournament to see who was the best in all of Salatiga. The students were split up into their three age brackets and we learned that 15 others would be competing in the SMP bracket along with Ellyananda.

 

We all found a seat near the action and started to survey the competition. As we watched others warm up it became very clear that this tournament was no joke. These students were hammering the ball at each other and returning well struck shots back and forth. I had to remind myself that our student had also been hitting similar shots just the day prior so there was no need to be overly worried. Still, it was super fun to see how talented these kids were, with it being very evident that they had all spent a lot of time and effort in preparation for this tournament. The first matches started around 8:30 with students being put in groups of four in a pool play format where you play each other person in your group once. The games were played to 11 in a best of 3 fashion, win at least two matches in your group and move on to the next stage. Players names would be called out when it was their turn to play so you had to be on your toes in preparation to play. The games varied in length with some going back and forth for about half an hour, and others finishing within five minutes! The competition level was high but there was still a somewhat clear hierarchy showing who the top players were. While we waited, our group talked about what strategy Ellyananda might use against certain players and how to keep a level head throughout.

 

The day had been flying by as it was already 11:30. Ellyananda asked if we could go get some lunch as he wanted to eat before his matches. I obliged and we exited the gym and made our way to a local food stall where he said we could find some really good rawon. This dish consists of tender beef cooked in a dark black soup sauce and is usually served over rice. We ordered a portion of rawon each and a minute later we got a nice piping bowl of Rawon. It was my first time having this in Indonesia and to this day is one of my favorites.

 

We finished our lunch and headed back to the gym to prepare for his upcoming match. Not long after his name was called and play began. I watched as an almost worried parent, reacting to every point and as nervous as anyone there. Unfortunately Ellyananda seemed to also be feeling the nerves and lost the first match in a 0-2 fashion. I gave him a few words of encouragement and just like that he was back out there battling against an even stronger opponent. This game started out a little better as he seemed to find his footing a bit more and even was pulling out the serving trick I had taught him the day before. Sadly it did not seem to be his day and the second match also ended in defeat. I was still very proud of him though as he had played aggressively and at times with patience. More than anything though he never put his head down and showed immersive positivity even though it was clear he was disappointed with the outcome. There will be other tournaments and competitions to compete in so not all is lost. My favorite part of the day was being able to see the great sportsmanship that was shown by all competitors. Although they all had aspirations to win, there were a lot of congratulations and smiles to go around. I was very happy to have been able to experience this atmosphere of comradery that perfectly captured how life is here in Salatiga!