Efren "Bata" Reyes

This morning, I watched a replay of a game which starred Philippines' best billiard player ever Efren "Bata " Reyes with Rubilen "Bingkay" Amit. It is a Mixed double match which happened last December 3rd at Nuvo City, Libis, Quezon City in Philippines. Bingkay is a fan of him and plays well also. Young and aggressive, their opponents also looked very confident and they don't have reason not to be as they dominated the early stages of the fight. Bata and Bingkay won over the Korean who looked very much in control in a race-to-nine finals match.

In that match, those that catched my attention are the following:

1. One very obvious thing about Efren is that he is not getting any younger. He already misses shot he would easily sink before, but he can easily recognize the situation and what to do in each situation he is into. I remembered an interview with Efren where he said that he may miss long shots but billiard [strategies] are still with him.

2. Thanks to the high quality sound of the mic during recording, I can hear Efren give options to her but find it hard or maybe it was something she haven't tried even in practice. Maybe he used some strategies that are beyond her capability. I know she has learned a lot from Efren thoughout the tournament.

3. She makes mistakes but still Efren can just easily laugh at it. He probably knows that they can still manage to get back after some mistakes and it takes away nervousness knowing that she won't be blamed.

4. There was also a time when he just told her that she can just place the cue ball where ever she want it. This is a very motivating thing to hear - showing that he is confident to whatever move she will make and that in case anything wrong happens, he can find a way to get it right.

Having a leader with a lot of experience spells the difference. I had experienced superiors and mentors, I gain a lot from them and it made my life easier. Herein are some of the reasons I want to talk to people with experiences expecially those which I would not want to harness. I listen a lot and implement the things that I know can help me also.

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The Least?

Still from our last (third) Badminton Tournament this year, based on skill level, as a group, all other teams considered us the least. We are a group with 3 pairs. Men’s double, mixed double and women’s double. We are mostly expats so we have to make the tournament a bit short to prevent conflict with holidays.<>

Our team captain is good and has a lot of experience in this game; I just helped him in coaching and motivating our other team mates. And the other four are mostly new players but the main thing is that they listen. What I did was to focus on their strengths. We gave chance for the beginners to be a part of the fun and because they listen, they managed to win games even if their opponent is better.

The team captain, Mang Jun usually tells them what to do with their racket and I focus on their mind setting. My team mates would usually say at first that they will lose because their opponents are better than them, and that is my cue for motivating them.

The team captain scouts the next opponents and gives instructions to our team mates. I do the analysis of the points we have earned and needed to get to the finals. As I see it, because of the efforts we have given while not playing, it makes it easier to handle things on the court. The champion team just had a lot more experience and talent than our team but we made it to the finals and nobody expected us to make it as the runner up.

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MIP

In our first badminton tourney this year, our team was not that successful. On the second one, our team won the title but I was not a major part of it. On the third one, after much research and practice, I have managed to play in the Men’s double where the better players are and also participate in coaching. Though I am ranked lowest in that division, at least I managed to step up my game and filled in a slot where the better ones play.<>

I have always been keen on improvement on many aspects of my life. In our badminton club, from the last mini-tourney we have, I was named the most improved player. Many have improved but I probably showed more interest in it, looking at video tutorials and listening from the people who plays a lot better than I am.

I am just fortunate that there is such an award but I would make improvements even if there are none to be given. All I want is to move out of my comfort zone and check my capability. Many things still to improve at but at least I have made my first moves.

Another thing where I have moved out of my boundary is using my skill/talent in motivating. It is part of my job and it was not easy at first to as my team mates are also managers of other companies. Sometimes is tough to make people do what is right and would want to do it their way. It should be just for fun, but having a passion of being a coach/teacher, I just used this opportunity to use what I have learned.

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