Farewell to Doug & Family_ 30.07.08

We would like bid farewell to Douglas Ladner and his family who are moving to Penang this month. For those who do not know Douglas, he is one of the founder members of the Leadership Team who started the Subang Jaya Youth Football League in 2000.

Legend has it that Douglas and family came to Malaysia from USA in 1992. Douglas, who is currently the Director of Development of Global Sports Partner, was based in Penang and Indonesia from 1992 to 1998. Doug and his family moved to Subang Jaya in 1998.
The Ladners
Kathleen & Priya

In the year 2000, the idea of setting up a community-based boy’s football league was conceived during a “teh tarik” session between Douglas and a few of his friends. From a humble beginning of 145 boys from Standard One through Six, the league has grown to over 250 players represented in the four age based divisions (U8, U10, U12, U14) across fourteen teams in 2008. What sets this league apart from other league is the emphasis of the league’s core values, i.e. discipline, unity, teamwork, service, family and sportsmanship rather than winning football matches.
Ken Barnes visited in 2005 to check out our league.

Chitra and I have the privilege of getting to know Doug and his family when we got involved with the boys football league with Rama’s participation in the Majors Division in 2000. From the beginning, we were motivated by this energetic and passionate American who kept reminding everyone of the league’s core values and the spirit of volunteerism.
Part of SJCYFL Family: Chitra, Laura, Mary, Kathleen, Douglas, Raj and Qadir in 2008

Over the years, whenever there were conflicts between the LT members, Doug would always be there to try to resolve these disagreements through his long speeches sprinkled with some Malay words and his even longer emails. For his attributes in building relationships, I have always regarded Douglas as our guardian of the league’s core values.
Speech during 2006 SJC Girls’ Futsal

Douglas will always be in his element organizing the annual League’s Service Project, “Sejambak Kasih.” Over the past years, together as families and teams, we would gather foodstuffs and distribute hundreds of food hampers (packed in boxes) for needy families through charitable organizations.
2003 Sejambak Kasih

Douglas has also been a great advocate for the development of Ultimate Frisbees among the students in Subang Jaya and ultimately in Malaysia through his promotion and association with various Government bodies.

We are also very grateful for his persistent efforts in the repair of the USJ4 school field with the involvement of MPSJ, Subang Jaya Assemblyman, Sime Darby and the school authorities which has cultimated with the construction works currently being done at the field.

We, along with other LT families, dropped by to visit Doug and family on 13th July 2008 to bid farewell. We had a pizza party and reminisced about old times.

Pizza feast at Doug’s home
Group photo on 13.07.08

Doug, we bid you and your family the best of luck and best of everything. We shall miss you especially your wisdom, enthusiasm and positive outlook in any situations.

A quote that reminds me of Doug: "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." —Maya Angelou, American poet.

Thank you for the memories.

2008 SJC Girls' Futsal_ 27.07.08

Our 2008 SJC Girls' Futsal League Round 5 games were played today from 4.00 pm to 7.00 pm at HTO de Futsal. The Champions were decided today in all three divisions with one game to spare.

Major Division


Results:

Amber 1 _ Citrine 0
Turquoise 0 _ Emerald 3

In the first game, Amber carried on their winning ways against Citrine by beating them by a slim margin of one goal. It was a frustating match for Amber as they went all out to score but was thwarted by the determined Citrine's defence until the last quarter. In the second match, Emerald managed to beat Turquoise by three goals to nil. Turquoise played well but could not stop Emerald's speedy striker.

With that win over Citrine, Amber remain unbeaten with five wins to top the table and become Champions. Emerald's win also secured their Runners Up position with 10 points followed by Citrine and Turquoise. Congratulations to Amber and Emerald. Citrine and Turquoise also deserve some mention for their gutsy displays against the two top teams.

Citrine Vs Amber match

Cirtine & Amber Team moms.
Turquoise Vs Emerald Match

Turquoise Vs Emerald matchTurquoise & Emerald Cheerleaders (Moms)

Senior Division

Results:

Sapphire 0 _ Garnet 1
Opal 1 _ Jade 4

Garnet managed their second consecutive victory by overcoming Sapphire by one goal to nil which was scored in the third quarter. In the second game, Opal drew first blood by scoring in the second quarter. However, in the third and fourth quarters, Jade rallied together and hit back to demolish Opal by four goals to one.

Jade's win secured the Champions title with ten points. However, the Runners Up position is still up for grabs for the other three teams. Sapphire and Garnet have six points each and Opal has five points after five rounds of matches. The second to fourth positions in the tables would only be decided next week. Congratulations to Jade and good luck to the other teams.

Coach Jasminder Singh instructing Team Opal

Coach Sunny with his charges Team Jade

Opal Vs Jade match

Premier Division

Results:

Amethyst 1_ Ruby 6
Diamond 2_ Topaz 2

In the first game, Ruby overpowered Amethyst by six goals to one in a one sided affair. The second game was a keenly contested match between Diamond and Topaz which ended as a draw of two goals each.

Diamond who collected a total of thirteen points emerged as Champions. The Runners up spot would be decided next week between Ruby and Topaz. Ruby with nine points only needs a draw to pip Topaz due to their superior goal difference. Amethyst, who remain fourth, could play the role of spoilers to Topaz's ambition next week. Congratulations to Diamond.
Coach Mark training Team Amethyst

Team Ruby with Team Manager Teresa

Amethyst Vs Ruby

Teresa, Ida, Mary and Premier players

For more photos, visit our photo album at http://ksrajchitra.fotopic.net/

For more details, visit our SJCYFL website: http://sjcyfl.wetpaint.com/

2008 SJC Girls' Futsal_ 20.07.08

Our 2008 SJC Girls' Futsal League Round 4 games were played today from 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm at HTO de Futsal. It was a day of upsets as the teams met for the second time.

Major Division
Results:
Amber 2 _ Turquoise 0

Citrine 1 _ Emerald 1

In the first game, Turquoise managed to hold on without conceding a goal to the division leaders Amber for the first two quarters. However in the second half, Amber managed to score two goals despite a gallant effort by Turquoise. In the second match, Citrine and Emerald's match ended in a draw of one goal each when Citrine managed to score in the last quarter.

With the win over Turquoise, Amber remain unbeaten with four wins to top the table. Emerald lost ground to keep up with Amber with the draw but managed to retain second spot followed by Citrine and Turquoise.

Team Turquoise training

Amber Vs Turquoise match

Team Emerald with coach Kugan and Team Manager Anita Rajoo

Emerald Vs Citrine

Senior Division

Results:

Sapphire 0 _ Opal 0

Garnet 5 _ Jade 4

Opal and Sapphire only managed a goalless draw with very few chances in front of the goal. However in the second game, it was goals galore between Garnet and Jade. Garnet managed to hang on by surviving a late onslaught by Jade looking for their equalising goal. At the final whistle, Garnet's players were jubilant by winning their first game of the tourney against the division leaders.

Jade still leads the table, despite their loss, with seven points. Sapphire's draw with Opal meant that they could not take advantage of Jade's slip up and remain second with six points, followed closely by Opal with five points and Garnet with three points.

Opal training with coach Jasminder Singh

Coach Mark with Sapphire players

Jade Vs Garnet

Coach Tharmabalan with Garnet's Goalie

Jade Vs Garnet
Coach Sunny talking to Jade's players

Premier Division

Results:

Topaz 2_ Ruby 1

Diamond 6_ Amethyst 1

Topaz continued their first win last week with a closely fought win over Ruby by two to one goal. In the second match, Diamond demolished Amethyst by six to one goal. Amethyst scored early in the first quarter but could not keep up with Diamond's pace and relentless attack.

Diamond remain unbeaten and leads the table with twelve points followed by Ruby and Topaz with six points each. Amethyst is still looking for the first win and remain fourth in the table.

Topaz training

Team Diamond with coach Zaifulizan and Team Manager Normashila Yahaya
Ref Tun Kamalul explaining his rules for Diamond Vs Amethyst match

Diamond Vs Amethyst

For more photos, visit our photo album at http://ksrajchitra.fotopic.net/

For more details, visit our SJCYFL website: http://sjcyfl.wetpaint.com/

1st Outing for 2008 Majors Select Team_19.07.08

This report was written by our dedicated SJCYFL Majors Division Head, En. Abdul Qadir Jilani Abu Bakar. Good outing for our Majors Select Team Players. Best of luck for their next tournament in August 9th and 10th in Shah Alam.

Taman Pudu Ulu, Saturday, July 19, 2008:

Today the SJCYFL's 2008 Majors Select Team participated in their first under-10 football tournament organized by MPAJ-Bintang Muda (formerly YFA). They headed off to a great start by beating their first two opponents by a two-goal margin. First they beat the Brazillian Soccer Centre with goals by Seanjev Tan and Kuhan Raj. Sean's goal was down to sheer persistence as he pressured the opposing defender and stabbed the ball pass their goalkeeper to open the scoring. The second goal was Kuhan's opportunity to demonstrate to the "Brazilians" the kind of individual dribbling skill that he possessed as he samba'ed past a few players before putting in a great finish for the second goal.

The day's scoring responsibilities for the team were shared as Connor Jennings and Kishenthiran got into the act in the second match against Bintang Biru-B from Penang. Connor unleashed an unstoppable shot from outside the goalkeeper's box for the first goal (...his dad owes him a trip to McD's for that). Kishen then made the opponents pay for bringing Kuhan down just outside the box with a glorious freekick over the opponent's wall. Aaron Tan, the goalkeeper, together with Muhammad Adri Razam and Brendan Michael formed a formidable wall in defence which could not be penetrated.

Then came the game with the group favorites, MBPJ. All knew it was going to be a tough match and true enough, they hit early with a goal from a freekick that sailed out of Aaron's reach into the top right corner. But if not for Aaron's amazing goalkeeping feats after that, there would definitely have been more goals for the opponents. At the end, it was just too hard for the forwards to penetrate their strong midfield and defence. The coach, Paul Vannan, introduced some new legs in Benjamin Tee but it was not enough to stop the team from going down 0-1.All was not lost because there were still two more group matches to be played.

Nevertheless, the day was getting hotter and by the time the team took on Bintang Muda Sungai Buloh B, it was already noon and matches were about an hour behind schedule. Even though the opponents were seen to be the weaker team in the group, the boys just could not find it in them to put the ball in the net. The match ended scoreless and everyone started wondering if the team would pay the price for this. It effectively meant that a win in the final match was necessary to ensure progress into the quarter finals.

This scenario set up a must-win match for both teams, SJCYFL vs MPAJ-YFA A (the tournament organizers first team). The match began quite tense with both sides aggressively trying to score first. It resulted in the most controversial moment for SJCYFL and possibly the turning point when a shot at goal appeared to have crossed the goal line before the YFA goalie secured it. The referee, however, did not award a goal because perhaps he could not see the ball cross with certainty from where he was standing (...I'm sure this incident would be a hot topic for discussion at the next FIFA committee meeting - use linesmen at tournaments or introduce goal line technology!!!) Almost immediately after that YFA counter attacked and through a sweeping 1-2 move by their strikers, the ball barely went into the SJCYFL goal after hitting the left post.The devastation of getting behind, the disallowed goal and the scorching heat proved too much for the team to overcome. The 0-1 lost meant the team was going home early. Some, like Aaron, were inconsolable but after Coach Paul's closing talk, they went back with their heads held high having put on a good representation for SJCYFL. They executed the coach's game plan as instructed, including the reserves, Tan Zi Ling, Nik Muhammad Hazim and Benjamin Tee who waited patiently for their chance and played their hearts out whenever the coach called on them.

Having their first taste of tournament football this year certainly created a hunger in all ten players for more action in future tournaments (... and for food because they have not gotten a proper lunch at that point) and hopefully will drive them harder to be selected for the next event on August 9 & 10 in Shah Alam.

p/s The parents/family members should be commended too for patiently sitting through the day's events. If this article doesn't appear in the mainstream press tomorrow or someone's blog site (you know who you are coz' I cc'ed you), please let your sons read this email to show that we're proud of each of them for the role they played and being an important member of the team.

- By an unexpected reporter who has never wrote anything this long since he left college...

Photo courtesy of Nik Samhan Nik Azman

For more information, email Abdul Qadir at aqj.abubakar@gmail.com.

SMART Tunnel Conference_08.07.08

I attended the Conference on SMART Tunnel held at Eastin Hotel, Petaling Jaya on 8th and 9th July 2008. This conference which was organized by the Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia (ACEM) was officiated by Dato Ir Hj Ahmad Husini bin Suleiman, Director General, Department of Irrigation Malaysia.

One the first day of the conference, papers were presented by Engineers involved in the project followed by a half day site visit to the Motorway Control Centre (MCC) and Stormwater Control Centre (SCC) on the next day.

Brief Project Description

SMART, an acronym for Stormwater Management And Road Tunnel, was originally conceived to mitigate the flooding problems in Kuala Lumpur. It also provides alternative route to relieve traffic congestion between Kampung Pandan roundabout and Sungai Besi airfield along KL-Seremban Highway.

The total cost of the project is RM 1.93 billion and is jointly funded by the government which is the project owner, and the JV Contractor (MMC-Gamuda JV) financing the road tunnel section and allowed to collect toll for 40 year period.

Location map

Project Components of SMART
1. Intake System
- Debris removal system in Sungai Ampang and Sungai Klang upstream of the confluence of two rivers.

Debris Removal System

- River flow diversion system complete with a 4-bay diversion weir structure (radial gates).
Radial Gates at Sungai Klang

- Holding Pond with storage capacity of 600,000 cubic metres located at the upstream of the tunnel. Flow is directed into this pond via the off take structure.


Holding Pond at Kampung Berembang, Ampang

2. Tunnel Bypass
- A 9.7 km bypass stormwater tunnel with internal diameter of 11.8m stormwater diversion cum double deck road traffic tunnel. The tunnel has a storage capacity of 1 million cubic metres when it is full.

- A vehicular tunnel enters the diversion tunnel system about 4.6 km downstream from the holding pond and exits a further 3 km downstream. The section of the tunnel where the vehicular traffic is included have 3 components i.e. two traffic decks and a lower channel for stormwater flow.
Cross section sketch of tunnel

Tunnel Operation Modes


3. Outlet system
- A storage pond with a storage capacity 0f 1.4 million cubic metres is located at the downstream end of the tunnel i Taman Desa.

- A set of twin box culverts, gated at both ends, conveys the discharge from the storage reservoir to Sungai Kerayong whenever the water level in the river is at a permissible level.

The second day of the conference included a site visit and briefing at the Motor Control Centre(MCC) and Stormwater Control Centre (SCC).

HSSI participants: Raj, Mr. Kun, Somnath & Nor Affiza (behind middle) attending briefing.

The SMART motorway is monitored around the clock at MCC near the Bulatan Kg Pandan.
MCC Control room

The SCC houses the SMART Flood Detection System (FDS) t Kg. Berampang in Ampang. The FDS not only provides real time hydrological information as well as forecast flood mode, but also serves to monitor the status of all the SMART components.
Flood mode dispalyed at SCC monitor.
Monitoring of hydraulics information at SCC

2008 SJC Girls' Futsal_ 13.07.08

Our 2008 SJC Girls' Futsal League Round 3 games were played today from 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm at HTO de Futsal.


Major Division
Results:
Citrine 4 _ Turquoise 0
Amber 3 _ Emerald 0

Citrine notched their first win by playing with purpose and kept attacking the Turquoise's goal. Their efforts were rewarded with four goals without a reply.

The match between Emerald and Amber did not materialise because there were not enough Emerald players present. The game was awarded to Amber by a walkover with score of 3-0. Amber now tops the group followed by Emerald, Citrine and Turquoise.

Team Opal training
Team Citrine with coach Thomas Ward and Team Manager Dana Ward

Rama refereeing match between Turquoise and Citrine

Citrine Vs Turquoise match
Coach Tun Kamalul with Team Amber


Senior Division
Results:
Opal 2 _ Garnet 0
Sapphire 2 _ Jade 2

Opal managed to beat Garnet by two goals to nil which were scored in first quarter. The match between Sapphire and Jade was an exciting match between two evenly matched teams. Sapphire was leading until the final quarter when Jade equalised to even the score with two goals each. Following the draw between the top two teams, there was no change in the table positions with Jade leading with seven points followed by Sapphire, Jade and Garnet.

Opal Vs Garnet match
Team Sapphire with coach Mark
Discussion time for Team Jade
Sapphire Vs Jade match


Premier Division
Results:
Topaz 4_ Amethyst 0
Ruby 2_ Diamond 3

Topaz won their first match by beating Amethyst by four goals to nil. The match between Ruby and Diamond was keenly contested. Diamond scored early from the start and managed to keep the lead until the final quarter by winning by three goals to two. Even though the game was entertaining, some of the players were too overzealous with some rough play. With this win, Diamond remain unbeaten and leads Ruby by 3 points followed by Topaz and Amethyst.
Team Amethyst training

Team Topaz training

Amethyst Vs Topaz match
Ref Abraham officiating Ruby and Diamond match

Ruby Vs Diamond match

For more photos, visit our photo album at http://ksrajchitra.fotopic.net/

For more details, visit our SJCYFL website: http://sjcyfl.wetpaint.com/