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1)Predicament of the Deaf Women's Basketball Team
Although the 2009 Deaflympics had drawn to a close, the Deaf Women's Basketball Team did not stop its pursuit of dream and spread of hope. They would gather together every week for the training. In addition, they also establish the "Taiwan Women’s Sports and Recreation Association" and a women's basketball team for Taipei School for the Hearing Impaired, all with the hope that more hearing-impaired women could devote themselves to basketball. But now six years have passed and they are stuck in similar predicaments.
Where to find the funding? The funding from the government or the Association are clearly not enough. Given the low exposure of the deaf sports, and the fact that it is made up of amateurs and its low visibility, it is hard for the team to secure long-term private sponsorships. Self-reliant activities such as the book charity bazaar organized by the members of the team could improve the visibility of the team. That is why even Ms. Teng, the coach of the team, has taken up the role of searching for private sponsorships voluntarily. Where to find the resources? The intensive training calls for a rented court, accommodation, professional nutritionist to guarantee a balanced diet. And could we have a national training center specialized for the hearing-impaired players like in Japan or China? This is the goal of the Chinese Taipei Sports Association of the Deaf, as well as a dream of the players.
Where to find the talented athletes? It remains a great pity in the heart of the players that they missed the 2013 Bulgaria Deaflympics because there were not enough players. It is also common for players to make alternate choices after the game given their different goals in life. Given that most parents tend to hope their children to focus on study, career or future, the number of deaf sports athletes is limited. Many players are therefore forced to be engaged in many sports, resulting in great burden on their body and more injuries. How to attract new players while preserving the strength and skills of the original players, therefore, is the key issue for the development of the deaf women's basketball team. Although it is difficult, we can still feel the determination from the interviews with the coaches and players.
Reference:
- "Rookies, Fly Faster—The Story of Taiwan Deaf Women's Basketball Team"
-- Published by ON Books Publishing / Issued by AND Books Publishing.
- Chinese Taipei Sports Association of the Deaf- Interview with Mr. Yu-ping Chao http://www.deafsports.org.tw
2) Quotes from "Rookies, Fly Faster"
In the process of becoming national athletes, players of the Deaf Women's Basketball Team had to overcome countless hardships, difficulties, despairs, and doubts, but they persisted. From the book, "Rookies, Fly Faster—The Story of Taiwan Deaf Women's Basketball Team", we learned that the motivational words from the coaches and the teammates are the supporting force that keeps them going, and we are deeply moved by such power. Following are some insightful quotes and reflections that we have gained from reading this book:
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Players: "We will not stop, just steadily moving forward."
Page: Front cover
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Liang-ying |
This is the quote from the book Rookies, Fly Faster that made the deepest impression on me. It shows the spirits of Deaf Women's Basketball Team - never give up and bravely striving forward. There may be obstacles along the way, but as long as they keep moving forward one step at a time, they will ultimately reach the goal. |
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Huang: "Congratulations for leaving hell. But those who stay will rise to heaven."
Page: 118
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En-chi |
What impress me the most from the book Rookies, Fly Faster, are the words Deaf Women's Basketball teammates said to the players who plan to quit. I think they were trying to inspire the players that were giving up. Even though you will no longer need to bear the pain of training by quitting, but those who continue will have the reward of growth. This encourages me that no matter how big the setbacks and challenges are, as long as we can get through the adversity, we will not be far away from success! |
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Coaches: "It’s not about winning or losing. What’s important is giving your best with your ability, attitude, and spirit."
Page: 158
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Hsuan-yun |
This phrase has the most profound meaning for me. It allows me to understand that you must bravely face setbacks and challenges with anything you do. Thomas Edison once said, "Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration." So instead of being casual and thoughtless, I should project a more positive and proactive attitude towards my studies. |
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Coach: "Be yourself, and never give up."
Page: 171
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Ting-yu |
Life is a process of pursuing your dreams and goals, just like the struggles on the basketball court. With faith and perseverance, believe in the coaches, teammates and yourself, we will be able to achieve our goal. No one is perfect; everyone has faults and weaknesses. Being able to face your shortcomings and weaknesses, deal with it, handle it, you can elevate your life to the next level. Be yourself and never give up in achieving your dreams! |
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Coach: "Believe in your coaches, believe in your teammates, but most importantly, believe in yourself."
Page: 182
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Yun-jui |
This phrase inspired me a lot, because you must have faith in everything you do to achieve good results! In particular, during our studies, we must believe in the coaches or teachers. They always point us the right direction, so that we won’t go the wrong way. While believe in teammates represents the importance of teamwork. And of course, the most important thing is to believe in you. If you lack confidence in yourself, you will not dare to play, and you will not score either. This quote will be my motto for basketball, for academic studies, and even for life! |
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Coach: "Be yourself, and never give up."
Page: 171
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Yun-han |
Nine elite players of Deaf Women's Basketball Team finally completed the task of participating in the Deaflympics after numerous trials. I think it was due to their perseverance and fighting spirit! I also want to learn from their coaches’ encouragement: try your best to learn, be yourself, and never give up when encounter difficulties, so that I too can achieve my desired goals. |
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Coach: "Respect the game, respect the audience, respect your opponents, and respect yourself."
Page: 162
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Fu-en |
During the Deaflympics prior to the game against Hong Kong, the coaches wrote down this phrase on the whiteboard. The coaches hoped the team would do its utmost to play a good game, and they did, with tremendous victory over Hong Kong. At school, the teachers often refer to the word "respect": if you don't respect others, others will not respect you. This means we should do our best and be responsible with the things we do, and try to understand others’ feelings. I sometimes cannot achieve this, but I will use this phrase to remind myself! |
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Hsuan-hsuan: "We all face all kinds of pain in life; physical training is my pain, but it helps me realize my inefficiencies. At times like this, you can twirl your thoughts around and view pain as an opportunity to upgrade you skills. When you make it, pain ceases to be pain, but rather a sense of achievement!"
Page: 204
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Chieh-ting |
I was deeply moved when I read this passage in the book. When I first started the Cyber Fair Project, the teacher told us to write a report for every activity and excursion. It was painful for me because these reports need to be typed, and I was not very good at Chinese typing. So I had to spend a lot of time working on the reports. After numerous practices, I finally made progress with my Chinese typing. This quote is a total reflection of me: initially typing was painful, but after I cross the barrier of practice typing, it is now my sense of achievement. |
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