Hi. I’m DJ

Hi. I’m DJ

These are memorable moments of my playing UWH.

2005 – Learn to play UWH

2006 – First competition with Philippines Pesta Sukan 2006, played for Singapore

2007 – Australian Nationals in Perth, played for Singapore

2007 – 1^st Asian Underwater Hockey Championship in Singapore, played for Singapore

2008 – 2^nd Asian Underwater Hockey Championship in Manila, played for Singapore

How long have you been playing uwh for?

I started playing under water hockey last September 2005, I enjoy being in the water and swimming, but I have this innate fear of swimming with waters 2 meter deep, so when I met this friend who plays underwater hockey, I got curious, and I wanted to try it. My first attempt was a disaster, I couldn’t go down to the bottom, I couldn’t fin properly, I was not comfortable with the snorkel, and the fear that I would drown was just there.  I was such a baby.  But I knew then that if I overcame this fear, I can enjoy snorkeling more in the sea, as simple as it may sound that was my motivation back then, to snorkel comfortably out in the sea, because although I did it several times I wasn’t that confident, and I guess that if underwater hockey uses a snorkel, I can get skilled with it, and be really confident when I’m out in the sea!

I played once a week for about 3 months, dabbling with the sports,  I was such a nuisance, nobody was really paying attention to my lack of skills and/or talents, so I work hard, swam a lot, trained a lot,  and talk to a lot of experienced players, listen to their tips.  When I get more comfortable with it, I started playing twice a week, and got hooked!

Looking back, I think it was perfect that the Singapore Underwater Hockey Club was such a new club, and it helped players with similar background and handicap like me to learn the sports and be adept with it, in one way or another.  It took about six months, before I can play the sports like a novice, and I’m really glad I learned how to play underwater hockey!

Where are you from?

I am from the Philippines.  I grew up in the central area of Metropolitan Manila.  But I didn’t learn underwater hockey there, I learned it in Singapore, when I was living and working there.  I was a SUHCer (Singapore Underwater Hockey Club) not a PUHCer (Philippine Underwater Hockey Club).

What club/team are you currently playing for?

I am playing with the Posties (Going Postal Underwater Hockey Club) in Wellington, New Zealand!

What position do you play?

I usually play forward,  in Singapore they sometimes push me in the center, but outside Singapore, I usually end up in the wing, in slow games I can play a back position, but I haven’t really played it that much to learn the tricks, I end up really useless in that position.

How often do you play?

I play once a week or once every other week. I wish to play more, but last year I was doing more free-dive training than UWH.

What do you enjoy most about uwh?

I enjoy underwater hockey, because it’s a great sports, whenever I play, it gives me an idea of my current fitness level, so its my fitness “thermometer!” It’s also very challenging mentally, and a lot of team work and skills are involved.  After a game, I always feel hyper and exhilarated, and the people who play underwater hockey are also inherently cool and friendly!  But basically Underwater Hockey is just so much FUN, second to Underwater Rugby!

What are the differences between uwh in NZ and uwh in Asia?

Underwater hockey in every country is different, the amazing thing here in NZ is that the skill levels of everyone here is high, especially the stick work. I would guess because a lot of them learn to play the sports in a more structured way like schools. Most of the players here are also very fit, and fast as well! It’s just awesome.  I think that’s why the game quality is high.  Game strategy is also different, when Sophie was here, she was always telling me to push the puck forward, and gain more ground, it was quite different with how I was used to playing when I was in Singapore, as the strategy there was more defensive than offensive.  But I guess it’s also different in every player combination, as when I’m with players with the same speed and skills back there, we can play a different kind of game.

In Singapore we have a slow and fast game, and the difference is quite huge, B grade here is as fast as our fast game, but I guess A grade game here should be wicked as sometimes when A grade players are playing Monday night Posties game, it’s really fast! I also noticed that there is less talk between plays here during a game, like for example on what one did wrong, or when one is not in position or stuff like that. Everybody seems to just enjoy playing the game, so I think it’s really chill and relax around here.  But in Asia, the chillaxin happens after the games in “makan”, in various eating places around town!