The Athlete Features shine the spotlight on talented young athletes from Sport Singapore's ActiveSG Academies and Clubs as they compete with passion and determination in this year's National School Games, striving to achieve their personal best and represent their schools with pride.
In this article, we hear from Student-Athlete: Keaen-Seth Tan
A member of the ActiveSG Hockey Academy, Keaen-Seth Tan has seen his passion and skills for the game grow under the guidance of his coaches. He contributed to his school St. Hilda’s Primary School’s triumph in the 2023 National School Games Hockey National Senior Division Boys tournament.
ActiveSG Circle catches up with him to find out more on his love for hockey.
ActiveSG Circle: How long have you been playing hockey?
Keaen-Seth: I have been playing hockey for close to four-and-a-half years since Primary 2.
ActiveSG Circle: What got you interested in the sport to start playing?
Keaen-Seth: I love sports and wanted to join a competitive sports co-curricular activity (CCA) in school. At St Hilda’s Primary School, the choice of competitive sports for boys are table tennis, sailing, hockey and volleyball. When we had to choose a CCA at the start of Primary 2, I was most interested in hockey as my school has a strong history of developing good hockey players and has done very well in the National School Games. I hope to be able to help the school win games in hockey too.
ActiveSG Circle: Who are your biggest supporters in your hockey journey?
Keaen-Seth: My parents know that I have great passion for hockey. They are very supportive in my sports journey and take the trouble to ferry me to hockey training. Their support keeps me going in the sport as they always make time to give me moral support during my competitive matches.
ActiveSG Circle: How long have you been with the ActiveSG Hockey Academy?
Keaen-Seth: I have been with ActiveSG Hockey Academy for close to three years. I joined the academy in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic as there was no face-to-face CCA in school. Being very active, I kept pestering my mum on the resumption of CCA in school. She enrolled me in after she chanced upon the Hockey Academy on Facebook and saw that it was conducting small group training in groups of five.
ActiveSG Circle: How do you find the sessions by the coaches? Which aspect of training do you find most fun and why?
Keaen-Seth: I find the sessions very enjoyable and the coaches will guide and correct my mistakes. At the end of every session, we will play matches and I like the competitiveness of the sport.
ActiveSG Circle: Are you also playing hockey competitively for your school?
Keaen-Seth: Yes, I am part of St Hilda’s hockey school team and we finished first in the National School Games (NSG) for a second straight time this year.
ActiveSG Circle: What is your proudest competitive moment/achievement in playing the sport thus far?
Keaen-Seth: I remember last year’s National School Game where my school competed against Jurong West Primary School when they scored a penalty equalizer against us with a minute left in the game. I told myself not to give up and with 40 seconds left, I was determined to win. With all my might, I dribbled upfront and passed the ball to our team forward who scored the winning goal. It was a great team effort.
A small little achievement I had last year was being able to train with the National Under-14 hockey boys and I was the youngest in the squad.
ActiveSG Circle: Your hero/role model in hockey? What attracts you to him/her as an athlete?
Keaen-Seth: Many of the coaches in ActiveSG Hockey Academy have represented Singapore for Field Hockey and I hope to be like them one day.
ActiveSG Circle: Any future aspirations as a hockey player?
Keaen-Seth: I hope to be part of the national hockey team and win medals for Singapore.
If you're interested in finding out about our ActiveSG Hockey Academy and its offerings, check them out here
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(Photo credits: Keaen-Seth Tan and Family)