What It Takes to Be a Student-Athlete in Singapore
- jeromesiow
- Aug 16
- 7 min read
Updated: Oct 12
August 2025
"Not every journey starts with glory. Some start with grit — and tears."
When Emett was in Primary 5, he wasn’t anyone’s first pick. Not the fastest in the water. Not the strongest on land. Not the sharpest in water polo or basketball. Slow. Quiet. Easily overlooked. But beneath that silence was something unshakable — a steady fire that refused to burn out.
While others collected medals, Emett collected effort. He woke up earlier. Trained longer. Failed more but learned faster. He didn’t shine, but he showed up — again and again.
And slow, but surely… that right arm started showing its brilliance. A pass sharper than expected. A shot that found the net. A steal that turned heads. It was no longer just effort — it was potential.
By Primary 6, he set his heart on a dream few believed he could reach: the Singapore Sports School. It wasn’t just a school to him. It was a lifeline. A chance. A place that might finally see the fighter he was becoming.
But getting in didn’t come easy. Rejections. Doubts. The sting of almost. He wasn’t a rising star. He was the boy no one expected — the very last name added to the list. The very last.
And when the acceptance came, there were no cheers. Just tears. Quiet, overwhelming tears from a boy who had clawed his way into a place no one thought he’d reach. It wasn’t talent that got him in.
It was heart.
And that made all the difference.
Making It to Singapore Sports School: Not Talent, But Effort
"Sometimes, the door only opens after you’ve knocked a hundred times — and still dared to hope one more time."
Getting into Singapore Sports School (SSP) was not about luck. It was about years of quiet commitment — unseen, uncelebrated, but unwavering. The trial process didn’t just test physical skill. It tested the Heart. Mindset. Resilience.
When the acceptance letter came, there were no fireworks. Just a deep breath, a quiet smile, and a silent promise: “I’ll earn this.”
Day One at SSP was surreal. A new uniform. A new schedule. A new identity. Emett wasn’t just a student anymore — he was a student-athlete. That label comes with weight. Expectations. Sacrifices. Pressure.
And yet, it was exactly where he wanted to be.
Because after all the no’s, this was finally a yes.
And he was ready to fight for it.
Inside SSP: The Unseen Life of a Student-Athlete
"To wear the crest, to train where few are chosen — it was a dream come true. And every aching muscle is a reminder that he's exactly where he prayed to be."
Most people see the medals — not the mornings. They see the podiums, not the pain. But at Singapore Sports School, the day begins before the sun rises.
Swim drills in the cold. Strength sets that leave muscles trembling. A quick change into uniform. School lessons where your body sits, but your mind still swims. Then after school…more training. It’s a cycle of exhaustion. But also, a rhythm of becoming.
Emett learned quickly: discipline isn’t just doing hard things. It’s doing them every single day — especially when no one is watching.
Balancing academics and elite sport is a daily tightrope. Some days, the body gives out before the mind does. On other days, the homework waits until late at night, long after the last set is done.
There are sacrifices most won’t see — long holidays skipped, public holidays missed, family dinners replaced with recovery and sleep.
But there is pride too. Deep, quiet pride. In doing what few dare to do.
And through it all, there are the teammates. Not just classmates. Not just friends. But brothers-in-arms.
Together, they fight burnouts. They lift each other after losses. They celebrate tiny wins — a better time, a cleaner pass, a silent nod from the coach.
Together, they remember why they chose this path. And why they’ll keep walking it — no matter how tough it gets.
Preparing for NYDS: Bigger. Stronger. Faster. Fiercer
"This is the stage where talent fades — and only the relentless keep going."
Singapore Sports School isn’t the finish line. It’s the starting block. And Emett’s next milestone looms large: a place in the National Youth Development Squad (NYDS).
We talk about it often — Emett and I.
What does it take to make the cut?
How strong do you have to be?
How fast? How sharp?
How fierce?
We don’t have all the answers. Not yet. But what we do know is this: you can’t fake your way there. NYDS is not a reward — it’s earned through repetition, resilience, and readiness. The players who make it are quicker, smarter, tougher. The game moves faster. The pressure doubles. The margin for error vanishes.
And Emett knows — he’s not the biggest. Not the most experienced.
But he also knows he’s not done growing.
So he trains — not just to survive, but to be ready.
Bigger shoulders that can hold the team.
Stronger legs that drive through the water.
Faster reactions to win the split-second battles.
Fiercer heart that refuses to back down.
He studies game plays. He asks questions. He fails forward. He does the extras — always the extras — the things no one sees but that always count.
Because every pass, every sprint, every silent morning in the pool — it all leads to one question:
Will you be ready when the call comes?
And slowly, quietly… the answer is starting to look like yes.
The Importance of Teamwork
"You train for yourself, but you bleed for the team."
Water polo taught Emett one of life’s hardest truths: you can’t do it alone.
It’s not just about throwing, swimming, or scoring. It’s about trust — trusting that your teammate will cover your blind side, chase down the ball, take the hit, or make the pass when it matters most.
In the heat of training and the chaos of tough matches, Emett found something more than teammates. He found brothers — forged not by blood, but by shared pain, shared purpose, and shared dreams.
They carried each other through brutal losses and lifted one another after quiet disappointments. They cheered for every small win. Fought through every burnout. Picked each other up when confidence ran dry.
For Emett, the real victories weren’t always on the scoreboard.
They were in the silent fist bumps after a tough drill.
The nods across the pool that said “I’ve got you.”
The unspoken bond that only comes from suffering together — and refusing to quit.
He came to understand that greatness isn’t about being the best player in the water.
It’s about making the person next to you better.
And in doing so, becoming more than just an athlete — becoming a teammate worth fighting for.
Because this journey was never just about medals.
It was about resilience, brotherhood, and heart.
And learning that sometimes… the strongest thing you can do is not to go faster —but to go together.
Balancing Life and Sports
"It’s not talent that gets you through the lonely nights and brutal mornings — it’s grit."
Life at Singapore Sports School is a privilege — but it isn’t easy.
Emett’s days are packed from dawn to dusk. Early morning swims. Back-to-back lessons. Afternoon tactical drills. Gym sessions. Recovery. Homework squeezed in between. Then lights out — and repeat.
Home isn’t just a few blocks away. He boards full-time, only returning to see his family on weekends.
Weekdays are quiet. No parents to check in on him. No dinner table laughter. No late-night chats. Sometimes, when time allows, he FaceTimes his sister — a quick update, a shared smile, a few precious moments before sleep takes over.
It’s a lonely grind at times. But he knows why he’s here.
He’s learning to manage time like an adult — planning ahead, staying disciplined, keeping focused. Balancing his water polo commitments with academics isn’t just a skill — it’s survival.
But through it all, Emett is learning something powerful:
That success isn’t just about performance — it’s about staying grounded, even when the days get heavy and the body feels broken.
It’s about holding on to family, even from a distance.
And it’s about choosing the harder path — the one that leads to growth.
Looking Ahead: One Pool. One Flag. One Dream.
“He’s not just dreaming of the big stage — he’s building toward it, one honest day of hard work at a time.”
NYDS isn’t the endgame. It’s just another rung on the ladder.
Beyond it lies the real dream — to wear the Singapore crest, to represent not just a school, but a nation. To step into the water with the flag on his chest, knowing that everything — every early morning, every quiet heartbreak, every unnoticed rep — was building to that moment.
It’s a long road from here. The challenges get harder. The selections get stricter. The pressure? Relentless. But Emett is no longer just the boy who failed his first swim trial.
He is a student-athlete with a mission.
And that mission isn’t driven by medals. It’s driven by meaning.
Because success, we’ve learned, isn’t just about podiums.
It’s about courage — to show up when it’s easier to quit.
It’s about resilience — to rise when the world doubts you.
It’s about heart — the kind you can’t measure in stats or scores.
This isn’t a story about natural-born talent.
It’s a story about belief. About building. About becoming.
And Emett’s story?
It’s only just beginning...
Final Thoughts
"Because in the end, it’s not the medals that define him — it’s the quiet courage to keep going when no one’s clapping, and the belief that his time will come."
When I look at Emett, I don’t just see a student-athlete.
I see a boy who chose the hard road — and stayed on it, even when it hurt.
I’ve watched him break.
I’ve watched him lose races, miss goals, get benched, fall behind in class.
I’ve seen the tears he tried to hide, the frustration he carried quietly, the moments he questioned if he was good enough.
But I’ve also seen something else.
I’ve seen him get back up — slower than some, but steadier than most.
I’ve seen the small wins: a sharper pass, a faster interception, a compliment from his coach that meant the world.
I’ve seen him walk into the weekend with aching shoulders, but a proud heart.
These may seem like small moments to others.
But to us — they are everything.
Because they are proof.
Proof that he’s growing.That he’s becoming.
That even in a world that values medals, there is greatness in the boy who simply refuses to quit.
This journey is not about being the best yet.
It’s about becoming someone who can be.
And in every struggle, in every quiet win, Emett is writing a story no one else can write.
And I, as his father, am simply grateful to witness it.
And that’s why I believe in him.
Emett (UDA)
“Every day hurts a little, but I’ll keep showing up, no matter how hard it gets.”
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