From troubled teen to caring teacher: How this 31-year-old educator found his calling helping children with special needs

Physical education (PE) teacher Kumaran Arumugam described himself in his younger days as someone who was impatient, temperamental and often 'gets into fights with just about anyone'.
'My younger self would not have imagined what I am doing right now,' the 31-year-old said. He has since spent a decade coaching sports to children with special needs.
For the past six years, he has been teaching PE at Lighthouse School in Toa Payoh and he is also the co-founder of Fitty Witty Sports, an organisation that teaches sports to underprivileged and special needs children.

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Straits Times

4 hours ago

• Straits Times

Singapore Vandas look to learn from UAE Netball Cup final loss for a crucial year ahead

World No. 26 Singapore lost 62-53 to 18th-ranked Namibia in the UAE Netball Cup final on June 21. PHOTO: NETBALL SINGAPORE Singapore Vandas look to learn from UAE Netball Cup final loss for a crucial year ahead SINGAPORE – Despite falling short of a title in their first international outing of the year, the Singapore Vandas took heart from their United Arab Emirates (UAE) Netball Cup campaign, which ended in a 62-53 loss to Namibia in the final on June 21. This was the first tournament under new head coach Tara Steel, who was appointed in March, and offered several positives as world No. 26 Singapore look to build towards a pivotal year that includes November's Singlife Nations Cup and the SEA Games in Thailand in December. Steel said: 'The final outcome was disappointing because we weren't at our best today but all credit to Namibia. 'But I'm really happy with the fact that we were in a top-two final. 'We had a really strong week in terms of our execution in games consistently and still searching for a full 60-minute performance and we still didn't hit that today, but it bodes well in terms of SEA Games and our own Nations Cup in Singapore.' Both teams were undefeated heading into the final, having dropped points only in their 49-49 draw earlier in the week, with Namibia topping the six-team table on goal difference. This time, world No. 18 Namibia started strongly, showing discipline in defence as they closed down spaces and dictated the tempo. While their attackers were clinical, Singapore's took some time to settle into the game. Leading 4-3 early on, Namibia pulled away with a seven-goal run to go 11-3 up, eventually taking the first quarter 16-10. The second quarter was more closely contested, but Namibia maintained their advantage by outscoring the Vandas 17-16 for a 33-26 half-time lead. Returning to the court, the Vandas outscored Namibia in the third quarter, with crucial interceptions by defenders Jamie Lim and K. Mishalenee creating key turnovers. However, Namibia responded with a strong defensive display in the final quarter, limiting Singapore's opportunities in the shooting circle. In a bid to break through, Steel introduced 1.81m goal shooter Priscilla Wong to counter Namibia's height advantage, but the opposition remained resolute, stretching to a nine-goal lead to seal the title. Reflecting on the final, co-captain Toh Kai Wei, who was voted Singapore's Most Valuable Player of the tournament, acknowledged the challenge of facing a dynamic Namibian side who had changed their approach since the round-robin stage. 'Namibia played a really different game from what we played in the round-robin games, so the structure itself, we weren't really prepared for it,' said Toh, who plays goal attack and wing attack. 'There was a lot of movement from them, but we tried our best to adjust and re-adjust and counter back. 'It was not the result that we wanted but I'm proud of my team for putting up a good fight.' Just the day before, the Vandas had bagged the Team of the Year (event) accolade at the Singapore Sports Awards, with Yeo Mee Hong, who led them to their first Asian triumph in 10 years, named Coach of the Year. Looking ahead, Steel noted that while there were positives in their execution, fitness and consistency remain key areas for improvement. The Australian said: 'We did execute our game plan and, when we did that it was effective, but we had moments where we stopped doing that – individually or as units. 'For us, it's probably about improving our fitness and conditioning for the game we want to play. 'Physically, we are smaller than our opponents, so it requires a lot of running and footwork to get free in attack. We've got plenty of time to build on that for the style of game that will be successful for us.' Kimberly Kwek joined The Straits Times in 2019 as a sports journalist and has since covered a wide array of sports, including golf and sailing. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

CNA

7 hours ago

• CNA

Billionaire FAS president Forrest Li has the financial means and the zeal, but are these enough to revive Singapore football?

Fans and commentators also pointed to organisational development as another area that Mr Li and his team can address in the near term. Mr Yeo the football observer said: 'FAS has been critically short on technical staff, and marketing and communications staff. Both are essential if the association is to run well and engage fans better.' Indeed, engagement and communication with its supporters is an area where fans believe more can be done. An example of this is the organisation's online presence. Mr Chuan Rei Hern, a 19-year-old student and avid follower of Singapore football, noted that 'basic statistics' such as information on the SPL's top goal scorers cannot be found on FAS' websites. He believes such issues that can be quickly solved and improved upon should be the new council's first order of business. 'How do new fans even get into the Singapore football circle when baseline information is so disjointed and difficult to reach?' he asked. Although it is undoubtedly more complicated than updating a website, focusing on improving the standard of coaching is another aspect that could feasibly be done during Mr Li's tenure. Mr de Roo, who previously held roles as technical director in Australia's FFA Centre of Excellence and the Football Association of Malaysia, identified Mr Gavin Lee – assistant coach of the Singapore men's national team and former BG Tampines Rovers head coach – as one of the most promising coaches in the nation today. However, he noted that this prominence is a product of an individual effort to go 'above and beyond' to improve himself, as opposed to being a product of the coaching education here. 'If you want to develop better players for your senior national team, the players have to work with better coaches and that means you have to develop better coaches.' WHAT MIGHT BE OUT OF REACH? However well-resourced or well-connected Mr Li might be, there are other fundamental challenges that he and his council may struggle to solve. At the heart of these challenges is that not everything in football is controlled or dictated by the football association alone, observers said. One common problem raised was the lack of unity across the ecosystem. While clubs, schools and private academies all contribute to the sport, they often operate in silos with little alignment in objectives or standards. Mr Vengadasalam, who now runs the Woodlands Lions FC, said that he often has players who are unable to train with his club's academy, for instance, due to clashes with the schedules of their schools' co-curricular activities. Mr Vengadasalam believes such a disconnect between the school system and academies like his means that player development is often halted. It is this fragmentation in the fraternity that might be a hurdle too large to overcome, Mr Raymond said. 'The schools' football system is an entire ecosystem on its own,' he added. 'It's a challenge to bring them all together and to agree on a technical strategy or a certain point of action.' Mr Yeo the football observer believes that one of the most intractable challenges Mr Li and the new FAS council faces is infrastructure, or the lack of control over it. 'No club apart from the Sailors owns any facility whatsoever. Even if they're a top team and they play in the SPL, they don't own a stadium,' he noted. This is not unique to Singapore. Professional clubs in Japan, for instance, do not own their stadiums either. However, Mr Yeo pointed out that Japanese local governments work closely with clubs to ensure facilities are prioritised for football use. 'Priority does not mean that other sports cannot use those facilities,' he said, but there must be a 'football lens' when infrastructure is built or refurbished. He gave the example of Singapore's National Stadium, which has a 'lay-and-play' natural grass pitch system that involves laying specially grown turf for major events. This allows for quick pitch replacement and ensures a high-quality playing surface. 'But land scarcity is the biggest problem. Even if we have a bottomless pit of money, you can't just build stadiums for every single club or even training pitches. There are so many parties with conflicting agendas when it comes to land in Singapore," he added. 'So you have a difficult situation that I don't think even (Mr Li) can resolve. He has to try to convince the government as to why it's important to build these facilities that can improve football professionalism." He continued: 'This would be the biggest challenge, even bigger than developing talent.' Still, those in the fraternity remain hopeful that change is possible, as long as it is done collaboratively and with conviction. Mr de Roo said: 'It starts with recognising where (things) go wrong, how to fix it and then appointing quality people to do that. 'Then make sure that they have the authority to do so, because there's no point appointing quality people if they are still hamstrung. Back them up, facilitate them and be strong. 'With infrastructure, you have the involvement of the ministries and other stakeholders. Sit at the table – you all want the same outcome, discuss how you are going to do that. 'Everybody tries to tell me that Singaporeans don't care about football. That's not true. They love football, but they've just lost faith.'

CNA

19 hours ago

• CNA

Singapore kitefoiler Max Maeder wins Sportsman of the Year for the first time

SINGAPORE: Singapore kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder won the Sportsman of the Year title for the first time at the Singapore Sports Awards on Friday (Jun 20) night. The 18-year-old had taken home Sportsboy of the Year honours for the last three years, but earned the top prize this time in recognition of a stellar 2024 season, including a historic Olympic bronze at the Paris Olympics. The teen has also been on fire this year, retaining his title at Trofeo Princesa Sofia Regatta, while last month, he successfully defended his Formula Kite European Championships open title. Maeder, who is currently the world's top-ranked kitefoiler, was not present at at Swissotel the Stamford, where the awards ceremony was held, due to his ongoing season. He was instead represented by his parents, Valentin Maeder and Hwee Keng Maeder. They collected a cheque for S$10,000 (US$7,700) on his behalf. Wushu exponent Zeanne Law's feats were also recognised as she sealed her maiden Sportswoman of the Year accolade, having won Sportsgirl of the Year in 2024. Among her highlights were two golds at World Taijiquan Championships in August last year. Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu, who is also Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) president, paid tribute to Maeder's achievements in her speech at the awards ceremony. "Kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder had a season to remember in 2024, winning nearly every title available and capping it off with a bronze medal at the Olympic Games," she said. Ms Fu also lauded Team Singapore's "extraordinary year", noting that 15 out of the 23-member contingent in Paris had made their Olympic debut. "From regional competitions to the grand stage of the Paris Olympic Games, our athletes stood shoulder to shoulder with the world's best - proving that Singapore has earned its place on the global sporting map," she said. On the World Aquatics Championships, which Singapore will host next for the first time next month, Ms Fu called the event a "major milestone and a proud moment for our sports community". The championships runs second only to the Olympics in terms of prestige. Organised by SNOC as well as Sport Singapore, and supported by the Tote Board, the Singapore Sports Awards recognise the most deserving individuals and teams in sports for 2024. Kai Minejima Lee (indoor skydiving) and Charlotte Ng Leting (wushu) secured the Sportsboy and Sportsgirl of the Year awards respectively, while Yeo Mee Hong (netball) was named Coach of the Year.