| Personal Profile | ||||||||||||
| Name: Adrian Yeo Eng Teck | ||||||||||||
| One of the many coaches for Special Olympics is Mr. Adrian Yeo. He coaches the swimming team representing Singapore. Mr. Yeo came to know of Special Olympics during one of the swimming programmes on Saturdays co-ordinated by Dr Teo-Koh Sock Miang, honorary secretary of Special Olympics Singapore. |  |
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Hobbies: Surfing, reading, watching movies and spending time with friends. | |||||||||||
| He decided to become a volunteer when a friend at the firm where he works asked him to help the athletes out. | ||||||||||||
| From there, he became a regular at the School of Physical Education (SPE). Mr. Yeo has gained many rewards by becoming a volunteer of Special Olympics such as the friends he has made and the coaching skills he has honed. This is Mr. Yeo's first coaching experience, and he has been a coach for six months. Mr. Yeo feels that Special Olympics is a noble concept and a good scheme. He especially likes Special Olympics motto- "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt", as he feels that the motto can apply to all of us in our practical life. | ||||||||||||
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| Mr. Yeo coaches young swimmers ranging from 15 to 19 years of age. Being a volunteer at Special Olympics requires a lot of patience that he feels he lacks. He has always found it difficult but he tries his best. | ||||||||||||
| During training, he first briefs the swimmers and this is followed by a demonstration and later, drills. Training sessions include warm-ups, swimming laps, and drills like turns, technique, plunging and so on. These are styles of swimming strokes, which have to be followed closely or swimmers risk being disqualified. These rules are set by FINA, the governing body of international swimming events. As for how far the training has progressed in preparations for Special Olympics 1999, the team is concentrating on competition drills and less on individual technique and stamina. Soon, they will begin training for team events. Mr. Yeo will be going to Raleigh, North Carolina for Special Olympics 1999, and he feels happy for the competitors. However, he knows that it will not be a relaxing trip for him as he has a lot to do. Being a volunteer at Special Olympics has certainly made an impact on his personal life; he suffers tiring weekends and makes sacrifices, like leaving work early to be in time for the training sessions. This has occasionally resulted in conflicts at work. However, he feels that the sacrifices he makes are worth it as he feels that the satisfaction of helping the athletes far outweigh the inconveniences that he has faced. |
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