THE RISE OF SCHWARZ STAR FOOTBALL CLUB
SCHWARZ STAR FOOTBALL CLUB was founded by Brandon Sng, Tan Jingxiang and Scholes on the 29th August 2004 with the objective of becoming a professional football club. As sponsorships were not readily available, Brandon and Kevin funded the team out of their pockets to purchase balls and equipments for training. Knowing that it is a long and arduous road to professional football, Brandon and his team nevertheless took on the daunting task.
The name Schwarz Star FC is derived from German, called Black Star. The 5 corners of the star stands for Commitment, Determination, Unity, Passion and Pride which are the attributes of each and every Schwarz Star FC player. This also stands for our motto. We are also known as the Super Falcons, just Man Utd are known as Red Devils and Arsenal known as Gunners. It started off with the 3 founders, Brandon Sng Ju Yao, Scholes Tay Kim Chye and Tan Jing Xiang and it has grown to around 14 players at the beginning of 2005 with the help of a few pioneers, such as Helmi, Keith, Kelvin & Zhi Yun. Players were recruited quickly and furiously from all available channels. Recommendations by new players, acquaintances, internet, etc were all accepted into S.S.F.C. Soon, the team was big enough and training began at Marina South on a weekly basis. Friendly matches were arranged and played with mixed results. Often, players will chip in with a few dollars to pay for the booking of a field and a referee.
Brandon proposed to purchase a set of jerseys in a bid to strengthen the identity within the Club. Each and every player contributed to a common fund for the purchase. Hence our 1st jersey, a grey top with a flying falcon, our Club’s emblem was born..
The challenges we faced
In the first few months of the club’s creation, the founders faced alot of obstacles such as recruiting players, arranging trainings sessions, finding a suitable training location & recruiting a qualified coach and obtaining the required equipments for training, etc.
Quietly confident that the Club is ready for the next level, Brandon led the Club in an amateur league in 2005. Results while mostly against us, players still enjoyed every moment and continued to battle hard. Players continue to improve. Results were however found wanting.
The League ended with S.S.F.C. finishing near the bottom of the table. Unrelenting, Brandon returned to the drawing board to plot the next step of S.S.F.C. towards becoming a professional Club. New players continued to join the Club.
Crisis soon befell S.S.F.C. The ‘Treasurer’ had suddenly become uncontactable. The entire Team fund became lost. The Club had over the night become penniless. Last but not least, Marina South Open Field faced an imminent closure by the Authorities for other development purposes in the near future.
Being penniless and about to become homeless, the Club was almost back at square one. Admirably, Brandon refused to give up or give in. He searched high and low for a suitable football pitch to be called Home Ground. It is always difficult to keep a strong man down. This ‘strong man’ managed to negotiate with Alexandra Hospital to allow the Club to train at its football field every Sunday since January 2006. The Club had trained at AH (Alexandra Hospital for short) ever since.
Natural Progression to the top
In the new dawn, the Club embarked on its new journey. A 2nd set of Red jersey soon made its way into S.S.F.C. history books. A website was set up with the help of Taufiq and Keith. Several batches of red jersey have since been printed as more new players joined the Club along the way. Till date, S.S.F.C. has over 50 players of which more than 30 train regularly in AH.
In September 2006, Brandon received a pleasant surprise. Somebody by the name of Mr Kenneth Kwan came into contact with the Club. It turned out that this gentleman who had just graduated from the Asia Football Confederation “C Licence” Coaching Course is eager to coach an amateur team.
With the understanding of S.S.F.C. direction in the near future and its long term objectives, Team Manager, Brandon, and the newly appointed Head Coach, Kenneth, planned, executed and moved Schwarz Star Football Club into a new era.
A series of training programs carefully planned by Coach Kenneth was put in place. Players were tasked to carry out drills to sharpen basic techniques as well as footballing intelligence. Schwarz Star Football Club had since evaluated the basic techniques, skills and knowledge of all its players via basic techniques evaluation and club retreats. A 1st Team of 20 players was selected from its more than 30 active players. The selection criteria were based on techniques, skills and most importantly, commitment.
Events in the form of mini futsal tournament, internal match ups and 6 match undefeated challenge were organized for the players. S.S.F.C. had since organized 2 mini futsal tournaments, match up between the 1st Team and the other players and a 2 legged match led by 2 players (Yun and Leonie)acting as “Managers”. These match ups and tournaments were organized with enjoyment of players in mind. Some players were however tasked to lead teams at these events to evaluate their leadership and organizational skills. Few of these players had been earmarked to lead the Club either on of off the field in the near future.
Schwarz Star Football Club is no different with players coming and going. A new batch of players had recently been added to the Club. At such, it is vital that another round of basic techniques evaluation should be conducted. This is to ascertain the level of techniques of new players. The Coach will then be able to monitor the improvements of new and old players. The evaluation was also to identify possible candidates for the formation of a new 1st Team in preparation for taking part in a League.
A selection of 18 players were involved in the Club’s first ever night game on 30 July 2008 against Team Avengers, another amateur team. In this historical match, players showcased all the tactics and techniques that were drilled into them for the past months. With the tactical awareness of the Coach and timely substitutions, Schwarz Star Football Club was able to convincingly defeat The Avengers. Coach Kenneth was full of praise for the players after the match.
And with the leadership of a FAS accredited coach in our midst, we are confident Coach Kenneth will bring us to the glory we long for.
Future
With the addition of Coach Jason to the coaching department,it has added another dimension to Schwarz Star FC and Coach Jason has taken up the role of Coach for the D2D Team.
The return of co-founder Jingxiang from his studies has further strengthened the backroom of Schwarz Star FC and will continue to move towards their dream of playing in the NFL.
The Rise of SCHWARZ STAR FOOTBALL CLUB
SCHWARZ STAR FOOTBALL CLUB was founded on 29th August 2004 with the objective of becoming a professional football club.
The name Schwarz Star FC is derived from the German language, and can be roughly translated to ‘Black Star’. The 5 corners of the star represent the 5 values of: Commitment, Determination, Unity, Passion and Pride – ideal attributes of every Schwarz Star FC player.
This also stands for our motto, “Believe, Persevere, Achieve”
Also known as the Super Falcons. . .
Schwarz Star Football Club started off with 3 founders, Brandon Sng Ju Yao, Scholes Tay Kim Chye and Tan Jing Xiang. Player recruitment happened slow but steadily from all avenues –word-of-mouth recommendations and cold calls off the Internet. Within a year, it had grown to around 14 players where long-standing pioneers such as Helmi, Keith, Kelvin & Zhi Yun.
The early years saw the Super Falcons train at the, now defunct, fields of Marina South on a weekly basis. Friendly matches were also arranged with very mixed results. It was trying times for the pioneers as they struggled with funding and logistic hiccups but that only served to strengthen the bonds between players.
To reinforce a common identity, SSFC received its first set of jerseys – a grey top with a soaring falcon.
Knowing that it is a long and arduous road to professional football, Brandon and his team nevertheless took on the daunting responsibilities.
As a new team with little to show for, sponsorships were hard to come by. Many a times, pioneers such as Brandon and Kevin had to dig into their own pockets to help fund the team’s paltry finances.
Setback
Quietly confident that the club is ready for the next level, Brandon led SSFC into an amateur league in 2005. Though initial results were not as expected, players were still motivated enough to battle on. But as the season dragged on, SSFC’s debut foray into regular competition saw them near the bottom of the table. Down but never out, Brandon returned to the drawing board to plan the next steps for the club in achieving a professional status.
It was a dark time as misfortune befell upon Schwarz Star soon after the disappointing league outing. The club treasurer had absconded with the funds leaving the club penniless overnight. More bad news followed as Marina South field was to be closed up for pending developments by the Land Authority.
Being penniless and homeless, the Club was truly back to square one. Fortunate though was the level of enthusiasm that Brandon had even in the club’s darkest hours. He searched high and low for a new home ground. His perseverance paid dividends as he successfully negotiated for the usage of field at Alexandra Hospital. Thus ever since January 2006, Schwarz Star has taken to the AH field for their Sunday trainings.
Natural Progression
By then, a 2nd set of Red jerseys was introduced. A website was set up with the help of Taufiq and Keith Toh. Several batches of red jersey have since been printed as more new players joined the Club along the way. Till date, SSFC has over 50 players of which more than 30 train regularly in AH.
With the growth of the squad, and a home secured, next on the priority list was securing the services of a certified coach.
In September 2006, Brandon received a pleasant surprise by the name of Mr Kenneth Kwan. This gentleman who had just graduated from the Asian Football Confederation ‘C’ Licence Coaching Course was eager to coach a team.
With the understanding of SSFC’s future direction and objectives, new appointment holders Brandon (Team Manager) and Kenneth (Head Coach) set the gears in motion to move Schwarz Star Football Club into a new era.
A series of training programs created by Coach Kenneth was put in place. Players were put through drills to sharpen basic techniques as well as improve their football knowledge.
Schwarz Star Football Club has since implement a technique, skill and knowledge evaluation of all its players. Beyond football competence, key to the selection process was commitment.
The coach will then be able to monitor the improvements of new and old players. The evaluation was also to identify possible candidates for the formation of a new 1st Team in preparation for taking part in a League.
During these recent years, several football challenges have been initiated – futsal tournament, internal match-ups and ‘undefeated’ challenge – all in a bid to inject a sense of challenge and excitement to the players’ involvement with SSFC.
Some players were tasked to lead teams at these events to evaluate their leadership and organizational skills as part of the management, both on and off renewal process at SSFC.
On 30th July 2008, a selection of 18 players were involved in the Club’s first ever night game. In this landmark of a game, players showcased all the tactics and techniques that were drilled into them for the past months, leading to a convincing victory and a beaming Coach Kenneth.
With the leadership of a FAS accredited coach in our midst, a capable management committee, and most importantly a group of dedicated and welcoming squad of Schwarzians, the road to professional never looked brighter.
