Source:
https://scmp.com/article/986978/athlete-week

athlete of the week

Name Ho Tsz-kan
School Cheung Sha Wan Catholic Secondary School
Grade Form Seven
Sport Volleyball and basketball

Achievements

Tsz-kan, 18, is a centre on the Hong Kong youth volleyball squad.

He was part of the Hong Kong boys' team that came first in the Schools' Interport Volleyball Championships and All-China Secondary Schools Students' Volleyball Championships this year.

His school team won both the 2010/11 Inter-school Volleyball Competition (Division One, Kowloon) and 2010/11 All-Hong Kong Schools Jing Ying Volleyball Tournament for the first time in the school's history.

He is the captain of his school's basketball and volleyball teams. He led the Grade A volleyball team as they defended their title in the the 2011/12 Inter-school Volleyball Competition (Division One, Kowloon) last month.

Soundbite

'I think my teammates want me to be captain because I can speak up and give directions if necessary,' Tsz-kan says. 'I am comfortable doing that as we are all close friends. I know them well and so can talk things over with them when I want to have changes in our play.

'My weakness is that, under pressure, I am often unable to control myself emotionally on court. I am determined to improve on that score.

'Our former captain Wong Ho-kiu invited me to join the team after the completion of final exams in Form Three. He was leading the team very well last year. When he and other graduates left our team this year, I was concerned we might lose the title without their help.

'A day before the final, I saw on Facebook that members of our rival team were certain of victory against us. I told myself to keep calm and focused. After our win, I happily uploaded a photo of our team with the championship trophy.'

From his coach

'Tsz-kan is a special player on the team. He has shown vast improvement throughout the years to make up for his relatively late start in the sport,' says school PE teacher and coach, Ngai Chun-kuen. 'He can jump high and has good reflexes.

'He demonstrated his talent in the second set of this year's inter-school final. We were behind, but he led the team well and we drew level before winning the match in the end.'

Ambitions

'Our target is to defend our Jing Ying Tournament title this year. I expect our toughest opponents to be Diocesan Boys' School. They will have changes in their line-up as they challenge us for the title. Their Grade B star Jonathan To Sik-lok is now on the Grade A team. With less than three weeks until the tournament, we need to work hard on our serves and receiving,' Tsz-kan says.