Singapore #Fitspo of the Week: Christopher Kelly-Wong

Life goes beyond the digits on the scale and your body is capable of so much more. Yahoo’s #Fitspo of the Week series is dedicated to inspirational men and women in Singapore leading healthy and active lifestyles. Have someone to recommend? Hit Cheryl up on Instagram or Facebook.

Name: Christopher Micheal Kelly-Wong (@christopherkellywong)

Age: 17

Height: 1.77m

Weight: 81kg

Occupation: Student

Status: Single

Diet: No fast food, lots of carbs, protein and vegetables

Training: Ice hockey three to five times every week, gym two to three times every week.

Q: What kind of sports did you play when you were younger?

A: I’ve been playing rugby for school and other clubs since I was six till the end of last year. I started ice hockey when I was eight.

How did you get into ice hockey and what led you to join the Singapore men’s national ice hockey team?

The father of one of my friends from school recommended that I should come and try out ice hockey. That was how I started with the Singapore Ice Dragons youth team.

When I was 14, I was approached by my school’s physical education teacher, Mr Darren Harold, who was the head coach for the men’s national ice hockey team. This led me to the national youth team run by Joewe Lam and Ryan Tan. From then on, I trained and went on to represent Singapore in the 2018 and 2019 IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia.

What do you like about the sport?

The speed, physicality, adrenaline rushes and the team play.

You will be representing Singapore in your first SEA Games this year. How does it feel?

I feel extremely proud and grateful as I understand it’s a privilege to be in the squad to represent Singapore in the 2019 SEA Games.

What are some of your best sporting achievements thus far?

This year during the 2019 IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia in Malaysia, we were able to beat Malaysia at their home ground and won the bronze medal for our country in the top men’s division.

How do you balance training as a national athlete, studies and your teenage life?

For myself I put two things above everything else in my life – studies and ice hockey. I feel that everything else I can do on the side is a bonus. Which means if I need to sacrifice social activities for studies or ice hockey, I will do so.

Ice hockey is quite rare in Singapore, how do you hope to make it more popular?

I hope to grow it by helping to develop the youths in Singapore as they will be the future of the national team and the sport. Currently, I am helping to train the youth groups with the Ice Dragons every Monday. I also occasionally help out with the off-ice training for the national youth team on Sundays.

Was there ever a time where you did not feel confident about yourself?

All the time. During every tournament I think most players will have to re-evaluate the way they play. After a bad performance I always feel less confident going into the next game.

How did you overcome that?

I always have to tell myself that there will always be more opportunities where I must prove myself and show that I will not make the same mistakes again.

Do you get any comments about your body?

Some people say how I weigh a lot for my height compared to other people. So I tell them, if I run into someone during an ice hockey game, they will wish that they weighed more.