It seldom happens but Malaysia’s stunning win over hockey elite, the Netherlands, in the 1975 Men’s Hockey World Cup is a good example of that.
The unlikeliest 2-1 victory, on this day 50 years ago in Kuala Lumpur, is an incredible tale on many levels.
For the people of Seremban, alumni of St Paul’s Institution (SPI) made the success all the sweeter.
The school stood out for its arresting contribution of two exceptional coaches and two players to the national team.
The heroics came from the head coach, Ho Koh Chye, one of his three assistants, Lawrence van Huizen, forward Franco D’Cruz and fullback Brian Sta Maria.
Koh Chye’s side played chests-out hockey, full of cohesion and belief to make the semi-final.
Franco, Brian and their teammates played with pace and adventure in all their matches, even when the pitch was as soggy as a bag of undercooked chips.
It was somewhat the Paulian spirit of leadership, team work, quality and belief.
During their time in school, the tenet of SPI was about discovering the potential and the spark within each individual pupil.
For some that might have been mathematics, but for these four Olympians, and many others, it was hockey.
SPI, at Mont La Salle in Lobak, produced hockey Olympians and world cuppers at a rate that other schools in the country couldn’t match.
The memory of those 1975 heroes reminds us of a time when passion, commitment and excellence converged to redefine national pride.
And you will want to remember them because future generations will want to know.
Just as they will want to know why SPI’s hockey has in recent decades gone from glory to obscurity.
The non-production of elite players from a once unstoppable conveyor belt of talent is simply due to the school’s waning sports culture.
SPI today serves as a poignant case of how schools in Malaysia have moved away from nurturing sporting talent.
Perhaps, lessons can be learned from SPI’s glorious experiences in hockey to revive sports in schools today.
How SPI produced elite athletes
In 1980, I set out to study my alma mater, a mission school, as an Olympic pipeline.
What began as a case study in sport evolved into a parenting guide.
Students, encouraged by their parents and teachers, played sports and became enthusiastic, even without proper gear.
Franco, for instance, received his first hockey stick as a six-year-old, broke it the same day, and went on to make another from the guava tree.
SPI’s secret to creating international, national and state athletes can be traced to the way the institution and town collectively raised its children.
Most parents stressed a generosity of spirit and sportsmanship over one-upmanship.
They embraced the belief that youth sports exist to develop a lasting love for physical activity and the outdoors, life skills and long-lasting friendships.
It was a time when kids were let to own their activities and parents tried not to control their children’s choices to serve their own egos or anxieties.
Things were easier then because SPI was a school of ethnic and racial diversity, neighbourhoods were a mixture of all the races, and no child knew anything about racism.
Good coaches built winning programmes. Winning programmes birthed division one talent.
Serani trio
Coaches like the “serani trio”, Lawrence, his younger brother Peter, and William Fidelis embodied true volunteerism.
The SPI alumnus unearthed raw talent and lit a fire inside them, giving them confidence at a young age.
Numerous Paulians, including Lawrence’s son Stephen, and Fidelis’ sons Derek and Gary, and Colin Sta Maria, stamped their mark on the international stage.
While the van Huizen brothers and Fidelis trained their alma mater, King George V (KGV) had the former Malaysia goalkeeper Koh Chye.
As a student, Koh Chye played for SPI and the bitter foe was KGV, and as a teacher he was the coach of KGV and the arch rival was SPI.
Besides schools, the Eurasian gentlemen coached the Rangers Club, a dominant force in the state, which featured SPI players and often locked horns with the mighty Kilat Club.
There leagues then were competitive and SPI players were sought after by clubs, which gave them wider experience.
In contrast, there are few clubs in the state today, and the Negeri Sembilan Hockey Association struggles to get a league going.
SPI’s hockey hall of fame
There are 150 hockey Olympians in Malaysia and SPI produced 11 of them from diverse backgrounds between 1956 and 2000.
The first hockey players to see Olympic action were Peter van Huizen (1956), Lawrence (1964) and Koh Chye (1964 and 1968), all of whom are deceased.
They were followed by Franco D’Cruz, Brian Sta Maria, Colin Sta Maria, Kevin Nunis, Stephen Van Huizen, Gary Fidelis, S Suriaghandi and Keevan Raj.
The “Black Panther”, goalkeeper James D’Cruz, represented Malaysia in the 1973 World Cup.
The achievements of the outstanding SPI hockey stars only show that a school should never shift its focus away from sport.
In the beginning, every kid runs for fun. But if you stick at it, then soon enough you need another reason.
Every Malaysian player in the 1975 World Cup, had their own. For them, it was simply that they wanted to do whatever they could best win at.