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New Track and Field Head Coach Brings Optimism And Enthusiasm
New Track and Field Head Coach Brings Optimism And Enthusiasm
Staff Feature: Simon Lau Chin Meng
Former Malaysian athletic coach Mr Simon Lau Chin Meng has officially joined Singapore Sports School as the new Head Coach of the Track and Field Academy since 1 June 2023. His decision to leave Malaysia surprised many in Malaysia’s sporting scene as he just concluded a successful 32nd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games campaign.
Mr Lau has had a prolific coaching career and extensive experience that started in 1989. The former decathlete started his coaching career in the Army before he became their Head Coach. He has also served as a Head Coach in Penang, Selangor and Johor Bahru in the State Sports Council. He was also seconded to the High-Performance Training Centre for Asia in 2006 which was based in Kuala Lumpur, where he was in the first batch managing high-performance training for sprint and hurdles.
More recently, under the guidance of Mr Lau, Malaysian athlete Umar Osman broke the 22-year-old national record for 400m by clocking an exceptional timing of 46.34s and won a gold medal at the 32nd SEA Games held in May. It was Umar’s first SEA Games, yet he finished explosively with a timing that is 10 times better that his personal best when he first started training under Mr Lau. The relay team also won a bronze medal after 10 years. In an interview with Umar, he showed gratitude to Mr Lau, who had pushed his limits.
Mr Lau’s dedication and passion for the sport have turned a novice into a champion, and he aims to replicate his success at Sports School. On his aspirations for the Track and Field Academy, Mr Lau shared, “I want to focus on all student-athletes equally and gain their interest and commitment to grow and develop. In my first week, I told the athletes that I met that I wanted them to go to at least the SEA Games. Some of them were shocked at what I said. But I want them to aim high and achieve their best while they are young. Monitoring their progress closely is important so that I can help them.”
While Simon is set to push the limits of our trackers to achieve their maximum potential, he also believes in developing a bond with them. Mr Lau, who is Penang-born, can speak all four languages, namely English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil, and breaks into conversing in his athlete’s mother tongue as one of his ways to connect with them.
During his first week at the track, he noticed that student-athletes are friendly and curious. “I have noticed that the student-athletes in Sports School are proactive and ask many questions to understand what they are doing. That is positive as they don’t just blindly follow what is told and develop an understanding of what is being done to develop them. I am prepared to answer them. I also want to build their character, good discipline, and commitment to physical activity.”
Mr Lau is committed to developing a strategic training plan, thinking out of the box and exploring various training methods to unleash their potential, and developing a good environment for trackers to grow and develop.
Jamie El-Redha Ang Norhisham, a Diploma in Business Year 2 student-athlete, is motivated and excited to train under him. He said, “Coach Simon’s training and guidance have been positive, given his experience in the events I am doing. His recent SEA Games success also gives me the confidence that I can break my personal best in the future. Coach’s training has been very tough but professional at the same time. Even though we now have two training sessions per day, it is well-balanced. I am enjoying every training session.”
Former Malaysian athletic coach Mr Simon Lau Chin Meng has officially joined Singapore Sports School as the new Head Coach of the Track and Field Academy since 1 June 2023. His decision to leave Malaysia surprised many in Malaysia’s sporting scene as he just concluded a successful 32nd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games campaign.
Mr Lau has had a prolific coaching career and extensive experience that started in 1989. The former decathlete started his coaching career in the Army before he became their Head Coach. He has also served as a Head Coach in Penang, Selangor and Johor Bahru in the State Sports Council. He was also seconded to the High-Performance Training Centre for Asia in 2006 which was based in Kuala Lumpur, where he was in the first batch managing high-performance training for sprint and hurdles.
More recently, under the guidance of Mr Lau, Malaysian athlete Umar Osman broke the 22-year-old national record for 400m by clocking an exceptional timing of 46.34s and won a gold medal at the 32nd SEA Games held in May. It was Umar’s first SEA Games, yet he finished explosively with a timing that is 10 times better that his personal best when he first started training under Mr Lau. The relay team also won a bronze medal after 10 years. In an interview with Umar, he showed gratitude to Mr Lau, who had pushed his limits.
Mr Lau’s dedication and passion for the sport have turned a novice into a champion, and he aims to replicate his success at Sports School. On his aspirations for the Track and Field Academy, Mr Lau shared, “I want to focus on all student-athletes equally and gain their interest and commitment to grow and develop. In my first week, I told the athletes that I met that I wanted them to go to at least the SEA Games. Some of them were shocked at what I said. But I want them to aim high and achieve their best while they are young. Monitoring their progress closely is important so that I can help them.”
While Simon is set to push the limits of our trackers to achieve their maximum potential, he also believes in developing a bond with them. Mr Lau, who is Penang-born, can speak all four languages, namely English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil, and breaks into conversing in his athlete’s mother tongue as one of his ways to connect with them.
During his first week at the track, he noticed that student-athletes are friendly and curious. “I have noticed that the student-athletes in Sports School are proactive and ask many questions to understand what they are doing. That is positive as they don’t just blindly follow what is told and develop an understanding of what is being done to develop them. I am prepared to answer them. I also want to build their character, good discipline, and commitment to physical activity.”
Mr Lau is committed to developing a strategic training plan, thinking out of the box and exploring various training methods to unleash their potential, and developing a good environment for trackers to grow and develop.
Jamie El-Redha Ang Norhisham, a Diploma in Business Year 2 student-athlete, is motivated and excited to train under him. He said, “Coach Simon’s training and guidance have been positive, given his experience in the events I am doing. His recent SEA Games success also gives me the confidence that I can break my personal best in the future. Coach’s training has been very tough but professional at the same time. Even though we now have two training sessions per day, it is well-balanced. I am enjoying every training session.”
