In Hospital Authority’s recently launched series ‘In dialogue with talent’, our fellow colleagues interact with social celebrities from football fields, badminton courts, running tracks and kitchens. Through sharing on secrets of success and wisdom of life, we have gained insights that enrich our lives. All episodes can be viewed on HA corporate website, Facebook and YouTube.
It was a sunny day with white clouds in an azure sky. Goalkeeper and captain of Eastern Football Team and member of the Hong Kong football team, Yapp Hung-fai, met with ‘Tuen Mun Ferguson’ Samuel Law, Cluster Operations Manager of the Central Sterile Supplies Department in New Territories West Cluster, to talk about how to score triumphs in games, and share stories about how they both started playing football and their memorable match experiences. The pair took to the pitch for a game with the HA football team.
The HA football team has a remarkable performance in recent open championships. They won the 7-a-side mini-soccer and 11-a-side soccer tournaments at the 2016 Corporate Games. In order to maintain good performance, Yapp reckons that it is important to have a good attitude, apart from regular practice. “The team shouldn’t become too relaxed after achieving success. If you remain hungry for the next win you will work to maintain a high standard of match play.” This attitude also applies in workplace that we strive to do the best and provide quality service to patients.
Adopting this attitude, Yapp often helps the team to win in games. He was even crowned Hong Kong Footballer of the Year 2015-16, and is currently at the top of his game. But his path to becoming a footballer was not a smooth one. As a youngster, he applied for Kwai Tsing district youth summer football training but was not selected. “At the time I thought the coach had no eye for high-potential players,” he says with a smile. “I applied for the same programme in another district in the following year and got chosen and started training. I started off as a substitute player. I focused on practising more and showed the coach my capabilities. I made sure I was well prepared and grabbed opportunities whenever they came along.”
Yapp reveals that he did not set out to be a goalkeeper. “Growing up, I played football with a group of kids in the neighbourhood. Being the youngest, I was usually delegated to play in goal. At first, I really disliked being the goalkeeper. But I started to enjoy the position a little more every time I made a successful save. I like taking up challenges and defending the goal is very satisfying.”
Law jokes that he was also ‘forced’ to fall in love with football as the pitch near his childhood home was the only place for free local entertainment for neighbourhood kids. The more he played, the more he began to develop passion for the game. As a player for HA football team, Law started out as a midfielder. Over time, he became the captain and then the coach of the HA team. Under his leadership and guidance, the HA football team has won more than 30 tournaments against various opponents in Hong Kong. His leadership philosophy is a combination of carrot and stick, with focus on the former. “I won’t shy away from criticising the team for a poor performance, but I will praise them ten times as much for a good one.“
 Samuel Law |
 Yapp Hung-fai overcame many challenges and took every opportunity to improve his skills to reach his present position. |
Law turns to a fan boy on meeting Yapp Hung-fai and Chan Yuen-ting, Eastern Football Team manager, asking for their autographs and taking photos with the sporting role models.
