When speaking with Ms Schenley Ler and her father, Mr Stanley Ler, there aren’t many hints that Schenley might be a para-athlete. In fact, she and her father come off as any other typical father-daughter duo.
For instance, when Schenley competed recently, she felt both joyful and excited, though with a touch of nervousness. Behind the scenes, her father is like any other dad; he encourages Schenley to practice at least thirty minutes a day, from Monday to Friday – “if she forgets her patterns, she can just refer to YouTube” – and constantly reminds her to do her best and that she can do it.
The recent competition was STF’s first Para Taekwondo Poomsae Championship, where Schenley competed under P20 for intellectual impairment – and walked home with the gold medal.
Schenley’s father even gave a small tip on competition preparation. “There’s no secret recipe – just practice daily,” he said.
On top of being something she enjoys, taekwondo gives her the chance to keep “strong and healthy”, Schenley said.
“My coaches guide me to practice taekwondo patterns properly. My parents guide me at home. They support and correct me to help me improve,” she enthused.
According to Stanley, taekwondo has also helped Schenley in many positive ways, including improving fitness and enhancing her self-discipline, self-confidence, focus and concentration.
When it comes to training regimes, though, some things just need to be adapted to better suit Schenley’s impairment. For example, there would be times Stanley would only focus on areas that Schenley needs to improve in.
Other times, he would adjust the frequency of training sessions to match Schenley’s fitness level and schedule. He would also provide as much support as needed to help her progress effectively.
The STF Para Taekwondo Committee welcomes para-athletes to compete and it would continue to present such opportunity for more to experience the sports.