As a continuation of our earlier article back in August, this month, we feature Gregory Isaac
Micheal, also known as Greg. He is another youngster who has been a consistent player with
our RSC hockey team in recent years.
Greg (3 rd from left) with the RSC hockey team in one of our early game post-Covid in 2021
Born on 29 th May 1995, Greg started playing hockey at the age of 13 and actively developed
himself as a hockey player in Sekolah Menengah Kepong Baru (SMKB).
“Hockey seemed like a fun sport. My cousin Brian is a hockey player and introduced me to the
game. I was actually much more interested in football when I was in secondary school. But I
decided to give hockey a try and never looked back!”
Wonderful memories from school day victory with SMKB U-18 team in 2010
One game that Greg remembers well is when he won the Zon Sentul tournament in 2012 with
SMKB, playing Maxwell in the finals. The match ended 0-0 and the game continued in extra
time. The first team to score the golden goal would win the cup, and that’s what SMKB did,
when Greg scored the winning goal in the final minutes of extra time. They carried the cup and
celebrated!
Greg loves to play in the forward position, scoring goals and leading his team to victory. His
speed, work rate and stick work makes easy work of his opponents (especially if it’s veteran
players like many of us!), regularly scoring with his reverse stick hits to all corners of the goal.
Complete band of brother in the RSC team with Agilan (1 st from left), Allan and Greg (4 th and
5 th from left) and Brian (1 st from right) in Langkawi 2022
According to Allan Netto - his team mate, senior at SMKB and best buddy, who had coached
Greg since Form 1 from scratch – “He is a fast learner and learns by watching others play,
then practising and mastering the skills observed. That’s how he became a good hockey
player”.
(L-R) Greg, Allan and Agilan, with the Guardians of the Galaxy
As a sportsman, he looks up to Michael Jordon as an example of consistency, dedication and
discipline in his sport, which led to him being the GOAT during his era.
In 2021, Greg suffered a serious knee dislocation during a game, as he was dribbling the ball
out of defence and suddenly dropped when he made a quick turn on the run. We all thought
that would have ended his hockey playing days – he proved us wrong.
Today, he is back to his best, working hard over the many months with his discipline and
determination to recover from his injury (including many pool sessions at RSC Kiara!). In fact,
he has come back stronger than before, making him an even better player today.
Working hard on his recovery and receiving a token of appreciation from Dato’ R. Yogeswaran
for this role in the organising committee of the RSC 6s Hockey Fiesta on 16 th Oct 2021
In the local hockey scene, Greg looks to Prabahkaran Periathamby (Praba), a former
Malaysian international, for inspiration and guidance.
“As a forward, watching Praba play is simply mesmerizing. He displays simple yet brilliant
manoeuvres, allows him to dribble past players and score goals almost effortlessly.”
“Praba has guided me in my hockey journey and continues to guide me until today. When we
play alongside each other, he coaches and gives me tips on improving my game.”
Greg with Praba (4 th from left) in Bali earlier this year (left) and with team Grays (right)
Greg and Praba at a recent RSC match
On the more personal side, Greg grew up in a Catholic environment, was an altar boy at the
Jesus Caritas Catholic church in Kepong Baru and has always been a family-oriented person.
He is currently a teacher in a special needs school and plans to continue his teaching career
for as long as possible. Greg is generally soft-spoken and his caring nature is what brings his
friends and team mates close to him (besides scoring many goals for the team lah!).
Greg is truly a hockey player with a heart!
