The Lancer Way: Jocelyn Chee
3/30/2021
The Lancer Way is a platform provided by California Baptist University's Athletic Department that allows student-athletes to share their stories. All of the words are their own.
Written By: Jocelyn Chee, Women's Golf, Sr., Kedah Malaysia
At some point throughout the five-to-10 hour tournament day, my playing partners and I will try to start up some small conversations to make the day seem shorter, and the usual discussion starts with some common questions, like “what year are you currently in?” or “what major are you studying right now?”
But there is one question I like to answer the most: “where are you from?”
I am Jocelyn Chee, and I am from Malaysia, a small country that is 8,752 miles away from California.
That is basically halfway across the Earth.
Upon hearing my answer, my playing partners will give me some reactions, which I find amusing sometimes.
Sometimes, I can’t help but wonder if people over here really know about Malaysia.
Do they know where Malaysia is? Do they know that most Malaysians know more than one language? How much do they know about Malaysia?
So, how did I end up at where I am now, so far from home?
There was another sport that came into my life before golf, which was badminton. Badminton might sound kind of random; as it is not a well-known sport in the U.S. Yet, if you know Malaysia well enough, you will know that badminton is the pride of Malaysia.
I first picked up a racket at the age of six, along with my older sister, who has been playing for a while then. Since then, badminton was not something casual for me. It was my goal and my dream. I played competitively, and I spent all of my time outside of my studies on it. It was hours of technical training and physical training.
Fast forward to when I was 10 when I first crossed paths with golf. I still vaguely remember my first few days with golf. I remember that every week, my parents would drop me off at the driving range for a two-hour lesson. I remember some of my friends who were there with me. I remember some of the techniques that my coach taught me.
And I also remember having no interest in golf at all.
But little did I know that this would be the sport that accompanies me longer between the two.
Ever since golf came into the picture, my days got busier. It would always be filled with school, badminton, and golf. I could not tell if I was enjoying those days or not. It just seems like I did not have time for myself.
My friends would invite me to hang out together, but I would never make it. Not even once.
At some point, I got frustrated with that. I kept asking myself why I can’t go out with friends. But I did not want to give up either of the sports, even with no interest in golf.
It was when I was 12 that there was a slight turning point. I played in my first-ever golf tournament, and it was an inter-school tournament. I could not remember how I played, but I remember enjoying the time on the course. I finally started liking golf a little.
That is also the year where most of my friends whom I grew up with started to leave the sport. And, of course, as I lost companionship, I lost interest in badminton.
I blame it on myself too. Not the fact that my friends were leaving, but the fact that I lost my passion. I was not working hard enough. I was not hungry enough. And I was not improving. I did not have the results that I wanted. And I was not even close to people’s expectations for me.
And then comes the decision which changed my path completely: I stop playing badminton and put my entire focus on golf.
There were many ups and downs in my golf career, which leads to a love-and-hate relationship with golf.
But let’s fast forward to 2017, the year when I committed to play for CBU.
CBU Women's Golf would like to welcome Jocelyn Chee Yi Min to the Lancer Family! She will be a freshman in 17-18 pic.twitter.com/oOtxihgOas
— California Baptist Women's Golf (@CBUwomensgolf) April 15, 2017
To be honest, CBU was never on the top of my list. I actually forgot how I found out about CBU and emailed Coach Machado. But I signed the NLI anyways. I have to say - it was scary. I did not know what to expect. I did not visit the campus nor meet with Coach Machado face to face. All we did was a Skype call and a lot of email exchanges.
But that’s how it all started.
Now, I have been a student-athlete in CBU for almost four years - it was not easy. Even though I have been balancing sports and studies for more than half of my life, I still find it hard, especially with the fact that I made a bold move by majoring in Applied Statistics and minoring in Data Science when I have never studied statistics nor programming before college.
Golf is an all-year-round sport. Except for November, December, and summer, we are continually juggling classes and practices. It gets harder, especially during tournaments. We have to miss classes but still complete our assignments on time.
That’s always when I feel like I have been thrown into the ocean and fighting to swim back to the bank. I feel lost. Like, extremely lost.
Things get worse when I can’t get enough sleep, which I think is a common problem among student-athletes. I love to sleep, yet I have so much on my plate.
As a student-athlete, I am always moving and constantly doing something. Every minute is precious.
There is no time to waste.
But why do I keep doing this? Why do I keep putting myself in this pressured situation? There are two central answers to these questions.
As much as golf has brought stress into my life, it has given me so much pleasure. I like the way that golf never fails to make me hungry to improve. I like the way it never fails to challenge me. I like the idea that it forces me to work harder, and I love the way it will reward all the hard work with success.
Yes, that applies to all sports. I did not realize it early enough for badminton, which is why I am determined to do it right with golf. And that is why I am still doing it. It is my dream and goal to be a successful professional golfer, and I know that there are other ways to achieve it, other than being away from family to play college golf.
Although I don’t need to keep flying back to CBU after each break, I want to, and this TEAM is the reason. We all come from different areas, grew up in different cultures, have polar opposite personalities, but, for the TEAM, we always put down our differences and have been there to support each other. They made it easier to be motivated, to work hard, to improve continually, and to stay hungry. Most important of all, they make the process much more enjoyable.
Four years isn’t long, but I have seen this TEAM go through a lot. From almost finishing in the last place in the Nationals Preview to finishing as a Division Two Nationals runner-up. From being an underdog in Division I to claiming three tournament wins in our first year as a TEAM. I could have chosen to go to another school that was more well known in DI golf, but I’m glad that I decided to go to CBU.
Because I know that one day, the CBU women’s golf team will be known across the country, and when people ask me where I played, I can proudly say with confidence, that I played for CBU.
I have made some bold decisions throughout my life. Stopping my badminton career and leaving Malaysia to come all the way to California were two of the toughest decisions I have ever made.
But I believe that they will be one of the most impactful decisions.
I do not know if it will lead to my final goal and how tough this journey will be, but I will stay motivated to reach it.
As Coach Machado says, “Success and failure are part of the journey. The key is waking up the next day, still motivated after both,” and it depends if you decide to be or not.
Lance Up!
