Initially, the plan was to join the tournament starting at the end of September, but due to some troubles with the time matches start etc, we were unable to participate in the tournament. The football practices just ended this week.
Through nearly 2 months of football practices, I’ve managed to achieve the initial goals which I’ve set.
1. To increase my awareness of the strengths and weaknesses in football. In terms of the main strengths, they were passing, receiving the ball, precision and stamina. In terms of the main weaknesses, they were attacking, techniques and in the situation of 1 vs 1.
2. To develop skills in football. I feel that I’ve managed to really improve my skills. The strengths (which I’ve listed above) were things that developed with the practices, and that was clear to me as I realized that I was able to do more than what I initially could do. I feel that I’ve developed every skills in football from passing to shooting. Even though there are still weaknesses, they’ve also improved over the course of the practices.
3. To work collaboratively with the rest of the team members. I strongly feel that I’ve collaborated well with the members at all time. I’ve listened to the directions that Karl, Bharat and others gave, helping others with specific training like long passes and working together as a team.
4. To show perseverance and commitment in this tournament by attending each practice. I wasn’t able to attend every single practice, and I couldn’t go for 2 practices, mainly due to the stressful Extended Essay. However, I believe that despite the EE deadline and all the other assignments which came up, I consistently attended most practices, and certainly showed my perseverance and commitment (I definitely attended more practices than the majority).
5. To build friendship with new students through football. In terms of this goal, it was very successful, and through practices, I made good friends, such as Dylan, John, Abrai, etc. Making a friendship through activities is an important aspect in life, and through football, I was able to build friendship with the team members.
Apart from achieving these goals, I’ve also challenged myself by trying new things. For example, we often had a penalty shoot-out at the end of each practice, and since our goalie Savinda wasn’t present at times, I chose to be a goalie. It was definitely a challenge for me since I’m not used to being a goalie, but at the same time it was a valuable experience as to increase an awareness of the area for growth.
Overall, this nearly 2 months of football practices has been very successful and I’ve gotten many positive aspects out of it. Although we weren’t able to take part in the tournament, I managed to develop my football skills, make new friends, challenging new things, and I’ve certainly enjoyed it while gaining new experiences.
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