Football is one of my favourite sports, and I enjoy both playing and watching it. With the starting of the second season, I had a choice to pick badminton or football. I chose football because I have been playing it since I was young, and also because I wanted to play at a competitive level. We have football thrice a week, on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday and I do my best to attend all sessions. Our first session was on October 31, but unfortunately, I was unable to come as I was not feeling well. I started on Friday, and we started our session with a bunch of warm-ups like stretches and sprints. Here are some of them :

1)  Lunges: Take a big step forward with your right leg, and bend your hips so that the left knee is touching the ground at a 90-degree angle. Repeat with the left leg.

2)  Lower back stretch: Keep both of your hands on your hands, and slowly lean backwards.

3) Hamstring: Put your right leg forward, and lean forward. Put both of your hands on your thighs to put pressure on the hamstring. Repeat with the left leg.

4) Shoulder stretch: Put one of your hands in front of your chest. Place the hand of your other arm and apply pressure.

My favourite part of training is the goalkeeping drills. After the regular exercises, along with another goalkeeper, I practice drills to improve skills like reflexes. Here are some of the drills that we do:

1)  Handling: In order to be able to hold the ball more comfortably, one person volleys the ball into the hands of the goalkeeper.

2)  Shot Stopping: The goalkeeper begins on the goal line, and the attacker starts outside of the box. The attacker takes a touch and then tries to score with the second touch

Goalkeeping is something I love doing, and have been playing as a goalie since I started.  since I have not played at a competitive level before, I never felt the need to improve. But after a couple of friendly matches, I realized that it is no piece of cake, and it requires a lot more focus and effort. In order to improve my skills and to make training interesting, I watch videos on Youtube and try out new drills during the training sessions.

 

 

Not long ago, we had a practice game against Elizabeth Moir, which ended up in a draw. The result was something we did not expect, as we created more chances throughout the game, and expected to win. Since our team is very young, and most of our players are new, it will take time to understand the game and perform better. It was not bad for a second game, but I am not satisfied with my performance, and I know I can do better. I hope to improve my skills as we play more games and gain more experience. Here are some insights into the game:

The author going in after a substitution (left) .

Photo Credits:  Disara Samayawardhena

The author ready to make a save.

Photo Credits:  Disara Samayawardhena

 

OSC vs Elizabeth Moir

Photo Credits:  Disara Samayawardhena

 

I enjoyed playing the practice games, and am looking forward to our SAISA tournament in  Muscat, Oman this year. The past couple of weeks have not been easy, but thanks to the coaches and all the support that I am getting from my teammates, I feel more confident every time I step onto the field.