Eleez’s SAISA Volleyball Experience

Our school, OSC, is a part of an international school sports league called SAISA (The South Asian Inter-Scholastic Association). As mentioned in one of my previous posts I was chosen to play on OSC’s Girl’s Volleyball team. Our tournament was held over the course of three days from October 20-22 2022 at the American International School of Dhaka in Bangladesh. 

I was quite looking forward to this experience as I would get to play with my friends as well as make new ones over the three days. After the very warm welcome ceremony we had, we befriended our classroom supporters from Grade 4. They were very excited to meet us and ask us questions. 

Forth Grade Supporters
Gecko Fan

Poster Explanation

Our games started quite late this day but we had several to play. Thursday was in fact our busiest day. The days got progressively less intense from here on. 

Day 1: 

  • Geckos vs. Tigers JV 
  • Geckos vs. Scorpions   
  • Geckos vs. Cobras 
  • Geckos vs. Tigers 

Day 2: 

  • Geckos vs. Raptors 
  • Geckos vs. Lincoln (Snow Leopards) 
  • Geckos vs. Eagles (ASB) 

Day 3: 

  • Geckos vs. SAISA Team 
  • Geckos vs. Eagles (TAISM) 

Knockouts: 

  • Geckos vs. Cobras 
Team Huddle
Playing
Celebrating

We started off strong by winning against the host school’s junior varsity team. We hoped this would continue but unfortunately, we lost the proceeding games. We had played some good volleyball against the teams we had lost, losing by a mere two points each time. 

On the second day, we beat Lincoln School, who would be second overall. On the third day, we had come so close to TAISM having them beat us 16-14 in the third and final set of the game. 

Our losses were extremely frustrating but this was a learning experience as we realized our strengths and weaknesses as well as how to work well in a team which inarguably is the most crucial part of the game. 

Personal Growth: I found myself being a lot more stressed when playing than I had imagined considering during our home games I didn’t feel as much pressure. Retrospectively, I found this pressure to be a good thing as it made certain things clear in my head like “DON’T LET THE BALL TOUCH THE FLOOR”. It caused me to be a lot more alert and at times I found myself performing well in this regard. Toward the end of the tournament, this feeling was lost and caused me to make several mistakes which cost our team points. This mental imbalance was not good as it affected both me and the team. I find that it is important to realise these things earlier than later so that one can make the appropriate game decisions. 

 

Final Day (in pictures):

Traditional Bangladeshi Snack: Phuchka
Beautifully Embellished Poster (Lincoln Supporter)
ASB Buddies
Dasha and Sara asleep in the super cool, FREE “lounge” Eleez (author) discovered
Selfie with Bangladesh’s most famous author

Learning Outcomes: 

  • LO1:  Identify your own strengths and develop areas for personal growth.
  • LO2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.
  • LO5: Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.

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