After the volleyball season, I was eager to continue doing sports. Having the option between soccer and badminton, I chose the former since I played this team sport in primary school and was happy to start again after about five years.

The first training session I attended was fun and after some drills that improved my passing accuracy, we had some mini-matches to use the passing tactics we learned in a game. As it was the first time I wore football boots in five years, it took some time for me to get used to the feeling of kicking a football.

A match against a local school. Photo credits: Disara Samayawardhena

Most of the training focused on improving passing accuracy, overview of the game and strategies to be able to play a fast passing game. I really enjoy playing a fluid passing game, since it is dynamic and effective. However, it requires a lot of running and communication, so that the passing remains fluid. The player with the ball has to know where he should pass to, so the others must call for the ball, find gaps and when they have the ball be able to control it and pass it back to free players.

Photo credits: Disara Samayawardhena

Photo credits: Disara Samayawardhena

Unfortunately I sprained my ankle during one training session, so I could not play for nearly half of the season. After it healed, the SAISA team was already chosen, so the training focused more on team-building and communication of the travelling players. However, this also meant that we played more, which was fun and improved my fitness. For me, sports is a good way to achieve a balance to academics, as it is enjoyable and takes my mind off other things for a while.