A Tough Pill to Swallow – SAISA Football 2024🫠

If I’m being honest, the pill is still not swallowed. SAISA Football this year was really, really emotionally tough on me. Here we go, an experience I’ll never forget, for the better or worse. 

Football is one of my favorite sports, if not my favorite. My dad, a passionate AS Roma supporter (he definitely needs to see a therapist) also loves the sport. AS Roma is a team that is really struggling with, well, playing football right now. I have to admit, I support this team as well; even going to Stadio Olimpico last year and saw them play live – an unforgettable experience. My brother also both loves football and AS Roma, so it is a bit of a common passion in our household, and always has been. I started playing around 2020, but it was really difficult since it was during the COVID lockdown and well, I couldn’t really practice at all. Additionally the club I was going to focused a lot on the boys, and the girls had to play with 6-10 year old boys. It wasn’t the best. Then, after the economic crisis in Sri Lanka, this club closed down and I couldn’t really play anymore. I played a bit here and there with my brother and dad, which was fun, but it wasn’t anything major. 

Nevertheless, I love the sport and continued to improve. I went to SAISA football in Oman last year, we came 4th place (out of 10). This was okay since our team was completely new to the sport and very inexperienced. Thus, 4th place was actually pretty alright, considering the state of our team. This year however, would be different. I could feel it. The team was not so inexperienced anymore, we had our first female coach (shout out to Coach Morgan), the girls were taking the sport more seriously, and I personally had also improved a lot. We trained and trained, on top of all the additional school work, COMUN and the draining German literature mother tongue (SSST) course I’m doing. It was a lot, but once SAISA came around, I really wanted all the hard work to pay off. 

Day 1 – Starting off SAISA: 

As SAISA girls football was hosted here in Colombo, Sri Lanka, I did not have to travel anywhere and could sleep in my own comfortable bed. When the morning of SAISA came, I had already figured out a routine. I got out of bed, took a cold shower and then put my music on. Then I did my hair, which was an extremely important part of the morning, as I have curly hair, and if you are also someone with curly hair, you know the struggle. I gelled it back and braided it so it wouldn’t annoy me while playing or anything. I ate my breakfast, and then my dad and I would head to school in the morning. My mum and brother traveled to Chennai for the SAISA track and field competition my brother was participating in. So it was just my dad and me, getting through this competition together. We would watch my brother’s live stream in the morning, as he was doing the distance running races. We got to school and it started off with the opening ceremony. It was nice having our school there to support us as our team was announced. It is also Sri Lankan tradition to light the oil lamp, which I as vice captain and our captain (shoutout Stephie Turner) had the honor of lighting. 

After this, was the long awaited opening game: OSC (us) vs ISOI (International School of Islamabad). We had an impressive 7:0 game, where I scored the first two goals of the competition. We played alright, but I knew that we could still do better. Our next opponent of the day was AISD (American International School of Dhaka). Now they were a big opponent of ours, not only because I knew they were a good team, but also because in last years knock out stage games, OSC were the ones that knocked them out of a place in the semi finals. So, obviously, they wanted revenge. I scored the first 2 goals for our team, and were leading 3:1 by the first half. The game ended with a close 4:3 to us, it was definitely a nail biting game, and way too close for comfort. But, a win’s a win, and I was pleased with our performance and two wins of the day. The team had a nice bonding moment when we all jumped in the pool that same day to refresh and mess around a bit. 

I went home that day, washed another teams’ kits (don’t ask me why I signed up for that, I felt bad for my washing machine – those kits stunk). I then reflected with my dad during dinner time, called my mum and my brother and went straight to sleep, I was exhausted. 

Day 2 – Half Way: 

This was the same routine as before, shower, music, hair, a bit of dancing, breakfast and watching my brother run on the live stream (side note; he did great).  Our first game today was at 12:30, the hottest, most brutal time of the day, versus the raining champions TAISM (The American International School of Muscat). We had watched TAISM play the day before, and let me tell you, they were so good. We were genuinely scared to play them, they are a strong and intimidating team. We didn’t even aim to win, we just aimed to draw or not lose horribly. The game started, and it was really tight. Both sides were fighting hard, not only in the game, but against the reckless heat as well. The sun was eating all of us alive, and I was being intensely marked by their captain. She is an amazing player, she is so good that it almost annoys me. I could not get rid of her and she was literally on me, and I was on her as we are both the central midfielders of our teams. But one split second is all I needed, to score one heck of a goal. I received the pass from Anais, our right winger, the ball was high and I volleyed it into the top corner of the goal. It was a great memory, the crowd went wild and I ran to celebrate and hug all my teammates. It was like a fever dream. The reigning champions were under shock; they were the sacred ones now. One of them was getting so mad that she started swearing at us and her coach subbed her off. Bye bye. The first half ended and we were up 0:1. It was hot, it was sweaty, it was hard to breathe. I took an ice block and melted it over my face, drenched myself in cold water. Our coach was not subbing me or Stephie off, because this was the moment he needed us the most. Stephie, our central defender, we need a short moment of appreciation. She is such a strong player, she was like a wall and no one was getting past her – and even if they did, we had our literal wall, our goal keeper Sofia Obretenova. Another moment of appreciation, she made saves, literal saves only a professional could make. One word: insane. And now to all the other players who played vs TAISM, wow, suddenly all of us improved drastically. It’s like something switched on in all our brains and we channeled energy we didn’t even know we had. The games consisted of 20 minute halves, and when the second half started, around 10 mins in, TAISM scored the equalizer. We had 1 minute left on the clock, and the most unfortunate thing happend, TAISM scored another and won the game 2:1. 

I was quite upset, as we were so close to being the first team since last year to beat the almighty TAISM. We scored on them first! I joined my dad in the stands, and the tears started flowing. As this was happening, and my dad was comforting me, the parents of the TAISM captain came up to me and congratulated me. They told me I was an amazing player and that  they’ve never felt so stressed in a game. The TAISM captain herself also came up to me after, and said that she was dying whilst marking me. Obviously I was still upset, but I really appreciated the support I was receiving. Again, my dad, my number 1 fan, was there with me. My mum and coach Morgan, who were both in Chennai, watched the game live and called to comfort. A thank you to them as it really did make me feel better. 

After lunch, we had our second game of the day, which was vs KAS (not CAS), Karachi American School. We won the game 3:0, but we did not play very well. Our morale was quite low, and we played at the level of our opponents, as KAS really wasn’t the strongest team (they lost 18:0 the day before vs TAISM, just for a comparison). Anyways, it was a win and allowed us to finish 2nd in our group/pool. 

Tomorrow morning was going to be really tough as we faced ACS (American Community School Amman), a team we lost 7:0 last SAISA football. They finished 3rd in their pool. Kick off was at 8:30, and we had to be ready. Coach Morgan called us and gave us a pep talk, Stephie gave the team a pep talk, and at night I messaged a pep talk to the group chat. This was a ticket to the semi-finals, and I was not going to let it go easily. 

At home I washed kits again (I am a hero), and reflected on the day with my dad. 

Day 3: One Final Push

At any SAISA competition, Day 3 is always the hardest – everything hurts, every muscle is tight and cells start to respire anaerobically only. But, pain aside, this game vs ACS was too important, and we did not have the time to think about muscle pains and cells. We knew they were a strong team, but after such a close call playing vs TAISM, we really wanted to face them again, maybe even in the final. We did our warm up, and I could tell everybody was ultra focused. The whistle blew and the game started. We were pretty even and ACS was a strong team. As central midfielder, one of my jobs was also to mark one of their top players, shoutout to their #7 – Sima. She is so good, one because her far shots are great and super accurate, but two because she is so quick and never gives up, it was very difficult. She was also the person marking me. We ended up clutching a 4:0 win, where I assisted 2 of the goals – a ticket to the semi finals and I couldn’t be happier. 

Our next game was going to be vs the very strong ASB, last year’s runners up, who had not lost a game yet. If we won this game, we just got ourselves in the final and a rematch vs TAISM. But unfortunately, ASB got the better of us and won the game 2:0. To be fair, we had already played a game in the morning, (whilst ASB hadn’t) and we were already pretty tired. Nevertheless, I was devastated, because I was so ready to play TAISM in a medal game; but things don’t always go to plan, I guess. 

This meant we had to play the AISD tigers from Bangladesh (again), for 3rd/4th place, a chance for the podium and for a medal. This was about to be the third game of the day for both teams. AISD had just been beaten 6:1 by TAISM, so their morale was also pretty low. Morale, pain and tiredness aside, this game was about to be the most important one of the competition. Last year’s SAISA football we ended up coming 4th place, close, but short of a medal. I did not at any cost want that to happen again. Spoiler alert, it did. AISD ended up winning 2:0 vs us. 2 minutes before the final blew, I started crying on the pitch. Finding it hard to breathe, and emotions just overflowing as I realized things were about to end the same way they did last year. As the ref blew the final whistle, I broke down on the pitch. I was crying as Stephie, who also started tearing helped me back up. I gave it my all, I ran from place to place but it was not enough. Do I think we were the better team? Yes, I do. Do I think that the reason they won was because they were mentally stronger? Yes, I do. We had beaten AISD in the group stage, and I could tell they wanted revenge; in a game which was far more important than a group stage game. But, I promise you one thing, I wanted it so bad. I wanted a place on the podium so bad. I wanted all the extra training to pay off. I had parents, coaches and players come up to me the whole tournament telling me I was a great player, and I just really wanted everything to end on a positive note; with a medal in hand. Even though I gave that last game every bit of energy I had left, even with my ankle which was looking a bit rough; I did not feel like a great player. I guess, in that moment, I again realized what it meant to be part of a team. You win, and you lose, together, regardless of the fact that you’re a good or bad player. It is a beautiful thing, but for the next couple weeks that fact really drained me. I’ll be honest and vulnerable here, but I cried after the game, teared up during the closing ceremony, on the way home, when I went to sleep, the next morning. I had my dad right beside me through every tear, but I was so upset. My mum came back from Chennai the next day, and it took the both her and my dads hugs and support for me calm down. 

I am very well aware of the fact that I put a lot of pressure on myself. Whether that is on the football pitch, or in the classroom. I admit, I am extremely determined, sometimes even too determined. I put my all and everything into something, and when it does not turn out, I get mad at myself, and at everything. I mean, it is the most annoying thing, when you work so hard, give it your all, and things still don’t go your way. But, that’s football, and honestly, thats life. 

I don’t want to end this CAS post on a physiological note, so, here are some of the things I loved about this year’s SAISA football. I made new friends with people from other schools, shoutouts to Dylan and Sima. I scored a beauty vs TAISM (top corner). I had a really fun week with my dad. My brother came back from SAISA track with a handful of medals (at least one of us did, haha). I got to spend some time with my wonderful team, and lastly and most importantly, I got to play the sport that I love. It’s easy to focus on the bad things, but after a couple weeks or so, I realized that I needed to focus on the good things to move on. And I did. Hopefully next year will go better; it’ll be my final SAISA football and I hope that it will be worth the heartbreaks of this and last year. 

Finally, a big thank you to Coach Morgan, Mr. Turner and Mr. LeBlanc for all the help and support this season. A big shout out to Coach Morgan however, because she has been an inspiration to me, and I’ve loved playing and improving with her. Thank you to my team, our captain and one of my best friends, Stephie. Our incredible, amazing, ultra talented goalkeeper, Sofia. Our strong defensive wall, Julia, Kallie, Stephie and Darya. The rapid wingers, Lily, Lucia, Anais and Feline. Our main strikers, Isa and Astrid. And of course, our super skilled and talented Leah, subbing in for me as central midfielder and occasional striker. Now I’ve watched Leah play for a while now, since we used to play with middle school boys on Sundays together; and I’m so proud of her. She’s come such a long way and I can guarantee you one thing; she will be one of OSCs top players if she continues with the passion and dedication she has for the sport. Thank you to everybody who came and watched our matches, shout out to the parents with the vuvuzelas (including my dad). Lastly, thank you to my dad, my main support system during this tournament, thank you for everything. 

I promise, the pill is swallowed now 🙂 

And now, onto SAISA basketball!