Big Losses😔

What a humbling experience this was. The day after our game vs CIS, we played our game vs Renown football academy. We played against their 18+ women’s team, which consisted of some military players as well. We got absolutely destroyed and demolished. The score was 8:0. In other words, we went from winning 8:0, to losing 8:0. Nevertheless, this game was a huge learning experience and opportunity for all of us. SAISA is incoming, and this is the kind of extra push we really needed in order to start training harder. During the game, one of our coaches (shout out to Coach Morgan, aka the best coach ever) subbed in for me as a central midfielder. Other than the fact that she is an amazing player, she also plays the same position as me. This allowed me to watch her play, where I learned a lot. The way she controlled the pace of the game, how she helped in the defense but also in the offense, her great ball control and distribution. She did everything, and in that moment I realized the importance of the center mid player. 

Even though the Renown women brutally destroyed us, they also inspired me in a way. Firstly, their speed and skill with the ball was impeccable. Speed is such a huge component of football, and it makes you an even better player if you are fast. Secondly, these women play with each other all year round, so their chemistry was unmatched. They know where to pass to before they receive the ball themselves, they know where their teammates are on the pitch without having to look up, and in general, they are just highly skilled and quick players. If you can’t tell by now, they were a great team, and even though they were a big humbling loss, I’ve never felt so inspired as a female football player. 

After this game we went on WWW (sorry Mr. Lockwood, I promise the WWW CAS post is coming soon). I returned from WWW late on Friday, and early on Saturday, we had another game. This time it was vs Moir. We all knew that Moir is a pretty decent team. They are definitely not as good as Renown, but they are still pretty good. Unfortunately for us, our main, strong and amazing center back player, Ms. Stephie Turner was suffering from shin splints (again). This meant that a less experienced player would have to be starting. We conceded two early goals in the first half, and scored 1. My coach ended up playing me as the center back position (instead of my usual center mid). I’m not going to lie, this is not my favorite thing to do, but it was our best shot (literally – sorry, such a bad pun). We ended up leveling and it became 2:2, but we also ended up losing 5:3. We played 3 25 minute games, and it was the first time I ever played with no rests; I never got subbed. I was already dizzy before the game started, tired because of WWW, hot because it was an extra hot and humid day, and stressed because we had conceded 2 early goals AND SAISA was in the coming week. Yeah, so I was not feeling too good. Overall, our performance was not the greatest. We were all a bit out of it and our heads were not 100% in the game. However, I again think that it was another push for us to prove ourselves at SAISA next week. I also learned a lot about the role of the center back, which my coach said I might play if Stephie is unable to (ugh). I’m okay with this but we don’t really have someone to completely take the role of the center mid, forcing me to sort of play in both positions, center mid and back, which results in more running. It’s fine, I will survive. I’m being an IB risk taker, by doing something I am not used to, which also connects to being open minded. A key part of being a central player is also being a communicator – you direct and control the whole game, you help out your teammates and you link everything together. Along with playing football, these are also some ground skills I will have to apply during SAISA next week in order to be successful. Again, wish us luck! 

 

PS: WWW post coming soon, I promise Mr. Lockwood!

PPS: Watch the video GeckoNet (a service group at OSC) created for us HERE!