Soccer is one of the most popular sports in the world, and so it’s no surprise that this is reflected in the FIS community. Every day during the season, middle and high school students gather on the fields to fight for dominance on the field, dribbling, passing, and shooting. It’s surely one of the most well known sports in the school, but where does this all start? What inspires these players to get out on the field and play their best?
For Feyi, a striker, it was the role models she had seen growing up. “I was inspired by the English football players I watched as a kid,” she explains.
For others, it was the act of playing with friends and family. “I really like playing soccer, and many of my friends joined,” Gaia explains. She plays midfield left, like Angelica, who agrees, saying, “I joined soccer because it’s my favorite sport and I just love it.”
Yet these aren’t the only enjoyable parts of being on this team – all three girls agreed that their favorite parts were getting to travel, another experience unique to FIS and other international schools. It’s certainly a highlight for many athletes, as “travel” typically means a trip to another school, having fun with teammates and making new friends from other schools, ranging from day-trips to overnight stays. Naturally, this takes a lot of work and practice, and these players have not been skimping on this.
“Practices are a mix of cardio, drills, and matches,” Feyi explains. These teams practiced from September to November, and worked hard at improving their skills, and it’s certainly been making a difference.
“I had some challenges communicating with my team,” Gaia, a seventh grader on a separate team from Feyi, elaborates, referring to passing to each other on the field, “but now when we are free we can call out!”
These kinds of events aren’t the only roadblocks these players have faced. “I’ve faced the challenge of an injury,” Feyi describes, but she fought back “and came back stronger”.
Angelica, another 7th grade player, had an entirely different experience with injuries on her team. She had to play goal-keeper during parts of the season, because the regular goal-keeper was injured. According to her, the hardest part about this was “having to make split-second decisions in a game”.
Yet these teams have been fighting forwards nonetheless. “Games have been a mix of wins, losses, and a few ties,” Feyi says. And when asked about ISSTs, the championship tournament, she says, “I’m excited for the tournament experience and one more chance to play well with my team.”
Because in the end, that’s who these players are – a team. Despite coming from different backgrounds – even different countries, when they step onto the pitch, they are soccer players, playing and kicking and scoring goals.
And that’s the beauty of the game.
