By Shariffah Shanaz (Captain), Estelle Lian (Vice-Captain) and Jodie Yam (Vice-Captain)
The rush of adrenaline at the starting whistle, the cheering of the spectators as you run with the ball, and the breathless elation at the scoring of a goal… At the heart of each game, lies our passion for soccer. Desire. Hard Work. Believe. This motto pulls us through every training, every win and every day.
This motto was introduced to us by our Coach, Mr Leong. He plans every training session and pushes us to strive for the best versions of ourselves. He has a warm personality and is the constant figure of our team, and never fails to make us laugh every training session. Given his years of experience, he has a sharp eye for our strengths and weaknesses, and shares with us tactics tailored to our team. Even if you are a beginner, he optimises your strengths and uses it to the team’s advantage on the field.
In Soccer Girls, everyone is like family to one another. On the field, we encourage one another and learn values such as perseverance and teamwork. Off the field, we often go for team dinners where we catch up on our days and laugh our hearts out. On or off the field, soccer is a wholesome community where you will find a strong support system here in RI.
If you are a newcomer to the sport, fret not! As soccer is a developmental sport in RI, some of our teammates had little to no experience in this sport. We’re only looking for one thing — passion! With passion, our coaches will be able to guide you, alongside a team who will stick with you throughout your soccer journey. We treasure every one of our members and we always spur each other on to become better players.
We train thrice a week, with Physical Training on Monday from 4.30-6.30, and ball training on Tuesday and Friday from 4:30-7:30. Although it seems like a lot, soccer is something that
we look forward to the most during the week! We enjoy every moment on the field as it gives us a chance to bond with our teammates.
On Mondays, Mr Leong gives us specific workouts, ranging from sprints to intervals to long distance runs. He focuses on improving our stamina and speed, so everyone improves together. During ball training on Tuesday and Fridays, we focus on targeted drills to hone our positioning and attacking/defending. Lastly, we end training sessions with a three-quarter field game among ourselves.
Apart from regular training sessions, we often have friendly matches with other schools to put our skills to the test. Our coach also organises video analysis sessions where we learn from each other’s strengths and mistakes. We build an open community by communicating our areas of improvement with each other openly and honestly.
Something to look forward to is the end of year camp, a 5-day training programme where we train on field and play back-to-back friendlies, working our way towards our National School Games (NSGs) held during April to May every year. We clinched 3rd place during the 2022 National School Games and put up a very good fight in 2023.
RI Soccer Girls is a team, a family and a home. You’ll always have one another to rely on and support you through the good and bad times. Furthermore, you can look forward to having fun every session and grow together as a team. “So, if you have the passion for soccer and wish to try something different, come for our trials! Our trials only require fundamental soccer skills; basic passing, shooting, and trapping of balls.
This is the mantra that our coach has instilled in every soccer girl:
Every girl can play football.
We are friends before footballers.
We build a family before building a football team.
We have the desire; we work hard; we believe.
But we will always remember to have fun.
The longer you are in the CCA, the more you will understand
It’s not really all about football.
Here’s a glimpse into what a typical training session is like:
