The 2015 IISSAC Football tournament has been run and won with new champion teams crowned. Wesley won the boys and Bali, for the first time in IISSAC history, are the girls champions.
The coaches have individual reports on our teams and their journey through the tournament, but what impressed me the most was the manner in which our players conducted them selves throughout the tournament. They were humble in victory and gracious in defeat. They led the way with no dives, no arguing with the refs, no hostilities, just good hard clean play and that earned the respect of the opposition players, spectators and coaches. This was a reflection of the controlled leadership and role modelling provided by their coaches Mr Matt Wood and Mr Alan Lorenzini.
Massive thanks must go to the behind the scene people who help make these events happen: the ground staff, cleaning staff, security staff and Ibu Surya were all vital in ensuring the smooth running of the event. In particular Pak Nyoman was outstanding. He was controlling the new field, organising referees, coordinating equipment, marking lines, organising trophies etc etc. A fantastic effort by all our support staff and a great showcase for our school.
Mr. Sutherland
Well done IISSAC Senior Girls Football Team!
It was a pleasure to be part of this winning season. Thank you to Mr. McCormick for his role in developing some of the impressive skills on display, and thank you to all the senior girls who participated in BSSA earlier this year. Your involvement helped to build some fabulous team spirit. Though the first team lost the BSSA final on penalties, it served as an important stepping stone for what was to come.
Over the weekend, our girls played 7 matches, losing only once along the way. We showed great determination in this tournament, coming back from behind 3 times. In a tight semi-final, we ended the curse of the penalty shoot out and edged our way into the final. Our girls performed admirably in the final, winning the game 2 – 0, and bringing our goal-scoring tally for the tournament to 15.
Well done to
- Ines for her outstanding saves, particularly during the penalty shoot out
- Sari for her boundless energy and ability to get to the ball first
- Molly for terrifying opposition defences and scoring 6 goals.
- Georgia for intercepting so many passes.
- Jael (our captain) for her leadership and the goal of the tournament
- Adela for all her hard work in the mid-field, protecting our defence
- Cami, Natasha and Sierra for helping us to develop our passing game
- Bronte for her outstanding corners and ability to dribble the ball past defenders
- Sierra and Georgia for their dazzling socks
- Beth for her positivity and for standing in as our reserve keeper ensuring we reached the semi-finals.
- Ines, for her endurance and her consistently strong defending
- The entire team for organising the entertainment during our banquet
- Tanya for being our number one supporter
A special thank you to Hamish for hosting this tournament, and also to everyone who was able to come and support the teams over the weekend (and sell sausages and refreshments).
Senior Boys Football Team: We go again next year!
The boys must be commended for their performance at the IISSAC tournament. Although it did not culminate in the boys successfully defending their crown as IISSAC champions there were many positives that could be taken from the tournament. The boys must have broken some kind of record by scoring 20 goals in 6 games while conceding only 4, which made it all the more devastating when the team was beaten 2-1 by Wesley in the semi-finals.
Although the boys were not able to keep the title in Bali they received a lot of plaudits for the way they played, approached each game and represented their school. The team has heard the same message from coaches at the BSSA and IISSAC tournaments, from the chairman of the IISSAC committee and even parents from Wesley.
“You boys were the best team in the tournament… You played with great spirit and you played as a team.. Even though you have great individual players they play for each other… Your boys did well not to let the situation get the best of them and conducted themselves excellently on the pitch… How did you not win!?”
These are all comments that have been passed on to me during the course of this football season. The boys should certainly feel proud of themselves and merit the comments they have received but it is the final comment that is the most poignant. How did we not win? There are more important things in life than winning but there is a determination amongst the players that the same question will not be asked of us next year.
I would like to end by saying a big thank you for the understanding of the parents and school community when sometimes the training sessions went a bit beyond the agreed time. A huge thank you to Ms. Turner for always being there for the boys and helping us whenever we needed it. Thanks to Mr. Sutherland for arranging the IISSAC tournament that went off without a hitch. Thanks to Mr. Lorenzini and the girls for their support (well done on winning girls!) and thanks to the boys themselves for trying their hardest, dealing with a demanding coach and coming to training with a great attitude and a desire to improve. We go again next year!
Call for photos of the Tournament!
If you have photos of our teams in action, please send them to us!
Email to: mediamanager@baliis.net
