Football, the beautiful game, is a sport I dearly love. It inculcates basic values which one learns while playing the sport, such as team-work, coordination, hard-work, perseverance and a winning mentality. Football, for those not acquainted well enough with the sport, is a team sport played with a ball, as the name suggests, between 2 teams of eleven players each. There are various substitute players and the objective of the game is to try and score in the opposing team’s goal while simultaneously defending your own. Its ease of playing, alongside relatively few rules and its versatility grants it the title of the most popular sport in the world. I am fortunate enough to play football as my choice of sport in our school, which makes it mandatory for students to select and play any sport of their choice which helps in the physical growth and development of students. I have achieved various learning outcomes which have been explained below–

LO1-Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth 

In football, I play as a goalkeeper for my team. Therefore, I have identified various strengths and weaknesses in my game which could be worked upon to improve my overall skills. I primarily hesitate in diving and rushing at the striker during close calls, which has proved to be detrimental for me and my team. I have, however, practiced a lot with the help of my coach and fellow footballers and this drawback is slowly but surely getting resolved. I also used to cower from commanding the defense line and ordering them around, but now I can do so confidently. I also used to prefer using my legs over diving with my hands when I saved shots which was useful in smaller goals but a bad skill to learn in the normal-sized goals. Therefore, I have consulted a coach of goalkeeping for helping me overcome this deficiency as well.  As part of my strengths, I was a good shot-stopper and have certainly taken a lot back by playing various matches and garnering experiences in various types of fields, such as a small turf match or a large, full-scaled 11v11 match. In the end, I would say that this combination of reducing the cons and increasing the pros have boosted my skills and my own confidence while playing the game.

LO2- Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.

The main challenges of being a goalkeeper are the physical trauma as well as the reflexes required. A goalkeeper can get battered by shots throughout the match and is expected to save virtually everything coming towards the goal. This is not physically possible for anyone in the world. However, one must train enough to ensure that they could save as many shots as possible. This is only achievable through practice and experience. The challenge of the learning curve is also a major one for anyone involved in playing sports. I had, in particular, suffered from the problem of my spectacles getting damaged by the ball and various other physical problems; all of which were borne by me. However, I did not falter and instead started playing even more football. Before football, I dabbled around in different activities and sports such as gymnastics but my first major sport was and is still football. The main skills which I learnt were teamwork, perseverance and coordination. All of these skills are essential in football currently and I feel that they will go on to be vital skills to possess in the future as well.

LO3- Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience

Organizing myself was not a job too ardent for me. While I often struggled in this field in the past, that is now redundant. Currently, both IB and CAS have helped me straighten up and this CAS experience was no different. Due to the fact that the entire set of paperwork for joining football was to be handled by the school, I had almost no workload on me in this respect. Another point to be noted is that this process of joining and playing sports at school is something which I have done many times in the past and this time was also no different. As mentioned before, I did struggle in the very first time but now view it as nothing more than a menial task due to the number of times I have done it. I feel that planning your experience is of paramount importance due to the fact that the entire CAS reflection and learning is on you and how you make it. Therefore, a good reflection of the task achieved amounts to a good experience.

LO4- Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences

As mentioned, perseverance in football is a very significant skill which one must learn while playing the sport. Traditionally, football is a sport which requires a lot of team work and this is something which is definitely not a weakness of mine. In football, I do not generally have a problem with regard to synergy due to the fact that my only interaction with team-mates is when I rally the defenders. This was certainly a problem in the past but no more. In football, a good leader is a very vital cog of the team. Showing commitment is very important in football because the match cannot be decided in just one goal or one failed attack. Regardless of how many shots a striker a missed, regardless of how many passes a midfielder misplaces, regardless of how many interceptions a defender fails or how many times a goalkeeper concedes a goal, one must persevere in football to succeed.

LO5- Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively

Team work is very, very important in football. Perfect synergy and coordination can help a weaker team overcome a much stronger team which may lack in synergy. The core component of many team sports, no just football is teamwork and I feel that I personally am a good team player. A good team player is someone who can stay cool and calm under pressure while also making sure to turn up for the big moments. In the end, coordination is something which can make or break a team in football.

LO6- Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance.

Football is a passion of hundreds of millions, if not billions, around the world. The unavailability of the sport and its relatively basic equipment is something which plagues many around the world who may have the skill but do not even have a ball. I often take time and think about this fact and remain thankful that my school provides the adequate requirements for properly enjoying and playing this sport. I also personally feel very strongly about this issue and support the claim that this sport is for everyone.

In the end,  I took back and utilized various Learner Profiles such as Communicators, Risk-Takers and Balanced. This sport benefits not just me but also all 10 of my fellow footballers who play alongside me in the team. I would say that I definitely succeeded in improving my skills tremendously and took back skills which will help me throughout my life.