A Football Morning: Training With Samarahan Football Academy

Tabi basa & good afternoon everyone. In this post, I’d like to share about the recent football training that I have attended at Kota Samarahan.

Epilogue

This football training session was part of the advanced training for the selected students throughout Samarahan & Serian zone. My nephew happens to be selected. Since I don’t have anything to do on Saturday morning, I decided to join and sharpen my photography skills.

Early Morning Ride

The stadium is quite far away from Pichin. Therefore, we took an early morning ride to go there. On the way there, I took some of the images along the road.

Early morning journey can be quite bone-chilling. Even though the sun rises, the fog is still around. I am guessing it is quite thick around dawn.

Arrival

When we arrived, we noticed that there were a lot of cars there, mostly parents’ car. Parking is quite difficult, but we managed to squeeze through.

There we can see the other students are lined up, and the coaches are telling them what to do during the training.

Luckily, we are not the only late ones. There were other parents as well. I am guessing they came from afar too, probably from Serian.

Registration

Before we start, we need to register the names. This is where I took the opportunity to walk around while my sister registers the name of my nephew there.

There were a lot of students there. All are equally talented. Otherwise, they won’t be chosen.

The main differentiator is whether they are putting enough effort or not to hone their skills. If one is passionate enough until their adult years, practicing since a tender age of 5 year’s old, it is not impossible for them to be a highly-skilled football player.

They will go places. But that is a subjective matter.

Learning The Basics

Before these kids start with their football match, their coach taught them the basics. Dribbling, bringing the ball around, ball control – those are the fundamentals. Master those first before one learn a more complicated skill, such as a strategy.

Sadly, many would see that those fundamentals as boring. The cool part is when they score a goal. Yes, but learning to control the ball is crucial.

It took them a while to learn this. The first hour was dedicated for training the basics. After they are properly warmed-up, their coach gave them another break before resuming their football training.

This time, football match.

Football Match

The boys were divided into two. The first half played first, while the 2nd half takes their rest. It was a scorching hot morning, hence it was crucial for them to properly hydrate themselves and take enough rest.

Once the first half concludes their match, the second half played.

Their playing reminds me to how we played in the past, just run around following the ball around the field. No scores were made that morning, but at least the boys learned how to play.

Strive for progress, not perfection.

Debrief

Quoting their coach, each and every one of these kids have a huge talent. If they train daily, and not depending on the weekly training there, they will be able to do better.

If you want to be good at something, practice daily. Some of the kids complained that it was hot. The coach quickly replied, if they don’t want to sweat, just go back and sleep.

Being comfortable now, pay the price later.

Pay the price now, being in an uncomfortable position, and enjoy the fruits of the labour later.

The choice is yours.

Back To Grandstand

The kids ran across the field. As for the parents, we have to walk around the track, the mouldy track. It is obvious that it was not maintained. What a sad state it was in. It is quite slippery too, posing hazard to the unsuspecting victim of the track.

Group Debrief

Once again, there was a debrief but it was more on the next training schedule. The younger kids were excused early, but the older ones were asked to stay. Same goes to the kids from Kpg Baru, a nearby village.

Epilogue

That group debrief marks the end of the training session. Hopefully those kids learned a lot today from a 2 hours learning session. The session might be short, but the lessons are priceless.

The rest depends on the kids whether they are willing to train daily or not. That is where parents / guardians play an important role.