Football is not just a game of skills and talent, but also a game that instils sportsman spirit and teamwork.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration in saying that our school prepared teams driven by the core value of oneness, i.e., ‘Atmiyata’ and ‘We Are One’. On 30th July 2018, our U-14 team participated in the U-14 Subroto Cup Football Competition held at Essar International School, Surat.

18 teams from schools in and around Surat had come to participate in the competition. Everyone was rapt with bubbling excitement as the zealous players geared up for the big day ahead. Little did they know how exciting it was going to be!

Here is how we did in the competition:

Our first match was against Tapti Valley International School. We finished the match with a perfect score of 2-0 as Ankitbhai (Class-6) and Mokshbhai (Class-7) scored a goal each to bring the victory home. It was a great start indeed.

This qualified us for the second match in which we faced Aryam School to qualify for the quarter finals. The game indeed was a nail-biting one. We grabbed the win with the best score of 3-0. This time Ankitbhai, Ashishbhai and Sahajbhai of class 6 made us proud with their marvellous goals.

We still had two matches to go to reach the finals. It was time for the quarter finals. We played an easy game against Millennium School in which Ashishbhai scored an impressive goal to the end of the game to get us a score of 1-0 that brought us victory yet again.

After three big games on the same day, we reached the semi-finals. We had a very good chance to reach the finals, but the day seemed to be a bit unlucky for us as we lost to Fountainhead School team with an upsetting score of 0-3.

All in all, despite the loss, our U-14 team showcased the true spirit of ‘We Are One’ and succeeded as an Atmiya Team.

The U-17 tournament matches were held on 31st July at the same venue, Essar International School, with 18 teams participating.

Our first match was against Vidyamangal School. With the whistle of the kick-off, our school took the lead with Kalpbhai scoring a splendid goal within the first five minutes. To add awe to the match, Aarinbhai and Shreemadbhai both sent the ball to the net.

The quarter-finals was against Tapti Valley International School. Lots of crosses, lots of shoots, lots of throws, lots of saves, lots of corners, but the scoreboard remained nil, taking the game to the penalties. In the penalties, our school was defeated by 3-1 with Shreemadbhai as the sole goal scorer. This knocked us out of the tournament.

Written by: Manan Mehta, Jenil Padsala (Class 10)