Girls' football, making a splash, and dreams of soccer stardom.
TKS is full of young and aspiring athletes. Bright-eyed and full of potential, our young athletes dream of becoming the next big soccer star. This is evident by the way they celebrate after scoring a goal and how they wave to the thousands of adoring fans that pack the imaginary stadiums in their heads.
But, their dreams have to start somewhere, and many times, youth sports can be the catalyst.
This school year has started off with an equal amount of optimism and potential. Students work diligently in the classroom and on the soccer pitch to improve themselves and their skills.
This activities cycle, we have six teams and about 70 student-athletes across Grades 3, 4, and 5 participating in our youth sports soccer league. They practice once a week and play friendly intramural matches on Thursday afternoons.
Our amazing coaches, Andy Wright, Manos Volikakis, Ahmad Abazeed, Toluwalogo Daramola, Dawn Burks, Daniel Lecossec, and Roland Agnero, teach our student-athletes more than just the game of soccer, they also help to reinforce our school’s IB learner profiles every step of the way.
Qualities such as being a risk-taker, principled, and balanced are infused into every practice and game throughout the season. As a result, we hope this season leads to many more opportunities for our students to experience the growth and learning that comes with the challenges and joys of playing sports.
We also know that community plays an important role in the success of our children. With this in mind, we would like to invite parents and community members to volunteer to help support the development of our youth sports program and our student-athletes at TKS. If you would like to help, please contact me.
A big round of applause is in order for all of the support the KAUST community has given our youth sports program thus far. Thank you for helping create the first steps for our student-athletes to realize their dreams.
Jorge RodriguezKG & GES Activities Coordinator
TKS students achieved many personal best times and several first-place positions!
39 PBs (personal best times)
2 NQTs (national qualifying times)
2 NCTs (national consideration times)
5 RQT (regional qualifying times)
Report by Daan Sengers, Aquatics Director
At TKS, we strive for students to pursue excellence and to thrive and contribute in a complex world. We encourage our students to pursue their strengths and interests because we know that in doing so, they develop responsibility and adaptability.
Meet Anna (Grade 8), Emilia and Molly (Grade 10), who all play for Jeddah Pride Female Football Club (JPFFC), formerly known as JPFA (Jeddah Pro Football Academy).
Women’s football is at an exciting point in Saudi Arabia. Over the past year, the women’s professional game has been developing, and now Saudi is running two tiers of the professional game this year.
JPFA/JPFFC is a football academy that coaches the basics of football to young adults based on the following five criteria: physique, technique, tactic, mentality and social skills. These are taught by coaches accredited from the British Football Association (FA). The FA is a member of both UEFA and FIFA and holds a permanent seat on the International Football Association Board (IFAB) which is responsible for the Laws of the Game.
As the Saudi Women’s National League is approaching, Anna, Molly and Emilia were asked to be part of the official team to play for the league. Unfortunately, SAFF (Saudi Arabian Football Federation) is very strict with their rules and regulations, which leads to Anna not being able to join the league, because of her age. Nevertheless, she plays a big part in the team and never misses practice to support her teammates to get ready for the league.
There are two divisions in the League this year. The new season started in October 13, with the Premier League teams on a home-and-away basis. There will be a total of 56 matches. The federation also approved the establishment of a Division One, with the participation of 17 teams, including JPFFC, which will be distributed across three regions. Our students will be participating in the league starting in November, also on a home-and-away basis. The Division One champions will be determined through a knockout system of the quarter-finals and will be promoted to the Premier League the following season to replace the last placed team in the Premier League, who will be relegated.
It is with great excitement that KAUST agreed to be the main sponsor of JPFFC and Emilia’s mom, Silvia Salvador, Office Administrator to the Director at TKS, agreed to be a member of the Management.
I cannot think of anything more exciting, than to be able to support my children in what makes them happy. We are a huge family of football enthusiasts and professional players, so it wasn’t a surprise when Emilia and her younger brother Luis (Grade 8) became interested in football at a young age. I didn’t hesitate for a second, when I was asked to join the Management of JPFA. It feels good to be part of a team of young women that are making history in this country. And it makes me even more happy to accompany my daughter and see her growing as a woman but also as a football player.
Silvia Salvador, Emilia's mom
Read more about Emilia in The Wave Issue 01/2022.
Tell us about how you started playing football.
Anna: “I actually discovered my passion for football when I came here to Saudi. During the lockdown, the only thing I could do was play football, so I went to Mr. Andy’s weekly football matches and I really enjoyed them.”
Molly: “Throughout my life, my older brother has always inspired me in many different ways, with football being one of them. Growing up, I was always taken to go watch his football matches with his club and for our old school, watching him play made me want to start playing football. In 2017 is when I started playing football properly. We had moved to Switzerland and I decided I wanted to play football for our local village club, FC EGG. From there my football skills and knowledge has grown into the player I am today.”
Best memory of football in TKS? > > >
Anna: “It is impossible to choose just one memory but I do remember when I participated in the summer camp organized by JPFFC. One of the funniest training sessions we had was at the beach. I had a lot of fun with the girls from JPFFC.”
Molly: “My best memory related to football in TKS was winning SAIKAC in January 2022. As it was our first tournament after COVID we all really wanted to play our best. Although we won, winning wasn’t the only factor which made this my best memory, but the people and the coaches really made it an amazing experience. The whole team got on so well together. The trip was full of laughter and it was a very enjoyable experience.”
What are your favorite players and team?
Anna: “I do not have one because I don’t watch football. I know I should.”
Molly: “I have grown up supporting Liverpool FC. My favorite player would either be Trent Alexander-Arnold or Virgil Van Dijjk because they both play the positions I usually play and when I watch them, I can always learn from them and what they do in certain scenarios. Usually, I play right back or center back, so it always intrigues me to see them play my position at an elite level.”
Which professional women football players you look up to?
Anna: “I look up to Alex Morgan because she inspires me to have confidence in how I play and when I am in situations where people expect less from me because I am a girl.”
Molly: “I look up to Ellen White because she is such an amazing player. Although she is old for a football player, she has amazing stamina on the pitch and is such a hard worker. She has played for England for over 10 years which I admire because playing for your country is such an honor and to be able to do it for so long just shows what kind of player you are.”
Do you have any words of encouragement for girls who want to play football at TKS?
Anna: “I would tell them to play anywhere and everywhere with whoever they can because the more people you play with, the more you will learn and practice. I would also tell them to enjoy playing and bond with the team.”
Molly: “Keep playing and don’t give up. There will always be excuses for you not to play, but if you keep playing with your friends or even by yourself, you will improve. Everyone gets setbacks, but if you overcome them, you will become even stronger as a player and as a person.”
Jeddah Pro Football Academy and now JPFCC was founded by Naif Sultan Alsahabi, below.
For our first cycle of after-school activities at GES, several Secondary School soccer players have been honing their coaching skills, running training sessions for girls in Grades 3, 4 and 5. U19 Sharks captain Aella Tsorpatzidi, U19 star player Dunya Vink, and GES alumni player Khadija Adamu, have been coaching the next generation of TKS Sharks twice a week, in a variety of technical skills, fitness development and tactical game management.
Coach Dunya says: “I am coaching girls’ football because I find it important that women have a chance in the world of athletics and are seen more. I am coaching to improve skills, positioning, and team spirit, and create an environment where the girls feel comfortable with each other and with the coaches.”This is a point echoed by Coach Aella: “It is so fun finding creative ways to get the girls to engage with the sport. Having younger players have positive interactions with older players can help develop them into better players.”
The importance of fun is something Coach Khadija agrees with, saying “I like showing the girls how things are fun and watching them take my advice.”
The last word goes to Coach Dunya, who notes: “My experience with coaching has been one of the most rewarding experiences, seeing girls smile and be happy while at the same time being able to perform the absolute best they can. I have seen so much passion and improvement over these weeks, it makes it all worth it.”
The White Sharks are the current league leaders with two wins on the board, while top scorers are Sarah Thaslim and Julia Thoraval with two goals each. After several more weeks of league action, all the players and coaches are looking forward to our tournament in November, where we get to showcase our skills playing against several international school teams from Jeddah. Go Sharks!
By Aella Tsorpatzidi (G12)Dunya Vink (G11)Khadija Adamu (G6)Andrew Wright, English Language Learning Teacher (Grades 1-2)
