Yeoksam Varsity Football

Dongwon yoo(유동원)

Yeoksam middle school is one of the best schools in Gangnam. Not only because of talented students, but also its varsity teams in football and basketball and other sports. As I, myself, am a member of football varsity team, I would like to introduce what varsity team have done from year 2018.

Year 2018

 As there was a overflow of new members in the team, it was a year of getting to know each other. Even though there were other older members within the group, their numbers were small. Thus the main focus was rebuilding the team to a competition level rather than winning the cup. The team participated in two competitions; city tournament and district tournament. 

As always, the hopes got up as the dates for the first match came closer. Even students who weren’t interested at first came over to cheer for the team. Unfortunately, the team faced one of the strongest teams in the competition. And the results were dreadful. The team was defeated in every single match and was eliminated without showing their full potential.

Even though the results could have disappointed the team, but they weren’t disappointed. They were motivated and began to spend their personal times to practice hard for their next year, hoping that they will have a chance to the final and get some silverwares. 

Year 2019

 2019 was different. There were new faces and new talents coming to the team. The team looked better than ever; they were able to produce a double squad. Learning from their past mistakes, the team tried to approach ways differently. However, everything wasn’t all on their sides. Again, they were knocked out of the city competition, which means district tournament was the only option for them to lift the cup. 

They worked harder than ever to win every game as possible. Luckily, they won a game by default, which made them go to round of 16 without hardships. And on they went; they were on fire! They were on a roll without conceding any goals until they reached the final. It was their first time reaching a final and the school itself was full of excitement and amazement. 

The final was off to a great start for the team. Their left-winger scored the goal at the very last minute of the second half. It was great for the team for that moment. After scoring a goal, the team started to loosen a bit and lost concentration. Shortly after, the team conceded a goal. It was a great shock for the team as they entered extra time. Losing confidence, they conceded two more goals and lost the game 1-3. It was a huge disappointment considering the way they had been playing this year. 

Year 2020

The covid-19 was a disaster to the team especially. They couldn’t have a proper training due to the restrictions. The team was frustrated obviously, but that didn’t stop them. They gathered together at lunch time and after school to keep them in shape to prepare themselves for the competition. Now, no competitions are scheduled for this year. But even right now, the team is working hard just in case a tournament is going to be held this year.