JISH Football

A few weeks ago I was getting restless from not being active so I decided to make a change. Through a number of happenstance opportunities I got in touch with the captain of the girl's inter-hall football (soccer) team for JISH (Jubilee/ International Student Hostel), Marge. Marge is an American. She goes to school out in California. She told me that there was training the next morning at 6:30 in the morning and if I was interested I could go with them.

And so I went. After not exercising seriously for two months I showed up at training 6:30 on a Friday morning and scrimmaged with the guys. The girls' team is too small to hold real practices on our own so the guys, who have much larger numbers, let us train with them. My first day was definitely challenging since the sun rises early and holds back no heat from the start. By the time we finished at around 8:00 the sun was blazing hot and intense. Despite being really tired and out of breath by the end I thought I did relatively well, although by no means did I shine.

So after only one training (the other girls had already been training for a few weeks) we had our first game that following Monday. Monday morning I had to go to the market and get my equipment since I obviously didn't bring any with me. So I set off to Mekola Market with Katherine, Bobby, and Wilder. This was my first trip to this particular market. The market was chaotic. The streets were packed with bodies and sellers and people grabbing your arms, Obroni and Ghanaian alike. But I actually really enjoyed myself. It was like a big scavenger hunt. The market is all outdoors and there is no clear organization to it. I had a mini panic attack at first trying to determine how in the world I would find what I needed, but once you start asking around people are willing to point you in the direction. Being that there is no real stores or identifying places to give directions, there was a lot of "go across the street and down that way and ask for Auntie so and so. Someone will know where she is." Or "go that way" with a general finger point in a direction. Eventually I found everything I needed for reasonable prices and I even had some good chances to practice my Twi again.So in the end I got my football boots, as they call them, and shin guards, and socks.

The games are supposed to start at 4:30 which means they don't actually start until 5:00 or later, but this was better because by this time the sun has gone down some and the heat is bearable to the point that I almost didn't even notice it. Our team barely came together with enough players, but our first game went well. We won with no goals scored. I started as a defensive midfielder and I actually didn't do half bad. The sports directory provided us with uniforms so we looked legitimate, and some of the guys took it upon themselves to coach us, giving us a pregame pep talk and bringing us water and cheering us on the whole way. Some of the guys who coached us were Kenya, TG, Frank, Milo and Philip.
After we won they were so excited that there was a procession of cars back to ISH (as we walked back and they drove) with windows down, music blaring, horns blowing, and people hanging out windows screaming. The porters from the hostels congratulated us and all of ISH and Jubilee heard about our victory. It was actually quite unexpected. It felt good to have such support and be a part of a team sport again.

Each game to follow went the same way. We ended up being undefeated with no goals scored against us. We usually had some sort of reception when we returned and we always had words of encouragement form the guys after the game. They even bought us sodas after the game. After our last game a dance circle broke out in celebration. Winning the competition was a big deal for one thing because football is a big deal here. Most people follow at least one team, mostly its Chelsea versus Manchester United. But also, this is the first year that ISH and Jubilee are competing in the Inter-Hall Athletics because previously they were hostels, not halls, so this is the first year they are a hall of residence at the university.

Since the guys all supported us we in turn supported the guys in their games. Unfortunately they did not do as well, but they have much better competition than we had, not to mention they only just put their team together this year where as some of the other guys' teams have been playing together for years. But their skill level is way above any of the girls' teams.

If you feel like checking out some of the articles written about our team the links are below:

http://ug-sportsdirectorate.blogspot.com/2011/10/best-newcomers.html

http://ug-sportsdirectorate.blogspot.com/2011/10/no-more-showers-let-goals-rain.html

Even thought the team is done playing we still occasionally train and I love seeing all the girls from the team! This was definitely one of my most memorable experiences here!