After my Christmas break ended in Jan ’19, I was looking to join an amateur football club in Dublin. Some of my friends were searching for badminton clubs in the region and I thought I could do the same for football. During my National Service days in Singapore (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic), playing 11-a-side football was a staple for me on weekends. My friends and I had formed an amateur football club to compete in league matches, typically held on Sundays at one of the secondary school fields. There was something to look forward to at the end of every week and I was very much keen to get the same experience in Dublin.
I opened up Google Maps and typed “football” in the search bar. I shortlisted several clubs that were less than 1 hour away from the city centre by public transport. Then, I sent a message to their respective Facebook pages.
hi are you guys looking for players? i am 22 years old this year and im looking to join a club as i am in university now
A few of the clubs did not have adult teams, but one of the page administrator was kind enough to recommend several other clubs in the area with adult teams. Eventually, I managed to arrange a trial with St. Pats Phoenix FC. I was told that the club held weekly training sessions on Thursday nights and there were two teams, each competing in the Saturday and Sunday leagues respectively.
I contacted the administrator on a Monday night and for the next few days before my trial on Thursday, I was buzzing with excitement as it was a once-in-a-lifetime to play “Sunday football” overseas and not many can say that they have played European football! 😬 At the same time, I did not know the standards of football played at the club and I was worried that I would embarrass myself at the trial. Nonetheless, I decided to keep an open mind because regardless of the results of the trial, it would have been a story-worthy experience!
When Thursday night arrived, I remember being decked up in tights, shorts, a shirt and a winter coat, as I made my way from Kavanagh Court to The Spire, where I waited for the bus. The weather was freezing cold at around 10°C and I felt a sharp discomfort as every gust of wind touched my exposed legs. I could never get accustomed to the cold weather in Ireland.
The football pitch was located about 45 minutes away from the city centre and it was rather accessible from where I stayed. Upon reaching the pitch, I was greeted by the team manager who was very friendly, as he told me to boot up and join in for training.
It was a regular-sized artificial football pitch, similar to the ones found in Singapore. There were about 15 players who were present and you could tell they were decent players at one glance. While waiting for the head coach to arrive, a few of the players were doing some juggling and passing, while most were taking shots at the goalkeeper. They were making cross-field passes to each other’s feet, controlling the ball with exquisite first-touches and scoring top bins without breaking a sweat. I was very impressed with the quality of players at the club.
As the head coach arrived, everyone gathered around him in a circle and I was introduced to them. The head coach then gave a debrief on the team’s performance in a match that was held over the previous weekend. Some of the players chimed in, complaining about the referee’s calls and commenting on their current position in the league table.
Following which, one of the more senior players led the warm-up as we jogged around the pitch and did some stretching along the way. Everyone was joking about with one another and it seemed as though they have known each other for the longest time. Then, we did some sprints, followed by a couple of passing and shooting drills. Fortunately, I felt less chilly and rigid as my body temperature and heart rate rose.
The highlight of the training was a small-sided game with smaller goalposts. Everyone was very welcoming as I introduced myself to my teammates for that game. There was a high level of chemistry between the players, who seemed to be able to predict one another’s movements. Perhaps, this is the result of playing together for a very long time.
I found the training session fairly manageable. I was able to keep up with the intensity of the drills and games. Even though there were many quality players and the team was playing a high standard of football, I was looking forward to being able to train with better players, learn from them and improve my game.
As the training session ended, the team manager invited me to join the club for subsequent trainings. I was very glad to hear that because this meant that I would be able to train on a weekly basis and potentially play some league matches over the coming weekends. I could not wait for the next training session already!
That was definitely one of the best nights I had in my life!
Kaiser 