Futsal Team Bonding

Today we had our futsal cum team bonding session at St Wilfred. There were a total of 16 players today. We have come a long way. What excites me most about this club is the vibrant mix of races and cultures that we have in our team. There are Malays, Indians, Chinese, Vietnamese and Japanese boys in our team. All coming together for the love of the game. Even us coaches was joined in the action. It was a great bonding session for us and the boys. 

After 2 months

It has been more than 2 months since our first training. We saw more new faces today at training today. They are Raziq and Bao, who is a Vietnamese PR studying here. Welcome boys! 

More players.

Through referrals and words of mouth, we have 4 new players in our club. They are Ryan, Andy, Matin and Rifqi. Welcome to Dreamz Soccer Club guys. We did more ball control and goal keeping practice today. Keep up the good work boys!

Bibs finally here.

It has been a great month and thanks to our Assistant coach, Maz, our bibs are finally here. He was generous enough to contribute his bibs from his previous team to Dreamz Soccer Club. We are really moving on well as a club. Although there are still a few things we need to get to fully equipped ourselves, the show must go on.

Today, we introduce hand ball games to the players. The players are only allowed to pass the ball using their hands but must score using their feet or head. The objective is to increase their alertness and focus, to inculcate team building and good communication skills among team mates and team organization on the playing field.

After the game, we went on to ball mastery and dribbling technique. All in all, it was a great session.

Second training ground

Due to some resident comittee event, we have to change our training location to Bishan Active Park. Nevertheless, nothing can get in the way of our training. It was still a fruitful day and the boys learn lots of soccer tricks and had fun too.

Our first training session

Our first training session was on the 9th January' 2016 and our training homeground is at the open field at Ang Mo Kio Ave 3. We have 4 turn ups at our first session. They were Ijad, Daniel, Rizal and Krishanth. Although the number of turn ups were less than what we expected, and we were undeterred and gave our best. It was a great session with the boys. Each boys have something great to offer and is a great asset to our club. Welcome to the club boys!

Okto Cup 2015

I was invited by these boys to assist and mentor them throughout the competition. These boys were from my old neighbourbourhood in Beach Road and they were really talented and passionate about soccer. They managed to go through to the second round but was unfortunately knocked out in the second round by a sudden death penalty kick. Nevertheless, it was a great and an eye opening experience for the boys. Some of them have since joined Dreamz Soccer Club and together, we will be participating in the 2016 Okto Cup. Keep it up boys!!

Is there a future in soccer

In the last article, we address the issue of the declining number of Chinese and Indian boys joining our local soccer scene. And one of the reason we highlight is the lack of parental support. So far, we have only one comment on the article and he/she seems to share the same view(by the way, thanks for your comment).
So how true is it. And if it is true, how do we aim to change that perception and gain parent's support. Come on parents. Hands up all of you who do believe there is no future in the soccer industry. I'm sure there's a number of you out there. Do you seriously doubt the future of the soccer industry? Have you done enough research to support that belief?
Hey, I'm a parent myself and believe me. My boy has just only turn 5 and I'm already envisioning all kinds of future possibilities for him. But will I be worried and try to dissuade him if one day he comes up to me and tell me he wants to play soccer or any other sports professionally? Hell no. Instead, I will support him, motivate him and most importantly guide him. It is only with proper guidance that our child will flourish in whatever industry they choose to follow. And yes, even soccer. Unlike in the past where a soccer players' career will begin and ends in the field, depending on his age, endurance and physical abilities. Now, they can build a career that expands beyond the playing field and the physical aspect of the game. There are many options to choose from: being a coach, physiotherapist, life coach, nutritionist and many more. And this is only the beginning. God knows what other position they'll come up with in the future. Our child will be spoilt for choice. So parents, fret not. The future in soccer is bright and opportunities are a plenty.
With all that being said, I'm not here to say that parents should ignore their child academic achievements or take it lightly. We believe the physical developments of a child will attribute well to their mental developments thus shaping the child into one successful individual.

Start Them Young

Few years back, there's been a lot of issues in the papers, being discussed about kids in Singapore starting too late, lacking basic skills and exposure. Without all this, they can hardly compete and perform against their competitors.

One article that came to mind was an interview with our ex-national soccer coach and our ex Goal 2010 project director, Jan Poulsen, back in March 2002. In it, he said: "We do badly against other countries not because they're bigger or they're from a different race, but because we start too late and play too little. we got to start early. We need to establish an environment which gives boys and girls the possibility to play and train up to three times a week on a regular basis between the age of 7 to 8. As I've said before, it takes 10 years to develop a good player."

The other article that came to mind was an interview with our own Fandi Ahmad, back in September 2003, where he commented on the German and Dutch philosophies to football. He said: "In Germany, it's all about the basics. It's not all about the technical abilities. It's also about a player knowing his specific role as an individual as well as a team member. I learned from the Ajax way that youth development is the most important part football. We really need to build up a players' strength from his younger days."

So here, at Dreamz Soccer Club, we emphasizes on the same philosophies, and that is to start them when they are young and most eager to learn. Our aim for the future is to have a regular training sessions, competitions and more soccer enrichment programs. We hope to be on par or even better than the existing soccer clubs in Singapore.