1st Sporting Clube de Goa bowling tournament held

With a score of 168 points, king pin Sahil Bhurani of Mira Mar, took top honours in the 1st Sporting Clube de Goa ten-pin bowling tournament, organized by Youth of Panjim YMCA, at Caculo mall, St Inez on Liberation day

The competition was played on a ranking basis with each participant allotted twenty bowls each to get the highest strike rate possible.

Allwyn Albert from Panjim finished a close runner up with 162 points, followed by Neel Sanzgiri from Merces who took third place with 156 points.

With the day being a public holiday a large crowd gathered to witness the event and 140 participants travelled from all over Goa to take part in the exciting one day contest.

The chief guest was professional footballer, Mohammed Ali who had captained the winning Sporting Clube de Goa team, in last season’s GFA Taca Goa U-20 league.

Also present on the occasion, was engineer Sheldon Martins, who is the Vice President of YMCA, Panjim district, Advocate Joseph Vaz who is the Chairperson of YMCA, Western region and players of Panjim based football outfit Sporting Clube de Goa.

Compere Joshua Vaz thanked all the sponsors and made a special mention of title sponsor Sporting Clube de Goa, “Thanks to Mr Peter Vaz, president of Sporting Clube de Goa and managing director of Models Constructions for believing in the concept and not only promoting alternative sports, but also boosting youthful enterprise,” remarked Joshua.

College students, Rafuishaan D’sa, Joshua Vaz, Idraram Mistry & Sidharth Mendonsa organized the first of its kind initiative in Goa.

Sporting Clube de Goa celebrate fan day

On the auspicious date of 12.12.12, Sporting Clube de Goa decided to dedicate the day to their fans; after all it’s the 12th man that makes all the difference on the football field.

A large group of Sporting Goa player’s took time out from their rigorous training schedule, to visit the Batista orphanage in Santa Cruz.

The children excitedly waited anxiously at the front of the gate, as the players emerged from their vehicles. Once the youngsters were introduced to the players they sat down and played a pulsating game of carom.

It would have been easy for the Sporting Goa players to let their young opponents win, but true to their competitive nature they played tough and came away with a narrow victory.

 Afterwards the Sporting Goa players distributed refreshments and the young Batista boys reciprocated by singing some beautiful rhymes for their visitors. In the past the boys have even come up with their own version of the Flaming Oranje anthem.

Later in the day the Sporting Goa players moved to the football ground to demonstrate some silky skills to another set of fans. The young player’s happily showed up in Sporting Goa kit, which was sponsored last year by the Sporting Goa president Peter Vaz.

After the players showed of their favourite show boating tricks, they were taken by surprise when one of the youngsters started to juggle the ball in an exquisite manner.

As the day came to a close the young wards shook hands with the Sporting Goa players as it was time to say goodbye until the next time.

Swedish coach Johan Kalin conducts talk on grass roots football

“As many possible, as much as possible, as good as possible,” was the message sent out by Swedish coach Johan Kalin, addressing the BPEd students of Don Bosco with a special grass roots football talk highlighting  the Swedish model, at Don Bosco School, on Tuesday. The seminar was organised by Sporting Clube de Goa in association with the BPEd college.

Elaborating further he said that the Swedish Model encourages as many youngsters as possible to take to the game of football at a young age regardless of their ability or background.

The next stage is to allow the participants to play as much as possible. “If a child can commit to three sessions a week that’s good, but if a youngster can only play once a week that’s o.k. as well,” stated the UEFA “A” licence diploma holder Johan.

Johan further enlightened that it is up to the coach to think like the age of the player he is coaching and set appropriate goals in order to make the ward as good as possible.

Johan highlighted the work he routinely carries out for the Swedish FA in his region of the country, with courses regularly organised teaching leadership skills, game intelligence, technique and physical aspects along with goalkeeping. He also is a Uefa instructor conducting Uefa “B” level courses.

The Swedish model concentrates on using football as a tool not only for teaching football skills but also stresses on character building. “Most of the young players know how challenging it is to make it to the top and so it is important to have a well-rounded personality with interest in studies as well,” remarked the 35 year old Johan.

Former women’s Swedish footballer Susann Jatkin also spoke on the occasion about the healthy state of women’s football in Sweden and that girl’s are encouraged just as much as boys take up the game and enjoy it in a fun environment.

Johan concluded the session, by explaining that along with the FA, the government plays a big role in soccer success. But he believes it is the parents who play the biggest role as it is their perseverance and hours sacrificed taking their children to practice and also doubling up as community coaching volunteers which gives youth development a huge boost.

The students of the college had many relevant questions to ask Johan and Susann and were thoroughly pleased with the interactive discussion.

BPEd principal Dr. Marie Raj was the chief guest and Fr. Wilred Fernandes was the guest of honour.

Sporting Goa seek Oscar winning Performance

“We have a good set of players and coaching staff.  I am sure if we just increase the intensity and improve the rhythm of the side, we will reap the rewards,” remarked Sporting Clube de Goa’s new head coach Oscar Bruzon, looking pleased at the end of his first practice session on Tuesday.

After a recent string of adverse results in the I-League and Goa Pro League, Sporting Goa decided to make a change to tweak a few things and resurrect their season.

It is no secret that the Sporting Goa president Peter Vaz is an avid fan of La Liga, so it came as no surprise when Oscar’s bio data landed on his table; he more than took a passing glance.

 

The 35-year old Oscar has played professionally in the Spanish league for Real Club Celta de Vigo. What is more impressive is that he has accomplished the Uefa ‘A’ licence and also is an MBA graduate.

 

After hanging up his boots, Oscar had a successful stint with the Celta Vigo academy, before moving into the world of banking as a manager.

 

The Spaniard is not new to India, as he has been working as head of coaching at the SPT Academy in Bangalore for over a year.

 

Oscar a self-confessed Real Madrid fan is familiar with most of the Sporting Goa players as he has trained with the team during a brief break in Goa last year. 

 

The Sporting Goa squad was given a holiday on Monday due to the feast of St Francis Xavier, but they more than made up for it with a double session on Tuesday.

 

The morning consisted of circuit training at Quitula ground, while the afternoon was a tactical session at Sangolda ground.

 

Sporting Goa has retained Technical director Alex Alvares and Coach Ekendra Singh, who will assist Oscar.

 

The team leaves for New Delhi on Thursday, where Oscar will face his first test with a tricky tie against ONGC on Saturday.

 

On their return, they take on Dempo in the Goa Pro League, followed by Churchill Brothers and Salgaocar in the I-League.

 

Oscar does not promise the Tika-Taka style synonymous with Spanish football, but with a glint in his eye wants to leave fans of the Flaming Oranje craving for more.