Week 2 – Coaching involvement

10 games in a row

Here in Manica, there is no training on Monday for anyone. Therefore, no U17’s training, no first team training and no community session around Manica. We then spent the day helping with the garden at Futeco in the morning and played 5-a-side football in the afternoon. Since we arrived, we had the chance to play three times and unfortunately we lost each time. Rules are simple, 3 teams of 5, including the goalkeeper. First team to score stay on the pitch as long as they win. However, we managed to win the fourth times thanks to 10 games in a row on. Of course, we expect to keep that high level of performance until the end of our journey in Manica.

Coaching teams

On Tuesday, our week can start with coaching. First thing is to wake up early around 5:40 AM to leave the club at 6:00 AM. James and I have now our little routine based on a quick talk about the morning session with the U17’s. This training is supposed to start at 6:30 AM but the time for the cones, bibs and footballs to arrive, it’s 7:00 AM…

With about 7-12 U17’s, this session is nice to coach. James and I aim our style around demonstrations more than talking. The only time we speak is when we know the Portuguese word or for myself, Spanish words close enough to Portuguese. Then we help the first team training. We now have more responsibilities. Armando and Ams usually plan the next day session with some help from James and I sometimes. As we know more and more the players, the feeling of being a part of a big family is absolutely real and satisfying for us. We are now friends with a lot of players and the sessions are even more enjoyable for everyone.

On Sunday, we joined them for the first friendly of the season. At the back of the truck, 25 people were sharing the little bit of space for about 45 minutes journey to Chimioi, Manica State Capital. My back, my knees and my arms were killing me for not moving enough. Moreover, all of this under 36°C felt like 45°C. Once there, the match can begin. After 10 minutes, about 500 people came out of nowhere to watch the game. Incredible scenes. For a 2nd division friendly, that’s huge. Especially when the pitch cannot be considered as such. No linesmen, no white lines, nothing, only the crowd to make this pitch looks like it. The team conceded the first goal and then started to play like we are used to see them in training. They finally got the equalizer and managed to score the second goal in the second half to win the match 2-1. The way back was full of scenes, songs and even dances while the bus was driving.

Community sessions

In the afternoon, we have now a precise schedule for our community sessions. Each one of us goes with a different first team player to deliver a session for kids around Manica. Usually, the area we are going to is the home area of the player we go with.

Once we get there, we don’t know the coaching conditions we will be into. So we basically plan our sessions by betting the worst. 30 kids, no bibs, no cones and only two footballs. The reality is not far from it but we often have couple of cones and sometimes bibs. Our adaptation and speed of mind are really tested outhere.

On one of my sessions, the dust made me stumble while I was demonstrating a stepover. Then, I got nutmegged by one of the kids doing the stepover I showed. I have to say that I didn’t expect that ! But what mostly stayed in my mind after the session was the water episode. During a small break where I was setting up the next exercise, I caught a small glimpse of what growing up here meant. One bottle of a suspicious water for 15-20 kids only allowed to drink one or two sips out of it. I felt extremely guilty about it for having my own bottle full of cold and pure water. Hard moment full of reality…

#Mozambique