Kick It Off! RVHS Football Team
“Vamos, RV!”
RVHS Football Team: Team Photo
These words reverberate on the field and in the minds of the football players as they stand amidst the football pitch, readying themselves for the game and awaiting the referee’s whistle.
Vamos means “Let’s Go!” in Spanish, which is the RVHS football team’s leading cheer. Before every match, the team usually crowds in a circle and psychs each other up, before shouting “Vamos, RV!” and raising their hands up high into the circle. This single cheer may be short, but it contributes immensely to the state of mind of the players, eliciting both a surging team spirit and a determination to emerge victorious.
RVHS Football team has just ended their A Division season after playing five intense and exciting matches against Nanyang Junior College, Millennia Institute, Catholic Junior College, Temasek Junior College and National Junior College.
RVHS Football players encouraging one another before a match
Unfortunately the team of RVHS will not proceed to the next round. Sim Zi Yang of class 6Q, the captain of the football team, said: “The results are quite unsatisfactory because we could've done a lot more. However, I feel that as long as we learn from it and as long as there's improvement within the team, then all's good, because in terms of technicality, we're indeed inferior to other teams as many of the players from other schools start playing from a very young age. To me and many others in the team, having put up a good fight against many of the teams at the group stage is already an achievement. It’s true that we're quite saddened by some of the results of the group stage but at least for most of the matches, we can hold our heads high and say proudly to ourselves that we've done our best.”
RVHS Football Team also played in the National Youth Sports Institute (NYSI) Football League 2018, which began in January 2018. The league aims to enhance the experience of Junior College players and enable teams training for the A Division season to sharpen their skills with more real playing time on the field. The RVHS Football team has done particularly well in the league, with 2 wins and a draw in a group of 6 teams. The wins were against RI and IJC, with the scoreline being 2-1 and 4-2 respectively.
RVHS versus RI, Photo from Redsports
River Valley High School's football team is a relatively new team as compared to their counterparts in other junior colleges, due to the fact that the Football club is only available to students in Y5 and Y6. Thus, players only have about 1-2 years to train and play competitively. However, this does not compromise the team's hard work and spirit.
To find out more about what the team thinks and feels, we interviewed the captain further. We asked Zi Yang about his thoughts and feelings when RV won a match and when RV lost.
“After winning a game, we were obviously very happy because we felt that our efforts had paid off. However, sometimes we would be quite jaded because we felt like we could have done more and won more convincingly,” he conceded humbly. “I think what matters most to us is how we stay focused and not complacent after every positive result because we know we have to fight very hard.”
He further admitted that it was very demoralising to lose. “When the opposition scores a goal, it's quite a hit to the team's confidence. But what matters most is that we keep on fighting and do whatever we can to get back in the game.”
Truly showing his sense of responsibility as a captain, he added, “I cannot let my emotions take over. I have to keep pushing and bringing up the morale of the team which can be quite tough sometimes (he laughs) but I’ve gotta do it!” On a more serious note, he concluded by saying warmly, “Defeat is bitter but I can say most of the times I'm really proud of my teammates because they never gave up. It's a fact that we are inferior in our footballing skills, considering all of us only started playing competitively these 1-2 years, but to see everyone trying their best and giving their all on the pitch for each other is really heartwarming and that really reduces the bitter taste of defeat.”
Due to the fact that it is the last year the Y6 students will be playing in the team, we asked some of them, “Is there any difference between playing last year and this year? How is it like playing as a senior?”
Chiew Yi Xiang (6I), who plays the position of a midfielder, felt that there was indeed a difference playing as a senior. “As seniors, you're the one leading the team,” he explained. “There's also more pressure on us this year because we're much more experienced, which causes people to have a higher expectation of us.” The fact that this will be the last year they play as a team weighs on the minds of the Y6 players as well.
Jeremy Koh (6R), a striker, also said that a huge difference would be the heavier responsibility they feel this year. “Last year we were just rookies - inexperienced players who were just playing the game for exposure and fun. But serving as the frontline warriors representing our school, there comes an immense pride and pressure on the line because this is our last chance to perform and contribute. We really enjoyed another great season of Football and we hope more people can take up the sport and play for our team in the future.”
From what we have seen, we know that behind the smiles of the players, there is much hard work, sweat and true grit involved. The team’s strong team spirit and their combined determination will definitely serve them well in the long run. We wish them all the best in future competitions. Go, RV!