The Highlights Of The Autumn Season:
Central Asian Soccer Classic: October 3-5 Almaty, Kazakhstan VARSITY GIRLS FOOTBALL TEAM (Mr. Arif) CASC CHAMPIONS Outstanding performances by the Varsity Girls football team in Almaty!!! The TIS Varsity Girls team had an outstanding tournament with record of 1 tie and 5 wins. This was due to their great level of effort, dedication and team work. Our girls defended their championship title from last year. Well done to the Girls for keeping this football championship streak alive. (2010, 2011 and 2012). It was great tournament. The Owls played with great passion in every game and were the only unbeaten team during the group stage. In the semifinals, the Owls played against a school from Astana and celebrated with a 3 – 0 victory. The championship match was against the hosting school – Almaty International School. It is never easy to play against the host school when they are supported by a huge home crowd. The Owls dominated and won the championship title by beating their opponents 2 – 0. As a coach, I am very proud of my team. Thank you very much for being such a great group of athletes. My heroes are: Evgeniya, Franny, Emma, Saskia, Jasmin, Kristina, Chloe, Yoolim, Surayyo, Amaia, Maria, Liza and Aylin.  VARSITY BOYS FOOTBALL TEAM (Mr. Erkin) CASC CHAMPIONS The TIS Varsity Boys have just returned from Almaty where they participated in a 3 day long football tournament with 5 international schools. I am proud to report that the Varsity Boys were exemplary athletes on and off the field. During the entire competition they demonstrated outstanding teamwork, concentration, conditioning and passion which allowed us to apply our football skills and tactical knowledge. In the end TIS Varsity was rewarded by lifting the championship cup, a moment of great pride. The boys accomplished this by setting a goal and working together as a team. I just want to take an opportunity to give a word of appreciation to the whole team for representing Tashkent International School with excellent personality and attitudes. Once again congratulations to all players- Kee Bum Moon, Abdul Halim Tawakali, Kristian Adnanes, Otabek Nazarov, Nazrin Abd Aziz, Fazrin Abd Aziz, Dae Kwon Kim, Soobeom Bae, Nikita Komachkov, Kodir Ibragimov, Mohamed Al-Suleimani.  |
TIS Boys & Girls Football League Championship: November 3 &4 VARSITY GIRLS FOOTBALL TEAM (Mr. Arif) TIS LEAGUE 2nd Place Congratulations to our Varsity Girls football team with successful football season! It was great and challenging year for our girls. We had many interesting games by participating in two great tournaments. The final match against Gulistan team did not go such well as we wished. We lost to the champions of last year again with the score of 3 – 1. However no doubt that Owls played hard and gave all their energy towards that game. We were also a bit unlike by letting the opposition to score from penalty in a 1st half as well as we lost our defender Liza that twisted her ankle. Despite of that the Owls played hard, scored a goal in 2nd half but…. it wasn’t our day that Saturday. Despite this lost we had an amazing season. Our girls finished the season with 10 wins, 1 tie and 1 loss. We became to be a champion in Almaty at the CASC tournament and came second (again) at the TIS League. Well done girls. Hope you would keep the best memories from this season and learn from all the wins and losses. Thank you for all your dedication, hard work and determination. Team members: Evgeniya (captain), Franny (captain), Emma, Saskia, Jasmin, Kristina, Chloe, Yoolim, Surayyo, Amaia, Maria, Liza and Aylin.  VARSITY BOYS FOOTBALL TEAM (Mr. Erkin) TIS LEAGUE 3rd Place The last two days of Varsity Boys football was the TIS League Championship. We came prepared mentally and physically as evidenced by the Owls demonstration of tremendous improvement against Uchtepa FC. We dominated for the first 15-20 minutes but the opposing team managed to recover and the game remained even through full time. Both teams had an equal chance to win the game but neither team could capitalize on scoring opportunities. The winner was decided through a penalty shoot out and unfortunately Uchtapa FC punched their ticket to the final. The TIS boys accepted defeat gracefully through our knowledge that loosing is a reality of sport. For the consolation final we had another dramatic match against Olympic FC. The Owls scored three goals and were winning 3-1 until the middle of the second half when the opposition scored 2 quick goals. We demonstrated a quick recovery and as a result we scored 2 goals towards the end of the match. It was with great strength and motivation that the Varsity Boys ended the season with a win. Team members: Abdul, Kristian, Dae Kwon (captain), Kodir (captain), Nikita, Djavokhir, Robin, Edem, Ali, Otabek, Mohamed, Fazrin, Nazrin, Eric.  JUNIOR VARSITY GIRLS FOOTBALL TEAM (Mr. Coffren & Mr. Erik) TIS LEAGUE CHAMPIONS After winning their semi final match on November 3rd they confidently left the field under darkening skies, excited for the league finals the next day. Anticipation soon turned to disappointment as an early winter rainstorm soaked the pitch and left it in unplayable condition. The championship game was scheduled for the following weekend. The team took advantage of the extra week and practiced hard, focusing on patience and control. They arrived at the championship game feeling ready and looking sharp in their much anticipated hoodies. Despite several early scoring opportunities by the Owls the opposition, Slava Kristal, scored an early goal; the first time the Owls had been on the losing side of the scoreboard all season! With their undefeated season and the league championship on the line, the Owls demonstrated great composure as they stuck to their game plan and played to their strengths. Using their game sense, fitness and teamwork they applied a renewed pressure and regained control of the game. The Owls eventually tied the game then quickly scored a go-ahead goal which they fought hard to maintain. Exciting for the spectators but stressful for the coaches! The JV Girls won the game and the league championship by playing their most complete, consistent game of their already impressive season. Coach Paul and Coach Erik would like to congratulate and commend the girls on their tremendous focus and effort throughout the season. To the JV Girls: we truly hope you enjoyed yourselves and that you came away from this season with a deeper understanding of not only the sport of football but of what it means to play on a team! Please reflect on what you learned and continue working on the skills and mindsets throughout the winter. Team members: Yasmin, Amani, Nikita, Caitlin, Ana Sofia, Kristina, Iona, Anna, Clara, Kate, Ayushi, Sabina, Dayana  JUNIOR VARSITY BOYS FOOTBALL TEAM (Mr. Scorgie & Mr. Ross) TIS LEAGUE CHAMPIONS This season the JV Boys football team set a simple goal for themselves: “To make TIS History”. No Boys JV team had ever finished higher than third place in what is always a tough competitive league against local school and club teams so at the start of the season each player knew what lay ahead in order to fulfill this goal. In short: hard work! On the final weekend of the football season, months of hard work boiled down to one sixty-minute contest against a team that had gone the whole season undefeated, who finished atop the table going into the play-offs, and who had bested us 5 -2 in the regular season. The first TIS goal came almost immediately after the start of the game: three quick passes, a short run, some pressure and a goal: 10 seconds and mighty Owls were up 1 – 0. What followed was a back and forth first half full of courage, heart, commitment and TIS determination. Our defense repelled wave after wave of attack, our midfield fought a trench war to win possession and control the all-important center of the field and our strikers played a lone hand up front, always outnumbered by defenders but never giving an inch. After 30 minutes, TIS entered the huddle up 1- 0, full of the self-belief that would ultimately decide the outcome of the match and sway the direction of JV boys football history. For much of the second half the score remained unchanged, helped by a long list of heroics by every player in the mighty blue and white. Then, with five minutes left on the clock, the owls scored what is undoubtedly the greatest goal in TIS football history. Our lone striker, hunting inside enemy territory, fended off his much larger defender, controlled the ball on his chest with the opposition goal a distant 40 meters behind him. A turn, one bounce, and a volley that travelled the 40m like a missile, flat, hard and unwavering into the back of the net past a stunned goalkeeper and an unbelieving defender. An outpouring of emotion on the bench, elation on the field, and TIS up 2 – 0 on the scoreboard. For the rest of the game TIS defended resolutely until, when the final whistle blew, the TIS boys JV football team stood in the warm, autumn, Sunday sun, 2- 1 winners, and for the first time ever, champions of the league. The coaching staff, Mr Ross, Mr Scorgie and Abhu Tyagi would like thank each player in our team for their commitment, time and effort, each parent and spectator that came to watch and support us throughout the season and of course Mr Andrey for making the league possible and for giving up his time so that we could have our moment in the sun. Congratulations to our Varsity Girls football team with successful football season! It was great and challenging year for our girls. We had many interesting games by participating in two great tournaments. The final match against Gulistan team did not go such well as we wished. We lost to the champions of last year again with the score of 3 – 1. However no doubt that Owls played hard and gave all their energy towards that game. We were also a bit unlike by letting the opposition to score from penalty in a 1st half as well as we lost our defender Liza that twisted her ankle. Despite of that the Owls played hard, scored a goal in 2nd half but…. it wasn’t our day that Saturday. Despite this lost we had an amazing season. Our girls finished the season with 10 wins, 1 tie and 1 loss. We became to be a champion in Almaty at the CASC tournament and came second (again) at the TIS League. Well done girls. Hope you would keep the best memories from this season and learn from all the wins and losses. Thank you for all your dedication, hard work and determination. I look forward to our next sport season. Bring on the Basketball!!! Team members: Isak, Abbos, Edris, Clovis (captain), Kamil, Amer (captain), Bobur, Andrew, Yun Jae (captain), Joonsoo, Choong Hyun, Vojtech, William, Bonghyun, Timur (captain), Taeho  |
TIS Grade 4/5 & 6/7 Boys and Girls Basketball Tournament  TIS Players/Coaches: Boys: James, Rocco, Min Joong, Hansol, Shakhriyor, Walter, Abdulla, Aryan, Hazia, Shunta, Eliot, Firdavs, Aditiya, Hunain, Ryouta, Jung, Devon, Saleh, Zane, Alex, Bekhruz, Pablo, Egro, Tae Hyuk, Martynas, Waladi Girls: Isadora, Maja, Maia, Mirabella, Nurin, Yerin, Mariam, Liav, Iona, Sumin, Yasmina, Kristina, Dneiz, Seo-Yeon, Tamara, Mieke, Sabina, Hyen, Isabel, Tahmina Coaching Reflections: Maria – Grade 11 Having coached other sports in the past few years, I would think that with experience it gets easier. It never does. The patience required to work with little kids specially teaching them a sport is ENOURMOUS. I did struggle a lot in the beginning, since I was used to a group of kids from last year that would listen to me and that will be able to cooperate since they understood that the exercises I gave them were for their own benefit. This year is very different. It was as it somehow the the children had become more active. Those were some of the challenges I had the first two weeks of coaching basketball to 4th and 5th graders, on the other hand this helped me a lot since now I am more prepared and for next coaching experience I will know what exact things to do and how to manage problems and prevent the ones I had already. Macalester - Grade 12 With coaching comes collaboration and commitment. Throughout the season I had to work with my co-coach to create practice plans and coach the students. Making the practice plans were sometimes difficult to remember to do. I often times forgot, and we had to try and make the practice plans the same day as practice. Although this was technically a fault, it did not hinder us from keeping the kids committed and having fun (which is the ultimate goal). Coaching basketball is increased my awareness in my patience towards others. It was a huge challenge to ensure that the students stayed focused. This was a challenge and a test of my patience. Usually, I would have to repeat a task for them multiple times until they finally started to pay attention and carry out the task at hand. To overcome this difficulty, I would often times try to make everything in practice and games fun. Incorporating small contests between the boys to keep them motivated. |
