TIPS NACE Soccer Challenge 2015

Day 1
The TIPS Nace Inter-school Soccer Challenge commenced at 10:20 am, a slight delay from the
scheduled time. The gallery was packed with TIPS students ranging from grade one to grade twelve,
students from other schools, players, teachers, and other staff members; all bubbling with energy
and waiting for the matches to begin.

A crowd of people and gold

Rudra and Nishanth, students of IB Diploma Year-1, welcomed the spectators and briefed them
about the sport and the event. They also spoke about how this even was being conducted as a CAS
activity by the DP Year-1 students, who would be volunteering and making everything run
smoothly. The prayer song was then sung for a blessed beginning, after which, the DP dance team
was called out to perform the welcome dance.

The CAS volunteers of DP Year 1

The dance was performed by nine dancers from DP Year-1and comprised of styles such as folk and

hip-hop. The performance went on for three-and-a-half minutes, and ended with the dancers scoring
the first goal of the tournament.
This was followed by a unique showcase of football juggling, by Mr. Prashant Balaji, a student at
VLB engineering college, who is ranked as the 15th best juggler in India and the best in Tamil Nadu.
His juggling was effortless and went on for about four minutes, spanning the course of 2 whole
background songs. This was the first time such a unique talent had an opportunity to be showcased
in the school, which resulted in continued cheering from all the viewers. After his breathtaking
performance, he was presented with a special award by TIPS-NACE regional coordinator: Mrs.Sita.

Balancing act

After his performance, Mr. Balaji gave an exclusive interview to TET.

A few years ago, I witnessed a person in Ooty juggling a football and having a lot of fun with it,
he said, it got me interested, because it looked like a lot of fun. I went home and watched a few
YouTube videos on juggling and some of the tricks involved, and I just began trying them.
But Prashant's career has not been all laurels and smiles.
The first time I tried out, I didn't even get selected for State, he said.
He says that the key to his success lies in his hard work.
I practice 3 hours a day, 5 days a week he said, I don't like studies and academics so much, he
mused, so my practice gives me much-needed breaks. It never feels tiring or exasperating at all,
because I love doing it.
When asked what the one thing is that he wants to say to aspiring young jugglers, he said:
Just love it. Because unless you love it, you won't devote to it
Do what you love, he ended with a smile.

TET and Prasanth

The first match of the day was kicked off with a great onslaught of cheering from the crowd as the
first 2 teams: BVM Global and Lisieux took the field.
We have prepared well and we are ready to play and win, said a player from Lisieux in an
interview.
The match started exactly at 11:00 am, exactly as per the schedule. Right from the beginning, it
seemed that BVMs offense was superior to Lisieuxs: the ball was kept on Lisieuxs side the whole
time. However, BVM were unable to finish a play and the first half ended 0-0.
After receiving some advice from their coaches, both teams took the field again and gave it their all.
The game seemed to be even-matched, with both sides getting a lot of corner kicks and free kicks
but none landing a goal. Finally, at 11:36, BVM made their first goal. Lisieux began to answer back
swiftly, but time did not permit as the match ended precisely at 11:37.
Aravinthan of Lisieux was awarded the man of the match amidst a thunderous round of applause
from the audience.
We did not give our best performance, said a player of BVM, We cut this match really close. Our
co-ordination and teamwork were really off today. Hopefully, we do better in future matches

Lisieux and BVM Global lining up

The next scheduled match was between CS Academy and Padmavathi Ammal. However,
Padmavathi did not show up and thus CS Academy was given a walk-over. Still, a friendly match
was played between TIPS-CBE and CS Academy for the benefit of both teams. TIPS won the match
1-0.

The TIPS vs CS friendly

So far so good, but I'm looking forward to the really tough matches, said Elizabeth Koshy, Head
of English at TIPS CBE.
The third match of the day was scheduled between Vidya Niketan and Nehru Vidyalaya.
We're really confident in our abilities, said a player from Vidya Niketan when they entered, We
hope to win all our matches.
Both teams took the field and the game started at 12:38 pm. Nehru Vidyalaya won the toss and
chose their side of the field.
Vidya Niketan's confidence was not misplaced. Their offense was formidable, constantly driving in

and taking shots at the Nehru Vidyalaya. Try as they might, the Nehru Vidyalaya defenders were
unable to stop them and half-time was called with a score of 4-0 in favor of Vidya Niketan.
After half-time, play resumed with much gusto from both teams, but Nehru Vidyalaya were still
unable to score a goal against the redoubtable Vidya Niketan. The match ended 5-0.
Naveen Kumar of Nehru Vidhyalaya was awarded the Player of the Match.
We have practiced really hard, for one hour every day for 6 days a week, said Kishore, the captain
of Vidya Niketan, Our coach is really enthusiastic and encourages us a lot and we have really good
team co-ordination, which helped us win.

Vidya Niketan on the field

The fourth match of the day was to be between TIPS-CBE and SBOA. The stands were piled up for
this match, as many of the school students sacrificed games hours and free hours to see the school's
team play.
The match commenced at precisely 1:38 with an uproar of cheers from the audience. Immediately,
TIPS went on offense and attacked the SBOA goal mercilessly. They scored their first goal just 1
minute later at 12:39.
A few moments later, there was a foul on the field committed by one of the TIPS players. Despite
the fact that they were on different teams, players from both teams came and lifted the injured

player back up and helped him to continue playing. It was a true display of camaraderie
Both teams played their best and SBOA scored one goal against the formidable TIPS defence, but
TIPS answered back with 3 more goals to finish the game 4-1.
The player of the match went to Roshan of SBOA.

Player of the match from SBOA

After this match, the next 2 scheduled matches were cancelled because only 2 of the four teams
scheduled to play showed up. Because of this, Suguna PIPS and PSBB Millennium were given a
walk-over to the next round. The organizing committee organized a friendly match between these
two teams that ended 0-0 without too much action.
We are quite upset about getting a walkover, said a player from Suguna PIPS, we wanted to
advance to the next round by winning, not like this
We are quite happy about the walkover, said a player from PSBB, We're really excited for the
next round now.
The next match of the day took place between Chinmaya and TIPS Erode IB. The crowd was rather
depleted of members at this point, as most of the students had either left or gone into classes.
Chinmaya's offense in this match was extremely redoubtable, but TIPS Erode was able to score the
first goal just minutes into the match. Chinmaya answered back with a goal just a minute later. TIPS
continued their scoring streak despite Chinmaya's potent defense. TIPS Erode ended the match, 3-1,
with a win.

Chinmaya and TIPS Erode

The player of the match award was given to Pranav of Chinmaya.

At 4:15 pm the match between The PSBB Millennium School and our very own TIPS Tirupur
began with a bang. The audience and all the CAS volunteers from I.B D.P Year-1 echoed
triumphant cheers and encouraged both the teams.
We give all of our support to our brothers who have come from so far away from Tirpur and wish
them the best of Luck, said an especially zealous student of TIPS Coimbatore.
Approximately 15 minutes into the game the first goal was scored by TIPS Tirpur, which sent the
TIPS fans in the audience roaring out of the gallery. However, a penalty kick granted by an ill-timed
foul, granted the PSBB Millennium team a goal, which elicited roars from their supporters in the
audience. The intense game continued as the ball juggled back and forth between both the teams
until the half-time whistle was blown. Second-half play resumed at 4:54 and 12 minutes later the
PSBB Millennium scored another goal, blowing away the balance and resulting in a lead in their
favour. Try all they might, TIPS Tirupur was unable to bridge the score gap, giving PSBB the win.
We all tried our best and gave it our all said Siddarth from TIPS Tirpur who was awarded the best
player of the match.

The player of the match being awarded by Mr. Joshua

The next match was held after a short break. At approximately 6:30 Vidya Niketan and Chinmaya
Internalional Residential School took the field. Vidya Niketan started the match with guns blazing.
Their offence and defense proved too much for Chinmaya, with Vidya Niketan scoring goals in
quick succession and ending the match with a tremendous lead of 6 to 1. Players from other teams
who watched the match all agreed that Vidya Niketan was a top competitor and possibly the team to
beat.
The Best Player award went to Anamalai of Chinmaya, who said with a smile, We all tried our
very best and pushed ourselves, but this time it was not enough. We hope to improve our game in
the future..
The next and final match of the day was held between Chinmaya and TIPS-CBE and begun at 7:34
pm. Within the first 2 minutes of game play, TIPS-CBE was able to score the first goal of the match,
amidst cheers from the audience. TIPS-CBE kept up a rather aggressive game: the ball was kept on
Chinmayas side of the field, which resulted in another goal in the 1st half at 7:42pm.
The students of Chinmaya came into the second half with a vengeance and gave TIPS a run for their
money. The ball was moved evenly back and forth over both sides as neither team relented in
defense or offense. However, at 7:57, TIPS-CBE was able to score another terrific goal, putting
them more ahead of Chinmaya. The rest of the game was quite epic indeed, but Chinmaya were
unable to score another goal and the match ended in favor of TIPS.
We were able to play so well today due to my friends hard-work and our coachs guidance said a
player of TIPS-CBE