Football often inspires feverish excitement among its fans, and BITS is no exception. One of the most followed sports on campus, there aren’t many who don’t understand its rules. After all, one of the things that make football so popular is its simplicity. Two teams, eleven on each side, ninety minutes with the objective of kicking the ball into the other’s goal. Finally, the team with more goals wins. Ishan Joglekar, captain—and goalkeeper—of the men’s football team, described the team’s preparation to the BOSM English Press.

Ishan first described how the training routine used to be a couple of years ago. Their coach had come from Arsenal training Camp, and their training had an emphasis on fitness. Their current coach is an AFC certified coach who has trained in Germany. Their current training methods have an emphasis on tactical play. The team started morning practice sessions from the 10th of August, with a focus on fitness. Evening sessions concentrate on actual ball play. Their coach came to campus on the 20th, and early practice concentrated on zonal play and the connection between midfield and defence. As the team’s back positions have become solid in the weeks leading towards BOSM, their focus has shifted to midfield and attack positions; they will concentrate on finishing tactics last. To adapt to different conditions and times of the day, the coach switches things up by keeping matches at different times. For example, matches are kept in the afternoon to get used to the sun. Often, many sessions are designed to focus on a specific type of player or to test a variety of strategies. 

Venky’s and Jamia Milia have historically been their greatest competitors, with them often sharing the trophies. Although BITS has made the semi-finals for the past three years, they have lost to Jamia or Venky’s during the playoffs. For this year’s BOSM, Ishan feels that it will be a tough experience, but a highly educative one nonetheless. Apart from BOSM, the team went to MNIT Jaipur and IIT Bombay last year, the latter being an official tournament. He expressed dissatisfaction at the fact that the team wasn’t able to convert their dominance—which lasted for a major portion of the match—into goals.

Ishan is extremely happy with the ‘18 batch, as they have stepped up their game after many of their seniors left at the end of the previous academic year. This year, recruitments saw over ninety juniors turning up for the first round. Though it was a logistical hassle, the turnout was very good. Juniors were arranged into teams that played against each other. Their performance will be assessed and filtered over more rounds. 

The captain talked about his involvement in the sport, which he had actively participated in since his sixth grade. He had always been interested in playing and following the sport, having also been the captain of his school football team. He loves the thrill of the sport; the way his team bonds after a match is what keeps bringing him back to it. Going to tournaments and playing against other teams is an addictive experience. Despite his other commitments on campus, football offers him a sense of satisfaction like none other. Ishan is a devoted follower of Manchester United, though he confessed that this was not a great time to be a fan of the team. 

His experience in the team has been very fulfilling. He is proud of the ‘17 batch, who stepped up to fill the gap when his seniors graduated. He feels that their commitment and dedication has also trickled down to the ‘18 batch, who have similarily shown enthusiasm for the sport. As to his role as team captain, he strives to pay attention to everyone in the team. He feels a responsibility to make sure that everyone is motivated in their roles and to raise the morale of the team as a whole. He feels that the team is quite self-reliant and that they shall do well even without him.

With respect to how he manages his other commitments on campus and academics, he felt that football takes priority only during one part of the year. Leading up to the fest, a lot of time is spent in training, but he gets time to concentrate on other things after BOSM.