My first trip to Dubai seemed like a whirlwind. I was, of course, very busy with the soccer team. However, we did have one night out at the Dubai Mall. The Dubai Mall is the largest mall in the world and it is also right next to the Burj Khalifa. Dubai is certainly a city based on glitz and glamor. I would say that Doha is maybe 20 years behind. Dubai has some lovely green parks as well as some nice public beaches. I most certainly would like to visit again in order to explore more and do some shopping. I did not have a chance to go up in the Burj Khalifa, which is another thing that I would like to do. Here are a few of the pictures that I took while at the Dubai Mall, riding in the buses to and from places, and our view from the hotel.
Dubai at dusk. Just arriving and leaving the airport.
This year I was asked to help coach JV girls soccer. Me? Yo? Ana? Coach soccer? If we had been talking about cross country or softball, I probably would not have batted an eyelash. However, I hadn't played soccer since I was 14 years old. The position had recently opened up as the former coach found out he could not do it at the last minute. I did take the weekend to mull it over and decided to go for it. My youngest brother told me that I was a good teacher and knew how to get through to kids, so why would I even doubt myself? I also strongly agree that it is a good thing to have women coaching female sports. Young girls and women are in strong need of female role models since we do still tend to live in a male dominated society in many regards.
I must say that even though the sports seasons at ASD are short in comparison to the seasons in the United States, I was very busy and it now seems like a blur. It was an eight week whirl wind of great laughs, fun, disappointments, learning, and growing. I also quickly came to realize that I still can be extremely competitive and I do not like to lose (even if it was a sprint down the field with the team). Nevertheless, I cannot say the same for all the players on the team and they most certainly made me remember that winning is not everything. Our final tournament was in Dubai and we took 5th place out of the six teams that were there. However, you would have thought our girls won the gold medal. They certainly never gave up and worked hard. They laughed, sang, and had a great time!
I could never have survived this season without the absolutely wonderful support of the other coach and the athletic director at ASD. I was constantly showered with encouragement and reassurance that I was doing a good job.
Here are some pictures from our season and MESAC tournament in Dubai:
Practicing on the turf at Aspire with the varsity girls.
More action at Aspire.
It was fun to be able to play out under the lights!
The girls played well...
The Aspire Tower in the background.
Lauren and I at the opening ceremony for the basketball and soccer tournaments in Dubai.
The girls warming up for their first game.
A beautiful morning for soccer.
Shaking hand with the other team before the start of the game.
And they are off...
Playing pretty well against ASD Dubai.
We tied with them 1-1.
Some of the girls watching the boys play at DAA.
What would I without these two payasas? ;)
Coach Houston needs her hat and gafas for protection against the sun!
Dinner with some of the girls at the food court in the Dubai Mall (largest mall in the world).
Me in front of the Burj Khalifa (tallest building in the world). I will have to go back one of these days to actually go up it!
Having a pre-game chat with Coach Lance.
We did not play very well in this game against CAC.
More game time action.
Team photo.
These girls make me laugh.
They finally let the coaches in...
Where's our goalie? Oh! There she is...
Playing against AES from New Delhi.
Having some fun before out final game of the tournament.
We won our final two games despite having two pretty hurt players.
Last team photo at the field.
And another one with the coaches...
Dinner before the awards ceremony.
All the girls from ASD Doha!
Finally flying home!
This player and I got to spend a little extra time in Dubai as we found out that she had fractured her tibia. We had to go to the hospital and get a cast put on. We had quite the journey back to Doha...
These girls never lacked in their enthusiasm. This is how many of our bus rides transpired in Dubai... :)
