By S. SOLOMON SAMUEL
DALAT International School (DIS) in Penang emerged runner-up in the Tunku Najihah Trophy National Under-18 Girls’ Football Tournament held at the International School Kuala Lumpur (ISKL) last month.
At DIS, girls and boys play the same sports.
Said student Lydia Ng: “I think that the sport (football) shouldn’t only be for boys. It helps me be physically fit, and I enjoy learning to work together as a team with other girls.”
Apart from football, DIS offers a variety of sports for girls, such as swimming, basketball, volleyball, badminton, tennis, squash, track and field.
After a break of 10 years, the girls’ football programme at DIS was revived by teacher Lyn Holden in 2001.
Said Holden: “I was a student at DIS from 1990 to 1996 and the girls’ football programme ended the year I came. I regretted not having had the opportunity to play football in high school and wanted to give my female students a chance to learn to play football.
“With the encouragement and backing of Gerry Steiert and Michael Holden in the PED (Physical Education Department), I decided to restart the girl’s football programme when I returned to DIS as a teacher in 2001.”
Holden coached both varsity (under-18) and junior varsity (under-15) football teams in 2001 with the varsity team winning a tournament at the Alice Smith School in Kuala Lumpur.
The girl’s football programme at DIS is doing well in its third year of existence under the guidance of coaches Lyn Holden, Steve Liss and Donna Hansen.
She said: “In the United States, many girls have the opportunity to play soccer. Since DIS is an international school with an American curriculum, I wanted to provide opportunities, similar to those girls would have in the United States.”
Varsity football player Tina Wolfe said: “Soccer is becoming very popular around the world, so I think girls should be able to play it here in Malaysia.
Her teammate Lynda Ermis said: “I like playing soccer because I love the sport. It’s so intense when you’re out there on the field. It’s a natural game to me.”
Holden concluded by saying: “One of Dalat’s learning goals is to live fully for God. Part of that means having students use their best efforts in what they do for God.”