The girls from Kungshamn/Smögens IF are ready for the next step in their football development
2022 is the first year the girls from Kungshamn/Smögens IF play 9 vs 9, something that motivate the competition-oriented team that says that "now we get to play for real". Since they won Gothia Boost Tour last autumn Gothia Cup in the summer of 2022 has been the teams long term goal.
This last autumn, the girls from Kungshamn/Smögens IF gathered for an ice cream tasting. Our partner GB offered the ice cream and together with Gothia Boost Tour, they surprised the team with a spot in Gothia Cup 2022.
This year is the first year that the girls play 9 vs 9, with that the football practice has become more serious and more tactical. Many of the girls in the team are real competition people and one of them recently said "now we finally get to play for real". Daniel, who is the team's coach, is however, very careful that it is important that it should be fun to play football, but that it is also important to have goals to strive for. Daniel says that a long-term goal like playing Gothia Cup motivates the girls and makes the more "boring" parts such as long tactical reviews and talking about match systems more fun. The girls has something to look forward to and the team has set goals for different things they should have learned before they go to Gothia Cup.
During the pandemic, a few players has quit the team, but Daniel says that it is difficult to know what it is due to. As the girls get older, many put higher demands on themselves and quit sports prematurely, something that Daniel wants to counteract. He wants them to focus on the fun because that gives them good conditions to see all the great things with football.
The win in Gothia Boost Tour has given the team more energy, the girls knows that Gothia Cup will most likely be the biggest thing they will experience in their football careers. They talk about Gothia Cup at every training session and notice that I say that "now it is one week closer to Gothia Cup" every week. They still think it's far away. - Daniel Horst, coach Kungshamn/Smögens IF
Daniel and his coaching colleagues think it is important that the girls are social and get to know other teams. They have therefore had an exchange with another team from Bohuslän, where they live, where the girls got to listen to their coaches, train together, exchange experiences and make new friends. He hopes that the girls will make new friendships for life during Gothia Cup, preferably with players from other countries.
To see all the people in motion is one of all the parts they look forward to with Gothia Cup this summer but also getting to know players from other teams and countries and living together in the school, Gothia Cup is so much more than the matches. Daniel remember when he himself played at Gothia Cup and also when he was a coach for another team and says that it is a fantastic experience.
