By Student and Football Captain Dorjee W

The Jhamtse Futbol Club (JFC) for me is not only a platform where we get to learn how to play, but it's a platform where we get to learn sportsmanship.

From a young age, I was very interested in sports. Until JFC was started, for me, a sport was just a way to have fun. JFC was started with a Motto: from having "RIGHT TO PLAY - TO RIGHT PLAY". I didn't know that JFC will teach me many things. When JFC started, I was very excited because I thought now, I will get plenty of time to play and I can develop my football skills.

To become a member of JFC, there were some conditions that we had to fulfill like, scoring a minimum of 70% on exams, showing respect to seniors, etc. We also learned, playing is also something we must earn. I signed on, and I became a member of JFC. At that time, I didn't know that it would teach me many things.

We had to wake up early in the morning (5:00am) and start our drills. So, the first thing that I learned was discipline. Every day I had to wake up early in the morning, which I used to dislike. But now it's very normal.

For me, the hardest thing to do was to balance sports and study. I used to give 80% of my time to sports and the rest to studying. I was an average student. After becoming a member of JFC, without any option, I had to balance between the two because I didn't want to be out of JFC. I put in enough effort, and I scored very well on exams. I was surprised that to play football, I was able to make studying a habit. In 12th grade, I passed with good marks.

Football made me do the things that I used to struggle with. By looking at every angle, I was chosen as the captain of our team. It was one of my most significant achievements. Playing in a tournament with other teams was my dream. JFC fulfilled my dream. We had to learn many skills for the tournament, but we also had to learn sportsmanship which is more important. By playing football, I learned many values - like teamwork, hard work, and patience. Football is a game where we can't win individually; it is a game of teamwork. Anybody can master football skills but having sportsmanship is a big question. JFC made us learn the skills and also made us become good sportsmen.

While playing the tournament, I felt that we learned something. While I was wearing the jersey, I naturally had great respect for it. During the match, everybody was supporting each other and giving motivation to each other.

Often in football, players will blame and point at each other. But my team was doing great. No one was bringing negative energy. There was a situation where one of the opposing players had a muscle cramp. One of our players went near him and asked, "are you okay?" This is not a big thing but how nice it is to help someone you don't know and your opponent.

Some teams were so angry, just because they lost a match. Our team also lost the match and with a great point difference (1:6), which is very bad. We knew that we would lose the match, but still, everyone was playing so nicely, as if we were going to win the match. Finally, we lost the game, but still, no one was angry. Everyone knew that they have given there 100%. No one was unsatisfied. We lost all the matches.

Our last match was the best match. We lost, but everyone was saying that it felt like we won. That's the sportsmanship we learned being a JFC member. All the fans said that our team is a great team. Everybody was sure that we would get the trophy for being the most disciplined team. That is also an achievement. We did get the trophy. But more than that was that we made a good impression.

Most of the time, after a tournament, people stop playing, but we didn't. We continued our drills with a consistent focus. That's the sportsmanship of hard work and teamwork. We believe that one day we will be the winner of the match. Believing in yourself is also a significant value that all players should have. These are some of the importance of sportsmanship, which I have learned. Wherever we go to play football, we carry the name of JFC with us. I have learned a lot from JFC and Coach Tenzin.

Football has really changed my life. For me, JFC is not only a platform where we get to learn how to play, JFC is also a platform where we get to learn the true meaning of sportsmanship." – Dorje W.