Desire - Ross Awa/THE PROFESSIONAL FC

INTRODUCTION
"It was pure excitement"

 I currently work with the Guam Football Association (GFA) as Assistant Technical Director, Women’s National Team Assistant Coach and U20 Women’s National Team Head Coach.

 My playing career first started when I played for my school football team. This provided an opportunity for national team coaches to scout me during my matches. 

 After countless of trials during the process, I was invited to take part as one of the traveling members for Guam’s Youth National Teams. Due to some turn of events throughout my journey, my position on the team changed from a winger to a goalkeeper.

 I shortly dropped off from football a couple years later after playing with my club team that is no longer a registered club. I took a break from organized football, and found myself playing a lot of street football. 

 A lot of our kickabouts took place in basketball courts or abandoned tennis courts, which my friends and I would show up early to clean up the playing area. We did not have ideal goals or pop ups regularly available, we ended up using old bins or even our bag pack to mark out as goals.

Eventually I got back to getting on a futsal team. After the futsal season, I fell back in to the game and got on to the clubs’ men’s team. I gain a different understanding of the game oppose to when I was younger, and I started to understand what my coaches have been trying to explain and teach me during my time in the youth national team program. 

I began to have a new found passion of the game. It wasn’t just about the physical aspect with the ball but more on how the mind works while playing. 

It was fascinating, the constant decision making at every moment of play and you have to be engaged or you’ll be completely lost. It was pure excitement, and having a different understanding of the game is what attracted me more to this sport.

JOY
”To get their first joy with the sport and eventually fall in love with the game"