BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State assistant women's soccer coach
Amy Kolowsky volunteered as a coach with Vision Sports in Chennai, India, from April 14-22. Kolowsky, who played at Appalachian from 2011-14, coached high school aged boys during her time abroad.
As a member of head coach
Sarah Strickland's coaching staff, Kolowsky works primarily works with goalkeepers.
A former goalkeeper herself, Kolowsky posted a solid career recorded a career-high 95 saves in 2011 and finished seventh all-time in career saves with 131. Kolowsky shares her experiences from her trip to India.
What was the name of the sports group you worked with, and How did you hear about this opportunity?
"I went with Vision Sports, and I heard about it through a mutual coaching friend."
What compelled you to take this opportunity? How'd you apply for it?
"Well, I got the call about the trip only four weeks before they were about to leave. I thought when my friend was telling me about it that it was going to be later, like in July or next January or something. Then she told me that it leaves April 14. I was like 'OK, great, right in the middle to end of spring when everything is super busy.' I wasn't sure if it was something that would work out. Personally, I've been praying a lot about being able to coach overseas, and this just seemed like the perfect opportunity, even though maybe the timing wasn't exactly right. But if Sarah was on board, and if my professors were on board, then this was the time, and I was going to go for it. It turned out that they were pretty desperate for a lead soccer coach, so I was able to call Scott Duke, the trip leader, and say 'Hey, I'll come," and they took me!
Where did you go specifically and for how long?
"We departed the states on April 14, and we were there until April 22. So it was a short trip. The camp itself was two weeks long, but due to time constraints on my schedule, I couldn't go for more than the one week. We went to Chennai, which is on the eastern coast right on the Indian Ocean."
What were some lessons/tasks you were focusing on when you were coaching? How eager were the campers to learn about soccer?
"The camp itself was open to all kids aged 9-18. Throughout the week, we probably had 100 kids, and we divided them up into three age groups. I worked with the oldest age group, which were high schoolers. It was at a school in Chennai, but it was open to anybody in the community. It just happened to be that I had the whole varsity soccer team from that school. They were super eager, so that was definitely a highlight of the trip. It was awesome just how excited they were every session to play. India is known for cricket, but these were mostly kids who very much grew up with a soccer ball glued to their foot. So technically, they were awesome. They were truly an amazing group and so welcoming and open to everything I had to say and offer."
How did your work here at Appalachian prepare you for this opportunity?
"Here, I primarily work with goalkeepers and I get to train our field players in some smaller drills, but nothing like how I was over there. Working in a program of this caliber, working with Sarah and Brittany, planning training sessions every day and working with someone like Sarah who leads well [helps]. I was nervous about it at first because I was the lead coach, and I was not only planning my training sessions but training sessions for the other age groups as well. And you also have to think about the language barrier. Almost every kid over there spoke some English, but there were varying levels of comprehension. There are some phrases that don't exactly translate into sports. We try hard as coaches here at App to be very intentional with the language that we use and try to keep it as simple and clear as possible. It's a general coaching idea, but Sarah has been intentional about it, and it helped me while I was there to think through everything I was saying."
What are some of your favorite memories from the trip and why?
"So, there were five of us who went from the states for that week. One of the highlights was the people that I went with and getting to know them because I didn't know any of them beforehand. I talked to Scott Duke, the trip leader, for about 20 minutes on the phone before we left. It didn't even occur to me that it was kind of strange that I was flying halfway across the world with people I didn't know until I got there. Everyone would ask 'how do you know each other?' and I would say 'Well...I don't know any of them at all.' It was great getting to know them and see how they coached in that kind of environment, and to grow and to experience that with other people as well. The highlight overall had to be coaching all of those boys. I've never coached boys in a big group like that before. And I had 30 high school boys, who spoke mostly Tamil. I've never been in an environment like that. They were so welcoming and excited all the time. One of the coolest experiences was when it was one of the boy's birthdays while we were there, and his whole team pitched in and bought him a cake and brought it to the end of a session on his birthday. They sang and did a "cutting ceremony," where the one whose birthday it was takes the first piece of the cake and feeds a bite of it to 'the elder.' That person then takes that same piece and feeds it back to the birthday person. It was cool to witness that, and then they insisted on me participating as well. It was touching to be invited to attend in such a special cultural ritual, and see how excited they were for me to do it. They were all cheering and encouraging; it was just so cool to be included in something like that. I will remember that forever."
Will you encourage members of the women's soccer team to pursue opportunities similar to your own?
"Yes. Some of our girls have gone and played abroad on an Athletes in Action trips. So we've had girls go to France and to Canada where they play but also do work in the community as well. I'm hoping and praying that I get to go back, so I would encourage others to do it as well. It's a trip that Vision Sports is hoping to do annually or every other year, so I would love to go back with them. I'd definitely encourage anybody who has a heart for sports, and particularly a heart for sharing that passion, especially in places that maybe don't get the same experiences we do, to go on a trip like this one."
