No English? No goal
צילום: ויז'ואל/פוטוס
Soccer team holds 'English tryouts' ahead of world championship
Players who failed English exam banned from joining team trip to world tournament. 'To represent is as important as to win', says coach
Two team players of the Hadera junior soccer team were shocked to find out that they will not be allowed to travel with the team to the United States to take part in the world championship in beach soccer. The reason: They did not pass the English language test.
These are exciting times for members of the Hadera Princes – they are going to participate in the largest world tournament in beach soccer taking place in Miami, Florida.
The team's coach, Raz Zehavi has taken several measures in order to prepare his team ahead of the big event. Alongside intense training sessions, the players have been also asked to go through intensive English classes.
"We are going to a ten day prestigious tournament that will host teams from all over the world. I will not travel with players that are supposed to represent the State of Israel but don't have basic English skills," said Zehavi on the weekend.
"During the past few days we had an English speaking referee oversee our games, which is when we found out our team members' English level was that of beginners.
Representing Israel with dignity
"I explained to them that they will have to go through a ten day intensive English course; I even hired a special teacher in order to train them," said Zehavi, "so they can speak with tournament representatives who are awaiting them alongside respected figures of the Jewish community."After the ten day course, the players were given a final exam to test their comprehension of the study material.
The exam results revealed that two of the team players failed the test. "Two of the players were screened because their English level is very poor, and the requirement to go on the trip was to have basic English skills," explained Zehavi.
"Even the team captain, Tzachi Illuz, passed the test along with his friends, and now – alongside the soccer – we can represent Israel with dignity," said Zehavi.
"I say this with pride, " he continued, "it is important for me that aside from our victories, we will also be able to talk and to answer questions; to represent is as important as to win."
