As the Binacionales—an annual multi-school sports tournament bringing together international and bilingual schools in Colombia, such as TCS, to compete in disciplines like soccer—approach, POLI, the school’s extracurricular soccer team, is increasing its training sessions and preparing to defend its title in Manizales at the end of November. However, the team’s preparation involves more than improving its performance on the field. Players must compete for positions, maintain their academic performance, and meet the expectations of representing their school.

“Since we are closer to Binationals, our team has been more unified, and we train three times a week, and before we just trained two times a week,” said Pablo Tabares, a senior at TCS and a key figure in the team. The increase in training reflects the team’s growing focus as the tournament gets closer. Nevertheless, attendance remains a challenge. “People maybe don’t come a lot to training, and that is, I think, the main challenge in the preparation,” Tabares explained.

For players trying to qualify, this preparation also means competing against their own teammates. Daniel Mejía, a Senior at TCS who is fighting for a place on the roster, described the process as difficult because of the level of competition, especially in his position. “Trying to make this team has been very hard. There’s a lot of competition. There is a lot of players who have a really good level. Also, in my position there are about four players, and I am really trying to make that team to go to Binationals,” Mejia stated.

According to Coach Urbano Mesa, earning a place depends on a player’s performance and ability to contribute in different situations, as the squad engages in intense training sessions three times a week focusing heavily on tactical discipline, set pieces, and physical conditioning. “First is in the technical capabilities each player has for each position… whoever is performing best at that moment plays.” This information provided by Mesa shows that players cannot rely only on their talent or reputation; they must demonstrate their abilities throughout the preparation process.

The competition also pushes players to improve. Mejía believes that having to earn his place makes him approach training differently. “It affects, I think, in a good way because you have a sense of competition that makes you really need to do well. For example, if there was no competition and I was already in the team, I would like be training normal. But this makes me train every day better… And try to be better than the other one.” Mejia said. 

Beyond individual performance, Urbano is focusing on the team’s tactical organization, particularly its defense. He wants players to avoid leaving spaces for opponents to exploit while attacking. The coach also recognizes that there is pressure to maintain the team’s record. “There is a lot of pressure because we have almost always been champions of that tournament… we have to manage the psychological aspect so the player doesn’t enter the field overconfident… That is step by step, match after match,” Mesa explained.

For the seniors, this year’s tournament carries additional meaning because it is their last opportunity to participate in the competition while at school. “This year, while being seniors, you feel much more responsibility for representing the school in the best way and being the champions in our last year participating in the tournament,” Tabares said.

That responsibility also extends beyond soccer. Tabares explained that the entire team must maintain good academic performance—specifically keeping a passing GPA and having no failing grades—to remain eligible to travel and represent the school. For Mejía, qualifying would make the effort worthwhile. “Making that team will be very good, very satisfying because I know that I made it into a really good team with a lot of competition and it will feel great.”

As POLI prepares for Manizales, the challenge is to turn its training into results while managing the competition for places and the expectations surrounding the team. With the tournament approaching, consistency and teamwork will be essential to achieving its goal of becoming champions again.