Walking onto the green pitch in a black-themed outfit, Keshu Seelam, junior, is ready to lead his self-created soccer team, Naidu FC, with no prior soccer experience.  

Back in November of 2022, Seelam and Nikhil Guduri, sophomore, started Naidu FC because they wanted to have fun playing a sport with each other during the spring semester.

“It’s our first time doing something like this,” Seelam said. “We were just bored one day. We wanted to do something fun and get our friends involved in something active.”

Seelam thought joining a league by himself wouldn’t be fun because he would be playing with people he didn’t know.

“It’s less on soccer, but more on socialization and interacting with my friends,” Seelam said.

The team plays at Vetta Sports in Manchester. In order to organize a team for the league, the players must pay a fee of $925.

As the coach of Naidu FC, Guduri enjoys embracing his role as the lead playcaller by adjusting the player lineup and strategizing how they should score goals.

Despite not having much soccer experience, Guduri oversees their practices by running passing drills and scrimmages. He also notes the players’ strengths and weaknesses.

“I discipline the players when I need to, and I like devising plays in order to win games,” Guduri said.

The team enjoys playing the game and having fun eating food with each other before their games and hanging out at each other’s houses after the games.

“After our matches, we always go out to have fun for a bit. When we play and practice, we enjoy having our banter amongst each other,” Guduri said.

Midfielder Devaang Nair, junior, likes how he can interact with new people.

“I think people spend most of their time at school, so they get a lot closer with them, but they might get distant with people outside of school, so when we made Naidu FC, it just felt like we were able to strengthen our friendship,” Nair said.