Iqaluit (Nov 20/06) - Maybe those physics lessons are coming in handy for 17-year-old Martha Pudloo.

The Grade 10 Inuksuk high school student plays defence on the school's under-17 soccer team, and playing the ball off gymnasium walls is a key part of Nunavut's wild brand of indoor soccer.

Martha Pudloo marks a spectator's hand at a soccer tournament in Iqaluit earlier this month. The 17-year-old took up soccer four years ago. - Chris Windeyer/NNSL photo

The beautiful game is usually played on wide, grassy fields, which are in short supply in the Arctic, so Nunavut footballers have to adapt, Pudloo said.

Kicking the ball low is essential, because if it's too high it will bounce off the ceiling, she said.

Pudloo discussed her love for soccer while taking a break from her duties as a ticket taker at Inuksuk high school's weekend tournament Nov. 11 and 12.

"My friend got me into soccer four years ago," she said. "I tried out and made the team and I've played ever since."

Pudloo was also gearing up for the under-17 girls final later that afternoon against Cape Dorset, whom Iqaluit beat earlier in the tournament by two goals.

And while the capital city squad is a perennial favourite to win it all, Pudloo admitted to a few pre-game butterflies, but was confident overall.

"I think we have the best team. We've practised a lot this year," she said.

Pudloo said she's not sure what she wants to do for a living yet, but she's sure she wants to attend the Nunavut Sivuniksavut college preparation program in Ottawa.

Her favourite subject is science because there are so many interesting animals in the world.

"You can learn so much," she said.