It is common for a human being to have a favourite that has proved to have great benefits to an individual’s physical shape and mental health. Being a child born in the late 2006s in the eastern part of Africa, I was named Joshua. I discovered my favourite sport at the age of 7 years old. Football was the most prominent sport during that time. It caught my eyes; I grew into it and was peeping at the teenagers playing football on a nearby pitch. I was adoring this game, eventually, I was given a football to experiment engaging with it.
After school, I got involved in extracurricular activities that were related to football. It encouraged young children of my age group to get diversified and create friendships with other kids. It gave us a glimpse of football itself, without it being forceful. The duration of these activities was approximately one hour twice a week, not enough for those who are eager to learn a lot about this sport.
Although they were the fundamentals of football, learning to pass the ball to our teammates, improving an evolving child's physique and cardio. I wasn't the bright spark during these activities, as it was my first time playing with a ball on my feet. The drawback of these activities was, they lacked competition or any sort of pressure during games, all being played for pleasure and amusement. Temporarily I ceased my extracurricular activities, as at that point, I felt I would learn more about football whilst playing in my backyard and regulating my time limit on my own. My backyard was quite peaceful and had lots of room to run with the ball. Initially, it felt unnatural playing on a different ground, made of sharp pebbles and concrete.
Not an ideal location for training, as I had to remain on my legs throughout the whole session so as not to get wounded. My watchman, in his mid-20s, had an enormous contribution to my development with football. His name was Paul, the latter was quite dominant and muscular which contributed to him being an incredibly energetic individual. As my school was just a 10-minute walk from my house, he accompanied me there and came to pick me up later after completing my classes.
Afterwards, I had completed my assignments, we used to play football to an extent. At that time, he became a coach and a good friend to me. That was the pthe period when my playing style had taken a drastic turn, my technique and skills were at their peak during my younger days. It remained steady till I turned 8 years. I was delighted with the improvements made during the behind-the-scenes it boosted me for the upcoming challenges I had to face the following year.
In the coming year, I was thrilled to start another chapter of my life and I was satisfied with the previous year's outcomes. This year, I was eligible to join a football team, I had to do my nicest performance at school and on the pitch.
Training with my friend Paul, I paid attention to each of his advice given to improve my playing manner. Those aspects enabled me to become more of a defensive player, as he claimed that nailing the defensive element will help you improve other playing techniques. I began participating in Football matches during physical education, football wasn’t well-known among the children. I had a small spell of 20 minutes in the game. My PE teacher immediately acknowledged the way I played, what he told me afterwards the session will remain in my head forver. " That's amazing! Join my team on Saturday for further training, he said proudly. That sentence had put a grin on my face, once returning from school, I immediately announced this news to everyone at my house. Everyone was happy about it, especially Issa as he had to be given credit for this achievement. I made sure to complete my studies and all the pending work before going to Saturday's game. Saturday came, I was pumped up for that day, my mom decided to accompany me to the location as she didn't have work on that day. Throughout the trip to the training center, I kept on saying in my mind, " Finally, someone recognized my hard work." Once on the spot, my adrenaline increased, as my coach told me that I had to play with players that are 4 to 5 years older than me. Both my mom and I were concerned about it, however, the coach ensured that everything will be fine. The game kicked off, I was playing as a right-back throughout the whole match, I remember hearing the cheering of my mom and other teammates when I made a crucial tackle that prevented the opposition team to score. I struggled with stamina during that game nevertheless my overall performance was decent. My team was comfortably dominating the game, we received a penalty, I had to take it and score it. The whistle blew and I shot with all my power, I saw the ball past the line, I was delighted.
The game ended, I got applauded by my teammates and coach, I was satisfied with my execution. On my way back home, my mom was as happy as I was. Paul was joyful for my great performance. Through this game, I won the heart of several people and I continued training with them according to their scheduled dates. Our training session got intervened due to semestrial exams, in which I got wonderful grades. This boosted my confidence in all aspects, my mom offered me an expensive football as a reward. I was delighted, as it meant the world to me. During our vacations, we had an active schedule, games were coming thick and fast, I played as a reserve player but was clutch when involved on the pitch. However, it ended in an unfortunate manner, an opposition player fouled me.
My leg was covered with blood flowing out through awful wounds, my mother rushed to take me to a nearby clinic. Regrettably, I had a large bandage over my leg for several days, which reasoned in me being left sidelined as I was unable to play. As there were not many upcoming, I halted football training and concentrated on my studies and additional leisure activities during my interim time. After rehabilitation, I joined training sessions, I mainly played from the bench due to my injury. I wasn't performing sufficiently on the pitch, I felt in a huge mess, at that time, a miracle was needed for me to bounce back. However, the opposite occurred whilst training, I underwent a terrible injury. Everything changed since that specific moment, I had broken my right wrist. I was withdrawn from the team; I had lost all my faith in football. Perhaps it was a great time for me to change hobbies. I had been visiting the doctor for a period with the hope of hearing the good news that I will no longer have to wear an arm sling. I had to wait for several months, for being able to run once again in the open air just like I had done before my injury. Time passed by; I was still in the search of a new training camp. I had turned 10 years old during that time, considerable changes occurred in the behind-the-scenes. I moved to a new school, it was quite far away from where I had lived, nonetheless, I was prepared for a new chapter.
The first few weeks mostly got used to my new school's environment. My new establishment had a vaster yard and modern classrooms. I was stunned to notice a professional changing room in a school, as most schools don't have such facilities. Here, I came across a boy who then became my close friend. The latter name was Alex, we always did our very best to come to school as early as possible. We did it, as we preferred having a decent conversation before heading to our classrooms. In this manner, we didn't make a single beep throughout the whole class. As the days went by, we both joined a football team in our school itself. The training sessions occurred three times a week in the afternoons and on the weekends, we played matches against the opposition team's youth players. The chemistry between us two evolve indestructibly, such activities allowed us, youngsters, to socialize with other children from other schools. The contentment returned to my face; I recollected the good memories of the bygone days.
The villainous side was I was constantly left by most of my classmates, the first five months I only had one friend. My previous school was their rival of my current establishment, hence they never cared or wanted me. This constantly occurred, the prior trimester before schooling closing, was undoubtedly the fairest moment at my new school. Finally, I was recognized by my classmates, the weekends became amusing, the whole class were thrilled and overwhelmed on those days as we used to go to the seaside and play until dawn. Class spirit was at its peak, momentum was present among students, everything felt so unreal, but we all cherished this period. The person behind this prosperity was our new teacher, she replaced the previous educator we had. Mrs. Rose instantly won the heart of every pupil, her motto was to bring equality and joy to the class’s atmosphere whilst focusing on our studies. This built camaraderie in our class, unlike our initial teacher who implemented the opposite factors into our class's environment. Hence, he got sacked.
As the end-of-year exams approached, everybody was understanding things better, the eye-catching part was that the whole class passed their exams. Credits had to be given to our teacher, we become so close to her, she was a real-life fairy, nonentity expected great marks for the finals. To embrace this moment, the class and I arranged a class party for this occasion on the last day of school. A wonderful way to complete studies for that year. The wait arrived at an end, the vacations began, which indicated that the green light was given for the commencement of the new football season. Composed, I was given the captain's armband, it had a great significance. I nailed down the left-hand side of my team, whilst being the captain of the group, stamina, motivation, and desire to win were the main elements required for me to display on the pitch.
I comprehended after a handful of games, a noticeable difference between that present moment and my prior spell a few years ago. The intensity, enthusiasm, and determination had enhanced. The hunger for victory had increased as every opponent ought to win every match. Being the host team for this tournament, we were obliged to gain the victory of this tournament. Delightedly, we fulfilled the vow, through fin margins wins during the tournament. Satisfactory way of terminating the season with silverware, vital for morale, team belief, and spirit with the pupils. The remaining part of the vacation was spent with the family, rejuvenating, and starting the preparations for the upcoming year.
The forthcoming months were vital for my family and me. Numerous things occurred during that period; we had obtained the opportunity of shifting to a different country. Mauritius became the destination where we had chosen. A big blast for me, as I had to abandon my previous school unexpectedly. Where I was adapting and making friends in that fresh atmosphere that took great endeavors and time. It may have been a roller coaster ride of emotions and feelings at my previous establishment, however, I felt at ease there. Eventually, my body approved that drastic change and swallowed the reality.
I gave my farewell to my pals and my educators from both of my schools. Tears rolled down my cheeks, nevertheless, I was aware that this change was for our benefit.
My first year in Mauritius was perhaps the best interval concerning my studies and development mentally. The drawback of that period was as I did not even touch a football throughout the whole period. The justification for such circumstances was due to a lack of friends and the unfamiliarity of the new surroundings.
I was eventually accepted by my classmates and friendships began. The summer season arrived; numerous changes happened during that time. By that moment, I was integrated with my classmates and our union came to be exceptional as the day passed by. I was having a part in most activities held by my playmates, studying, and amusing together was undeniably a cherishable moment. During an afternoon-evening football outing with my friends an afternoon-evening, worst on our bicycles and went off to a football pitch. Authentically, the pitch was run by an old, retired couple from France. They offered free training sessions to the nearby residents. Football training trials occurred thrice a week, I went there just once a week alongside my friends. Mr. Josh was responsible for training older players whilst his spouse Mrs. Marie oversaw children under the age of ten years. The pitch was breathtaking, it was a few steps away from the scenic beach. The ocean's water was crystal clear and hearing waves crashing into the heavenly sand was in harmony to my ears.
Fast forward a few weeks, when we showed up to training, the coach informed us about a few foreign coaches’ scouting a certain number of players for an Academy. I was informed that a Liverpool Fc Academy will be accessible in Mauritius. I constantly doubted my capabilities if they are sufficient to be able to play in such a prestigious football club. I recall having performed adequately in front of them, after the training trial, they interrogated me and asked me for my email. I joyfully approved and gave them my email address.
On the next day, I received a notification from Liverpool FC academy, they invited me for a trial at their academy center. I was stupefied and had an enormous smile on my face perhaps, those scouts were from England scouting young players for their new Academy Centre in Mauritius. I had excelled in the trial session and the coaches were impressed with me. I got engaged to their academy, I was given the number 28 shirt and was playing right-back for them. I was feeling delighted and proud of that tremendous achievement. At first, it felt surreal playing for Liverpool FC however, I got the hang of it and appreciated every bit of it.
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