It was and it’s still a struggle, I started playing soccer officially when I was in middle school, I was very skinny, I got laughed at so many times by my friends, I nearly quit playing soccer. But one of my older brothers got selected to compete at the regional level. And this was when the magic happened. I did more practice than ever.
I got selected 3 times as one of the circuit best eleven players. My real first move in playing soccer as hard it was, was a remarkable time. But I had to learn to be tolerant enough while making sure my friends are not taking advantage of me. I learned to be ready for whatever life put into my basket because whether I work hard or not sometimes life doesn’t even give a warning shot. What I have learned throughout the years of playing soccer is perseverance.
My parents are not rich and I know there is a reason why, when my teammates are going 10 laps I go 20. Fortunately in tenth grade, I seized an opportunity and came to the US on a scholarship. I took my American high school to states which they could not remember the last time they reach there before. Something I learn from this is that the most significant gains come after l have forgotten that hard drills years back. I realized that if I want to leave a legacy, I will always have to put in more effort than required even if there is no sign of hope. So I am always ready to seize any opportunity.
One of my biggest obstacles in soccer visited me when I came to the US for the first time in 2018. My American friends played differently and not very tough as I am used to in Ghana. So I had to learn to manage the whole different slower way of playing which made me looked like I never played soccer with many different players in a team before. But luckily I was playing only one top and that gave me the chance to see the play from different angles and finally adapted. So I realized if I want to go further in the game of football (Soccer). I have to stay calm and be able to adapt to different situations.
My whole aim, in the beginning, was nothing but to just prove my friends wrong. I learned not to be fearful of obstacles of any kind. With numerous ups and downs in my pursuit of playing higher-level soccer, I am very ready and hopeful to give the best version of myself in my next level playing soccer.
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