Running Your Own Race
From tribe mentality to true success
Football is widely regarded as the “beautiful game” and it has given me some of my life’s greatest moments.
As somebody who moved to England as a young child, I will continue to acknowledge how being better than most children at kicking a bag of wind gave me belonging in a country I initially found hostile.
It is also impossible for me to ignore the incredible experiences I have had as both a coach and a fan in different countries around the world. But as I grow older, I understand how this same sport trained me to be desperate for the approval of others.
Scouted and sought after by professional clubs at six and seven years of age, I was broken by them at eight. That is the reality of this sport. But what you don’t understand as a child crying in your bedroom is that these experiences can inspire beliefs capable of surviving into your adult life.
Feeling like a let-down is hard for anybody to deal with, let alone a child.
In reality, I did not betray myself or anyone else by not practicing a sport as much as another primary schooler. Kids don’t let anyone down by not performing a skill as impressively as another child either.
