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The hot sun blazed on the light green fields as Mark walters tied his shoe lace in preparation for the training that was about to commence. His heart raced with fear and anxiety, he had always envisaged this moment since he was a little kid. He played football on the streets of Florida where he was one of the best players before he was admitted into the academy. Now he was in the midst of professional players and fear crept into him, reducing his confidence.
The coach of the academy, Joe, blew his whistle.
“Alright boys, welcome to the all stars Academy. Here, we train to be the best and triumph. This isn’t some street football and I need you all to put in your best.”
Mark’s heart skipped, as the thought of playing with professional football player’s came across his mind. He knew he lacked the skills these players had.
“You heard the coach! Put yourselves together newbies, and show us what you got. Let’s see if you are really ready to be on this team.” David, the team captain announced. He was a player whose looks were intimidating with a height of 6ft and a masculine body.
The team was divided into two and Mark was assigned to one part as a midfielder. The match commenced, as he struggled to keep up pace and his passes were very much inaccurate.
“Why is this street footballer here? He shouldn’t be playing with us.” David sneered.
“He should probably go back to kicking balls on the street, this place isn’t for you bro.” One of the teammates added.
Coach Joe stared at Mark with a look of disappointment written on his face. “You have to improve if not, you won’t make it here.”
Mark bent his head in shame and nodded. But he wasn’t going to let those words break him down, instead he saw it as a challenge as he trained hard by himself. When others were asleep In their dorms he would practice his new dribbling tactics, ball control and shooting. One night David caught him.
“What the heck are you doing dude, stop wasting your time, you can never be accepted on this team. Go back to the streets where you belong.” He sneered at him.
Even after hearing these harsh words, Mark still refused to back down. He continued with his training, He began watching videos of Popular star players on youtube, mastering their skills and tactics.
The following week coach Joe organized a friendly match after the first half ended with a score of 3-0 without the team scoring a single goal, he made substitutions. “Mark! You are in now, get your ass on the field.”
Mark took a deep breath and got on the field. Immediately,he felt his energy boost as an opponent came forward to attack him but instead of getting anxious as usual, he dribbled his way past him, he did the same for the second and third opponents that came his way then he passed the ball to one of his teammates close to the goal post. It was a very smooth and accurate pass, as the teammate got control of the ball and struck it into the net.
The spectators were in total awe, David stood there staring at Mark in surprise.
After the next kickoff Mark found himself again, in possession of the ball. He struck the ball from an angle and it went right into the net, it was such a powerful shot that the keeper couldn’t catch it.
The spectators went wild with cheers from all angles, screaming his name. After a few minutes he scored another goal and the match ended in a 3-3 draw.
“Impressive my boy, You really made me proud today. Keep up the good work and you will see how far you go.” Coach Joe made his remark to him.
“Thank you very much coach, I will try my best.” Mark replied.
Everyone was happy about Mark’s new improvement except David, who felt irrelevant and threatened. One day he met Mark and confronted him. “What makes you think you are so good, you are only lucky not that you are better than me! Always remember that bro.”
“I can sense nothing but pain and hatred in your voice. I’m not here for a competition with anybody, I only want to achieve my dreams.” Mark replied him with confidence, looking straight into his eyes.
“Wow really? I can see that you have grown wings but I just want to remind you that you’re not gonna make it here, stop giving yourself false hope’s and stop wasting your time here.”
The following month, Mark sprained his ankle in one of the friendly matches he played, and there was a big match coming up that period-the All stars academy was playing a match with the Eagles Academy and it was the biggest match in the state.
Despite his condition, Mark still wanted to partake in the upcoming match.
“Are you sure you can do this?” Coach Joe asked him.
“I’m damn sure sir, I will put in my best.” Mark responded.
“That’s the spirit, boy.” Coach Joe said to him, with a smile on his face.
Mark got on the field ignoring the pains. It was almost at 90 minutes getting to the end of the match and the score was still at 0-0, coach Joe had almost lost all hope when a teammate passed the ball to Mark as he swiftly took control of the ball, dribbling pass the two defenders, cutting the keeper, and boom! He struck the ball into the net.
The spectators went wild, singing his praises and chanting his name, the stadium was filled with echo’s of his name. Mark felt untop of the world as his teammates lifted him up, chanting his name.
It was a victory for the All stars academy and Mark and proved himself again.
The next week, 2 men dressed in black suit, came to meet Mark at his house, handing over to him a letter.
“This is from a French club that is interested in signing you as one of their players.” One of the men said.
Tears of joy flowed freely from Mark’s cheeks as he finally achieved his goal in life.
