Getting To Know Where I Stand Outside My Bubble

As I began to think of football as a career, side by side i knew that to achieve that goal I had to step out of my school and compete in the outside world. I had risen among the ranks of the football society in my area. I was recognized as an upcoming talent by my seniors. They told me to never stop playing. I have and always will adhere to that advice.

I used to score tons of goals everyday. I must admit it was a lot of fun. I started gaining the respect of my fellow players.However, i realized that this football dream of mine was heading nowhere. I had to burst this huge bubble of mine -wherein i was the best and the king of the field. I researched on how to develop as a footballer. I found many articles but I was too young to understand the importance of practicing by yourself.

 My mother used to work in an NGO called Akanksha. She had a colleague named Glen. He was in the sports  department of Akanksha. He had found out that selections for the Maharashtra state team for a cultural tournament were taking place in Cooperage. My mother called me up, informed me and told me to kit up. I reached Cooperage very late. I ran to the the chief selector, " very early you are " he said. I was embarrassed and just apologized. He gave me a bib and  asked for my position. Those days, i hadn't decided on a fixed position as i was versatile. I could play on the wings, in the center of the park or as a striker. He decided to play me on the wings. I received the ball, saw a player open and tried a Hollywood pass. Hollywood passes are long balls which are a lot like those dreamy, movie kinds, slow motion passes with pin point accuracy. Lucky me, it reached my designated target! Another instance was when i received the ball, I ran down the sideline dribbling every player in my way and provided an assist to a well converted goal. Later on the results for the first day were declared. I had cleared the first round!

Next day i was super confident due to my performance the day before. But i was at a disadvantage as all the players over there knew each other and the coaches. They didn't like me. You could tell by the nasty glares they were giving me. I knew that i had to get selected purely on merit. I was put in a team with unknown players. All the players kept talking about a player named Anas. He was in my team and i finally got the chance to see him play. He was not fit but still, really good. He had seen me playing yesterday and had told me that i was already selected. And i was a fool to believe him. I didn't play up to mark and wasn't selected. I was chosen for a last round of trials along with 11 others. I played in the center this time and could not put my mark on proceedings. I realized that I was weak and couldn't match up to the others in terms of strength and stamina.

Thus i found my weak points in strength and stamina. I worked really hard to build those two aspects of my game. I found out where i stood in the outside world and a valuable lesson that until it comes out in black and white, never believe anything anyone says. I had burst my safe bubble and had leapt into wilderness.

And my journey continued...................