I feel that I have missed out a huge part of my football history, from 2005-2010 I played for Wrekin Panthers Girls FC. These a huge 5 years if my life, and I couldn't have spent them with a better team. These 5 years have propelled me into staying within football as other agents of teaching.
I started playing football all of those years ago to get away from home and to get over my parents splitting up. I was a centre half who thought playing 'hoof it and run' with the strikers was a good stress reliever. Clearly our strikers thought otherwise.
I believe that these 5 years have built me as a person, and they made football my vehicle. A vehicle to moving on in life, a vehicle to making friends and progressing as a football player. More importantly, football was a vehicle to making me who I am today. The term 'It's only a game' doesn't apply when you've been in the sport for so long and witnessed the affects it has. Without football I wouldn't have the social skills I have now.
Sport is all about respect and fair play, learning how to act and react when on and off the field, knowing the rights and wrongs of the game, understanding your team mates, listening to your managers, looking to progress as a team not just an individual, cohesion of a team - supporting each other, learning how to win and lose. My 5 years of playing were a process of growing up and learning how to fit into the world, without these lessons I wouldn't be prepared for everyday life. Realistically this is what coaches should be looking to promote, not the 'winning is everything' concept - nobody learns from that.
I hope that you can see how my footballing lessons transfer directly into everyday life. Just because the sport is football, that doesn't mean that's all i'm learning about. Yes, I will admit, we were a successful team in terms of trophies and league titles.. but you don't win things by accident. A lot of time is spent creating a team, looking to hit a mutual aim. Without effective teamwork, comunication and belief within each other, no team would be successful.
Looking at the COACH acronym: Commuication, Organisation, Adaptability, Compassion, Honesty, these are social skills for any work place not just for coaches. I was taught these growing up in fooball, not by sitting in a class room, but first hand.
Communication, with my team mates, coaches, referee. Doing the talking with my feet, not my mouth.
Organisation, how is the team set up, where should I be in relation to the pitch, where should everyone else be.
Adaptability, no game is the same, I've not played centre half for 5 years, we've never always been winning games, as players you adapt to the game and those around you.
Compassion, caring about every team member, wanting to help those around you and recognising when and how to deal with situations and people.
Honesty, speaks for itself. You've got to be honest to progress. Not everyone wants to hear it straight up, but sometimes that is what's needed to get people going.
I've not played with amazing footballers, but amazing people, developed by phenominal people, not necessarily phenomincal coaches. A coach plays many roles; teacher, motivator, friend... I had 2 role models to look up to, and many team mates to look at for inspiration.
This sporting up-bringing has given me morals to stick by, beliefs to follow and a route to being who I am. Ultimately, the support of others has given me motivation and a reason to stay witin football. I could have given up at the end of my Wrekin career [when my knees gave up] but, why should I? When 5 years of learning has taught me to follow my dreams, believe in what your're doing and gamble, because the harder you try - there's more of a chance it will pay off.
Yes, this has dipped back into history and gone back further than my previous posts, but everything happens for a reason. My injury has given me an opportunity to put into practice what I've been taught and coach others to grow up as people, after all that's all we're doing.. developing people, not just players.
Thank you Paul Barnes, Mike Nadal and Wrekin Panthers 2005-2010.
WREKIN PANTHERS BARMY ARMY!
