Personal Statement
Sebastien Summerfield
Zimbabwean - Belgian Footballer
11/02/02
Football Motivational Letter
Football, is a sport known worldwide, everyone knows football. Football brings people together, countries together, races and religions together, there is no inequality in football. For some people, football is just a sport, for me, Football is my life.
Ever since I was a little boy I remember playing football, be It in the kitchen while my mom is cooking or outside my dads office while he works. Football has always been apart of my life. I started playing football very early in my life, I began playing for the U-10 side when I was 8. Ever since I can remember, football has been apart of my life. My brothers and I always played football, it was something we did to come together. For me, personally I believe football is something I do not only do competitively, but also for an escape. Whenever I am down or sad, in fact no matter the emotion, Id use football to get my mind off it. As soon as I step on that pitch, everything falls away. Nothing is on my mind other than football.
Growing up in Zimbabwe, I never really got an opportunity to showcase my talent to any international clubs, the same goes for my other talented brothers (teammates). I refer to my teammates as brothers, this is because we are a family. When we are on the pitch together all we have is each other. I know no matter what, they will always have my back. When I was around 11, my parents decided to send me to the Chelsea FC Football camp, as they believed it was worth a shot letting me play outside of Zimbabwe, It was successful and the coaches asked my parents to look out for me as I had great potential. A couple of years later I was able to go to the FC Barcelona summer camp, which unfortunately did not go so well. I was average compared to the other players there, I lost hope. I came back to Zimbabwe and I lost my confidence and I thought to myself “Maybe football isn't for me”. I carried on playing but not competitively. I stopped going to the gym and I just was not myself. In fact, I stopped all sports and didn't play anything for about a year. I lost shape and I even started getting lazy at school. I was getting into a dark place. I wasn't happy. Then I realised the reason I'm not happy is because my main source of happiness was not present in my life anymore. That happiness was football. Football saved me from a very cold and dark place and brought a new side of me out that I never knew I had.
I began playing football and going to gym, at the time I was 15 turning 16. I worked hard very hard, as I was fortunate enough to be able to train with FK Dukla’s under 18 side. For one year, I trained everyday, 4 times a week football and 3 times a week gym and kickboxing, I also began training with the Under -20 side at my school. Everything was beginning to fall into place. After training for a hard year, the time came, to play at the Under 18 Dukla Side. Prior to the “trial” I began a Pre season FK Dukla camp. This was a hard time for me as my cousin was diagnosed with Leukaemia and my family wasn't at their happiest. I was destroyed before the camp, I told my mom to take me home. I didn't want to be there. But, my mom looked at me in the eyes and told me. “What are you here for? To cry and be a little boy, or to grow and play football”. I looked at her, sucked it up, and told her. To play football. I wanted to make my parents proud. I honestly always want to make them proud. They do so much and sacrifice so much for me. I want to repay them by making them proud. As the camp went on, I really enjoyed and showed my football skills and the camp is where I was awarded best player and won the “World Cup” Yearly tournament. I was happy, I was at my peak. The day finally came, the 15th of July, 2018. The start of my trial. I was not nervous, I was more fearful of the unknown. The first day of training was good, I enjoyed it and I got the hang of the way the U-18 play. I didn't play my best, but I kept up. As a week went by, I began to loose confidence again. As I saw myself as average again, I got flashbacks to Barcelona and feeling bad and feeling the feeling of not being good enough. Again, I said to myself, “Football isn't for me”. Those words crept further and further into my head as the trial went
on. I had to fight it. It was a tough week ahead. We had 1 game, a training game. I was on the bench. The coach called me up for the last 15 minuets of the game. I didn't want to play, I was scared I was going to make a mistake. As I stepped onto the pitch, I remember my moms words.
“What are you there for? Being a little boy or growing and playing football”. This was my time. The game was the best performance I had the whole time at the trial, I gained my confidence, unfortunately for me it was at the wrong time. It was at the end of the trial, and I was denied the opportunity of joining FK Duklas youth academy. I came back, with my head down. But, I remembered to my self. This is not the last opportunity, I just have to keep my head up and keep working hard and keep following my dream. My dream of being a football player, my dream of becoming the best. Now, 1 year later I am 17 years old, I have 3 international club offers, 2 from Norway 1 from Sweden, I have 2 local clubs that I am linked with who are Harare City and Dynamos FC and I am being contacted by the U-20 Zimbabwe National team coach. Now its up to me, I have to show my talent and break through. This is my time. My time to shine.
Its my time to “Grow up and play football”. Sebastien Summerfield, #13,
It’s my time.
