Chido Murambiwa, Grade 11
UWC Waterford Kamhlaba
Football has shaped me in ways that I didn’t expect. I began playing football because I didn’t know what to do or where to start. I had been swimming all my life and it was all I knew, but in primary school in my country, seventh grade is crucial and will shape your life. I had to drop swimming and concentrate only on school. I was bitter and upset that my form of freedom had been stripped from me.
However, my previous coach made me fall in love with the sport. He was a tiny Ghanaian man who walked like he was 20 metres tall. I doubted him and his confidence. Even so, I listened and came to practice. As someone who had only done water sports, I wasn’t surprised when my football skills were beyond pathetic. But I had fun, and it was the first activity that my new friends and I did together, and it wasn’t tense. I looked forward to Monday and Friday afternoons. No matter how bad the Mondays were, I knew that at the end of the school day I’d have football waiting patiently for me. It challenged me and still does; there’s so much to learn and do. The language barriers at the beginning of the year are always fun. The thing about having such a diverse team means that even though we all speak English if your countrymate and you speak the same language, you might automatically switch to your language during a game. I am the goalkeeper, so having 2 people charge at me yelling in German was oddly fun and made me adapt quicker.
My coach loved seeing me panic in the beginning when at least 3 languages were being spoken simultaneously, each with the same goal of shooting. On the other hand, I now know how to say left in Swahili. The beginning was so hard, but even though I was struggling, I had so much fun and made friends across the school and in different grades.
Football helped me connect with people and learn about them. As the keeper, I’m supposed to be able to read people and estimate where they might want to shoot. People’s shots always tell me how the person is feeling that day. It’s strange but people who have more power or more accuracy shooting with less power or accuracy meant that something was wrong maybe not with their physical well-being but other aspects of themselves. The first time I tested my theory and asked one of the IBs when I was junior if they were feeling well and they sighed and said ‘I’m just a little stressed. I remember thinking that Football gave me superpowers. I thrive on being able to tell when something is off. I’m glad I joined football and was thrown into the captain position. In the near future I hope that I’m able to make my team feel as safe, welcomed and able to be themselves just like my coach did and encourage them to really explore their mental blocks and love the sport in their own way.
However, my previous coach made me fall in love with the sport. He was a tiny Ghanaian man who walked like he was 20 metres tall. I doubted him and his confidence. Even so, I listened and came to practice. As someone who had only done water sports, I wasn’t surprised when my football skills were beyond pathetic. But I had fun, and it was the first activity that my new friends and I did together, and it wasn’t tense. I looked forward to Monday and Friday afternoons. No matter how bad the Mondays were, I knew that at the end of the school day I’d have football waiting patiently for me. It challenged me and still does; there’s so much to learn and do. The language barriers at the beginning of the year are always fun. The thing about having such a diverse team means that even though we all speak English if your countrymate and you speak the same language, you might automatically switch to your language during a game. I am the goalkeeper, so having 2 people charge at me yelling in German was oddly fun and made me adapt quicker.
My coach loved seeing me panic in the beginning when at least 3 languages were being spoken simultaneously, each with the same goal of shooting. On the other hand, I now know how to say left in Swahili. The beginning was so hard, but even though I was struggling, I had so much fun and made friends across the school and in different grades.
Football helped me connect with people and learn about them. As the keeper, I’m supposed to be able to read people and estimate where they might want to shoot. People’s shots always tell me how the person is feeling that day. It’s strange but people who have more power or more accuracy shooting with less power or accuracy meant that something was wrong maybe not with their physical well-being but other aspects of themselves. The first time I tested my theory and asked one of the IBs when I was junior if they were feeling well and they sighed and said ‘I’m just a little stressed. I remember thinking that Football gave me superpowers. I thrive on being able to tell when something is off. I’m glad I joined football and was thrown into the captain position. In the near future I hope that I’m able to make my team feel as safe, welcomed and able to be themselves just like my coach did and encourage them to really explore their mental blocks and love the sport in their own way.
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