A Hero's Journey: Samson C
There have been many times during my life at IDF where success is shown and achieved, almost as if it’s ingrained in the system, but the moments I struggle and succeed are the times that help me learn and grow as a player and person. This photo is one from my youth here at IDF and represents the growth that I’ve been through with this club and with the family I’ve made here.
One moment that I can very clearly remember is back when I was around 12 years old and we were playing a game against a CASL team. This team was one that would run, they would run and not stop. From the start of the game, I was very nervous and anxious so my control on the ball wasn’t as smooth as it could be. About 20 minutes into the game I gave away the ball to the other team in our defensive third, this pass resulted in a goal being scored on us, and despite how hard our team was working the moral was definitely down from that moment on. So it was 1-0 at halftime and everyone knew the situation, a lot of my teammates didn’t speak on my mistake but that silence was something that ate away at my confidence and made my nervousness rise. When it was time to start the second half I remember Coach André telling me, “what happened in the past can’t be changed but you have a whole half to prove that you deserve to play with this team.” That small sentence was enough to boom my moral up enough to maintain composure for the rest of the half. We scored an equalizer not late into the second half and were level all the way until the final minute of the game; That is when their team took a longshot headed straight over my head. In an instant, I reached up and tipped it over the bar and seconds later all I could hear were cheers. I realized that despite my mistake in the earlier half I had a responsibility to play out the game for the team as I would if there was no mistake.
The game ended 1-1 but there was a moment that I don’t think I can ever forget; he may not remember this but Dré Fortune, after the game came up to me after I was getting praise for the save and said, “You see that feeling you have, that feeling is something you should always want to feel every game.” I realized what he said was right, that happiness and joy of helping the team in the times they need help, that trust that they have for you and the feeling that they can depend on you is priceless, you can’t learn that at a school. The lessons I learned from this game are some that I will take with me throughout my whole career as a footballer and hopefully be able to share it with others when the time comes.
- SAMSON C, IDF PLAYER SINCE 2012