I’ve briefly touched on the whole idea behind Athletics for Life in the About section, but it’s very hard to fully explain what is going on in an Intro/About section. There’s just so much floating around in my head that it just doesn’t do anything justice to try and put everything down in a couple paragraphs when I could write a whole book on just the conception of what I’m attempting to do and all the reasons behind it. That being said, today’s focus is going to be on what the heck I’m attempting to do, and where this idea came from. I admit, even I think it’s pretty crazy to try. So if you start thinking “this guy is crazy” while you are reading this, you are definitely not alone in that thought, but a lot of the time, great things happen from crazy ideas.
Going well back, I only ever slightly enjoyed soccer/football. I’m Canadian, so I am going to refer to it as soccer to avoid any North American confusion. Anyway, I only was ever really interested in the World Cup. Being an Italian, British, and Polish mix, I always had a bit of selection when it came to teams to cheer for (Italy was usually my #1 pick). Well, back in the summer of 2015, I happened to challenge my fiancé (who grew up playing soccer) to a match, saying how soccer is easy. Well I found out the hard way that it wasn’t and she destroyed me. Deking me out so bad, I didn’t know which way was up. I was instantly interested in soccer and since then it has become what you may say is a bit of an obsession. I joined the intramurals at my school and had a pretty productive season as a player (at one point being in 2nd place for goals scored).
At the same time, I’ve had Ulcerative Colitis for 4 years now. To avoid repeating the story, here is the super short version. I had a really bad relapse in the summer of 2014, one that I still have not recovered from. It’s been a very long, hard road back to health and every day has been a challenge. During one of the harder days, I was sitting in class and somewhat paying attention, but truthfully, I was searching the web for info on athletes with Ulcerative Colitis to see how they dealt with it. I came across an ex-Manchester United player (Manchester United and Juventus are my teams!) by the name of Darren Fletcher. He also had Ulcerative Colitis, which got so bad that he needed surgery. He had his large intestine removed and to this day he still plays Premier League soccer. Definitely do a quick Google search for more info on his story.
Anyway, his story highly motivated me. If he was able to get through his illness and continue playing high level sports, then I could get through my challenge. But then I had an idea. Darren Fletcher gave me hope and a renewed energy to fight my condition. I realized that I wanted to do the same for others. It was just the modality in which I would attempt to do this that gave me trouble. Then I realized that my modality was staring me right in the face. Soccer, that was how I was going to do this.
I became heavily determined, and threw myself into training. I was determined to be a high level striker. I decided I needed some game experience and went to a Sunday night drop in. This is when my whole world changed. I got destroyed, absolutely destroyed. I was in way over my head, and I understood that being a player maybe wasn’t in the cards. I wasn’t use to the movement of the ball at my feet, and I had no idea of the flow of the game. I was also highly intimidated. These guys were good (not pro athlete good, but good). I went home after and was so discouraged but it wasn’t going to stop me. The next few days I did my training, did dribbling drills, lifted weights and did conditioning. It wasn’t until I was playing some FIFA 15 that I realized that I was never meant to be a player, but rather goalkeeper was where it was at. I had some experience playing in goal growing up, making my elementary school team, but never really pursuing it. It always felt natural to me to play in goal, so I gave it a try. Although I may not be pro athlete level yet, after a few practice sessions, it felt a lot better and more natural in net. I was at home. Thus, proper direction for the goal has been put in place.
So that is the modality of my idea, but let’s drive deeper into the driving forces. I’ve already explained how Darren Fletcher had inspired me, and how I want to do the same for others. So what’s up with that? I know that personally it has been success stories that have inspired me to keep pushing forward. I want to show people that anything can be done, no matter what your condition. Chronic disease and illness does NOT define you as a person. I truthfully was about to give up to my disease. I could barely leave my house and I thought I was destined to forever collect disability cheques and play World of Warcraft and be a stay at home dad. But I ended up deciding that this wasn’t going to be my life. I get to decide what I want to do, not by what my disease decides. Furthermore, I believe that many of us hold back on our capabilities because of what we are told by others. We are told that we cannot be doctors because we aren’t smart enough, or professional athletes because very few people ever become them, yet do many of us even try after hearing this? I don’t think so and I know that I myself have often listened to the negative talk of people close to me and let it affect my decisions. This isn’t right either. Combine that with a chronic illness, and society will often deem you useless. This is complete crap. You are what you believe you are, not what others label you.
This spurred my vision. This is why I am doing what I am doing. I continue to go through school and acquire my degree because I believe that education is important, but I see no reason why I have to give up education, or family, to attempt a run at sport. You see, anything is possible with enough belief in yourself, a little luck, and a lot of effort! So here we go on my journey.
Now, one thing I want to address is the possibility of failure. Failure requires definition. I say this because some things are simply out of our control. For example, I am 26 years old already and just starting a run at soccer. Statistically I should give up now, but I won’t. That being said, just because I believe, does not mean I can convince coaches and managers to believe enough to even give me a tryout. This would severely alt my dreams and goals. Now does this mean I have failed? Not at all. For my success lies with those I am reaching out to. I don’t care about a pro contract. Even if I made it, I don’t want all the money. I want enough to be comfortable for me and my family. The rest I would donate towards health research. My whole goal is to show others that disease does not mean the end of the line. It requires a little effort and some extra mental toughness, but I believe human beings are capable of so much but we simply have a mental limiter that holds us back. Therefore, even if I can inspire one person to get up and try to chase their dream, I am happy. I know it sounds crazy what I want to accomplish, but the least I can do is try, and the least you can do is at least give your dream a chance. Never is a self-imposed limit, so throw that word in the trash and simply believe.