Since my last post, a lot of events both on a personal and a collective level has transpired to a level that is associated with startling revelations that can only be observed with a congruent level of awareness. Whether by intention or by default (depending on your angle of perspective.. ), I took a hiatus from blogging to concentrate on some specific projects and in particular my working relationship with the newly appointed manager, whose task is to save the club from relegation at Park View FC towards to the end of 2019. So far the journey has been filled with a chronology of events leading up to this very moment I’m writing this article…

Establishing a working relationship with a new manager with a completely different philosophical holistic approach to the game can be somewhat daunting but adaptation is key for progression. A few weeks into his appointment I immediately found out that we will be at loggerheads regarding the number one choice goalkeeper. Daniel Conteh is the first choice goalkeeper but does have issues with regular training appearance due to work commitments. The manager brought in 2 new goalkeepers for competition but one of the goalkeepers was promised the number one spot, the other goalkeeper was the understudy and Daniel was relegated to third choice, due to his lack of regular appearance in training. I understood the pragmatic stance but as a goalkeeping coach, I had my reservations about how this would be practical and beneficial to the team because, in reality, Daniel was by a long shot a better goalkeeper. After about 2 training sessions in a 3-week span, the new first-choice goalkeeper Josh informed me via text he will not be carrying on with playing for the club, to which I wished him well but unfortunately a communication breakdown had manifested as I learnt from the manager that he was still with the club but was nursing a finger injury playing for another club. I must admit that was a mistake on my part because the protocol as the goalkeeping coach was to confirm the news from the manager first. Things didn’t get any better as the second choice goalkeeper Stef, under the impression that he’s done enough to warrant to be the first choice, was at the very least not happy being relegated to third choice and Daniel reinstated back to the first choice. The very game he was on the bench was his last appearance for the club as he notified me via text he will not be carrying on playing for the club as he will not be second choice, even though Daniel clearly possesses superior goalkeeping skillsets. I was particularly mystified by his decision because we had agreed on a long term personal training programme to help with his fitness levels, which he also ditched. With all the shortcomings gathering momentum, I began to reassess my position in the club because the current structure wasn’t fulfilling my full potentials and it wasn’t in line with future plans for Ultimate Keeper. I knew my time at the club was up, because staying wasn’t going to improve the situation for me or the club, I made the decision to resign from my position and called the chairman. After an hour-long conversation, he managed to convince me to stay with the club although he didn’t have to knowing his stoic approach to life. I stayed but unfortunately, after a series of undesirable encounters between me and the manager in the course of a few weeks coupled with a long-standing issue on failing to deliver, I finally resigned, with the chairman’s blessings of course. This might sound uncanny but I felt a sense of freedom, mainly because now I get to do what I always wanted to do and by definition, I mean training and developing goalkeepers within a specific time, programme and duration. I never had that freedom at the club level I was coaching. With a new mental approach to my ideals, I was ready for the next phase of my journey and then I proceeded.. but wait… WAIT! …

This is a story of how adversity from a series of events can stop you dead on your tracks as you are just beginning to feel the pace of your plans gathering momentum…

After discussing with my partner (bless her) on my plans and the next move to make, I decided to start using my Instagram Account which hasn’t seen much activity for a long while to post relevant content to build my audience and reputation as a leader in the goalkeeping industry. The main to-do list was content and demonstrating goalkeeping skillsets was the way forward. My first day at the New River Sports Stadium didn’t go according to plan (a goalkeeper I was expecting to be at the venue couldn’t make it due to personal reasons) but I managed to combine a particular short recording of the session, which I posted on my Instagram page. Two days later I decided to do another recording session and after the customary mandatory stretches then warm-up, I was ready to demonstrate specific skills in dealing with crosses with three outfield players I met in the stadium. Five minutes into the drill, disaster struck… reaching out to catch a cross from mid-air, I pulled a muscle on my right calf. It felt like a bullet had hit the lower part of my calf muscle as I was in deep paid and struggled to walk and tried in vain to stretch out the pain. I had to call off the whole session in disappointment knowing that it will take a long time (about 3 weeks) for the calf to heal. this happened exactly a week ago of writing this article and I’m still in pain, although I can walk it needs a lot of rest before I can ever think of making a comeback. You think things couldn’t get any worse… wait for it… WAIT FOR IT…

COVID-19 LOCKDOWN! … I must admit I never saw that coming but the very fact it’s now reality has allowed me to reflect on all the events both personally and collectively, the impact on our lives and the lessons to be learnt from such crisis. I mean this is the first time of experiencing such levels of adversity on both fronts but the ultimate teachings from this is Gratitude. Yes, gratitude… grateful for the life we are living, grateful for our loved ones, grateful for the Sun crossing the sky on an endless 24-hour route around the world giving us the experience and the conscientiousness of living, grateful for the God essence in each and every one of us awaiting for its realisation and expression, grateful for the opportunity to grow spiritually knowing who we really are and our life’s purpose. Sadly, this revelation has been made manifest from the loss of many lives across the world from this deadly virus and it will be a pity if the loss of lives was in vain. I’ve acknowledged the message and I see my shortcomings as a blessing, a knowing that its time to be ready, to be ready for the dreams and aspirations to manifest into the material. This is the time, the opportunity for everyone on this planet to take a step back from their so-called normal life and be still, because of this unprecedented event carries a very subtle message and by being still can one really be ready for it. We do not know how long this crisis will last before our so-called normal lives are restored, and on that note, I’ll make a prediction… May 2020, the fifth month of the year. All your sports entertainment, musical events, Theatre and Arts events, Leisure and activities, and the rest of it will be restored back to normal but at the same token.. we cannot forget the lessons of this crisis, then ask yourself the question… “What did I learn from this?”

“You Are The Ultimate Keeper Of Your Destiny”… ULTIMATE KEEPER