The waiting matters...

Last weekend my son’s soccer team played in the grand final for their division. As I watched my son take his place on the field with his team mates, I don’t think I have felt more emotions in my life - excitement, anxiety, nausea, fear to name a few. You see my son’s dream is to have a career in sport.

That dream has had a difficult journey. For the last 8 years my family has travelled the globe living in 3 different countries. My kids have followed my husband and I around the world without complaint even when the reality of every new place meant a new start for them. They’ve had to find new friends, learn a new culture, adapt to a new environment, and earn the trust of coaches and teachers.

The last 3 years has been the hardest for my son and soccer. I’ve watched as he has worked hard to earn a place on a soccer team and game time on the field. Week after week he sat on the bench and if he was lucky, he got to play on the field for about 15 mins. Some weeks there was no game time.

My son has been trained by some incredible goalkeeping coaches across the world which made the lack of opportunity so much harder. But rather than complain about being overlooked, he chose to invest in his team mate, the first choice goalkeeper. There was no ego involved, just a team mate helping another team mate be the best they can be.

A moment of success rarely shows the cost involved in the outcome.

Week after week for 3 years my son turned up to training, sat on the bench and supported his team mates at every game. He kept up with his fitness, committed to additional training programs to improve his specific skills and made sure he was ready whenever he had the opportunity to play.

It’s what you do in the waiting that determines how you succeed when opportunity knocks.

4 months ago a friend of ours connected us to Lugarno Football Club in Sydney. After a trial training session my son was offered a place on the team. He worked hard, committed to being a team player and did what his coach asked of him.

The result - a premiership win and an invitation to join the youth training program for a professional soccer club this summer.

My son isn’t an isolated case, his team is full of young men just like him. Thanks to an incredible coach who challenged them, encouraged them and wouldn't settle for anything less than their best, this group of individual teenagers became a premiership winning team!

There are 4 lessons for us to learn from these inspiring boys;

1. Learn and prepare for the opportunity you want.

2. Invest in other people.

3. Find a coach or mentor that will encourage you, challenge you and help you get to where you want to go.

4. Don't stop dreaming!!

The waiting matters...