Tag Archives: sport

Look into their eyes

Ran past a guy this morning who wanted to race. It only lasted a couple of hundred metres, but that was plenty. It got my heart racing. He wouldn’t let me pass without coming back at me, and credit to him for that. I’d be the same.

The pedal was pushed to the floor but I searched for another gear. After a few seconds of worry – that’s gonna hurt, have you got it in you? – I hit the red button as he tried to overtake again. It was all or nothing with about 600 metres left to the finish.

I looked around after 10-15 seconds to see if he was hanging on. All I could see were his eyes fixated on the ground. His posture was broken. His cadence wasn’t as steady or rapid as it had been. I knew he was done.

The third goal

Cruyff speaks, we listen.

The third goal yesterday was a stand out moment for our football team.

I’ve been banging on about putting passes together, keeping the ball. The clock was ticking. It looked like we would miss out on the points again. The final substitutions had been made.

We got the break from a 50/50 challenge in the middle of the pitch and the ball suddenly started moving from back to front, one player to another to another, then finally at our striker’s feet.

She swings a big right foot at it and the net bulges. It was never missing.

I was pleased and proud of what just happened because the simplicity of the move made it so effective.

There was nothing fancy. The ball just went from player to player in maybe five passes max, and the finish was excellent, but it all came from passes.

The whole game is about making passes – executing on the most basic of skills. The team that does it the most wins most of the time.

The work will carry on. The weeks we play badly will be when we don’t execute on our plans and the frustration mounts as mistakes take over.

But when that plan comes together and the ball hits the back of the net at the end of a move as sweet as the one we delivered yesterday, there will be no frustration. We’ll be winning.

Who’s on your team?

Watching the Jordan documentary ‘The Last Dance’ made me think about the value of those around you.

Who’s on your team in life?

Having a virtual SWAT team of people who can help you when you problems pop up makes a lot of sense. 

We have doctors and dentists lined up, but do we have the same for other types of stuff like feelings of anxiety, putting on weight, improving our writing, etc?

Our friends can get us so far, but are they real pros who will be there when we need them?

So many people are looking for the best in everything but don’t invest in people who can help them to get there. 

Seeking out those who are at the top of their game is a big step forward.

And then the real work starts.

The Rio experience, and the climax of the Homeless World Cup

It has been an honour and a pleasure to be here in Rio and experience the HWC first hand. I’ll write in much more detail over the next few days/weeks but there is a lot to be said. The street soccer was played with a spirit, a skill level, and an attitude that is hard to beat, and the players gave it their all. The desire, and the hunger to be the best, shone like the Brazilian sun (on the odd occasion it came out!) and the faces of the Brazilian tournament winners (men and women) in the moments after the final whistle blew will stay with me forever. They had done it! They had overcome the problems in their lives and they were winners! And they loved the feeling soooooooo much.

There are sights to see now before the return journey home. Thanks to Mel and all at the HWC for putting on a grand show.