Hello everyone in the wonderful hive family. Hope you are all doing great. Happy weekend to you all. Once again, I’m thankful to the hive learners’ community for their wonderful initiatives.
The hive learners’ community has again presented us with an amazing topic; we all know very well that during our day-to-day life we play or work a lot, and accidents are bound to happen at one time or the other. Tell us about the one time you had an injury while going about your work. And also tell us if that experience taught you something.
Injury can be defined as damage to one’s body, caused by accidents, falls, hits, etc. One can get injured anywhere and anytime. I’m sure a lot of us have a tale to tell when we are asked to talk about the one time, we had an injury while going about our work. Unfortunately for some people, injuries leave huge scars on their bodies, some even get paralyzed as a result. The worst thing injury can cause is death. We’ve heard so many stories of people who died from a kind of injury.
Growing up, I was the kind of person that loved playing football; it gave me joy. Although I was not allowed to play football with people in my street; I played at school. My parents disallowed me from playing football with other kids on the street field because they were bigger than me, plus they were too violent. The school was the only place where I could showcase my football skills and enjoy the game with others.
I started playing football with my classmates when I was in JSS 1 (Junior Secondary School 1). I played football with my classmates and after exams, we play against other classes (inter-class). I played as a defender from JSSS1-JSSS3. Throughout those periods, I was unable to join the school team because there were so many players that played better than I did. When I got to SSS1, I changed my position and started playing as a winger. I was really good at crossing balls and making smooth passes. In one of the matches, we played against a class, I was not aware the school coach was scouting that day. Luckily, I made 2 assists and scored 1 goal. The coach scouted three of us and we joined the school team.
The day I got injured
If you attended a Nigerian High school, you’d know how tough a match between SSS2 and SSS3 is. When I got to SSS2, I was already a very good winger. Although, I was unable to use both legs perfectly. I was left-footed and I performed magic with my left leg. With the training I received from the school coach, I learned how to do a lot of things. I became the permanent number 11 for my class.
The SSS3 football players were also very good. They were bigger than us. They also had good defenders and a very good goalkeeper. Though we were smaller, we had key players and we were untouchable. We even bragged that our class had the best players in the school. The SSS3 students heard about it and they became really angry. They wrote a letter to us (it was a rule to write letters to a class if you intend to play with them) saying they would love to play a match with us after exams. We agreed.
The d-day came and we were all prepared for it. Students brought their chairs outside, even teachers were there to watch. It was as if we were in Wembley stadium. We wore a Real Madrid jersey while the SSS3 students wore a Barcelona jersey. So it was like a Real Madrid VS Barcelona match.
First half
We sang the school’s anthem and shook hands afterward. The referee blew the whistle and the match started. The first 20 minutes were really tough; we were unable to get past their defense, but they were attacking us and firing shots from distance. They had a very huge guy who played as their defender. Trust me when I say the guy is a beast. Do you know when you combine Sergio Ramos, Pique, and Pepe? Yes! That was the guy. He made sure we didn’t get past him. About 3 minutes before halftime ended, we had our first shot on goal. I made the shot but the goalkeeper caught it harmlessly. The first half came to an end and neither of us was able to put the ball through the net.
Second half
I decided to change my position and play number 7, we also decided to change the way we play. After 15 minutes, we started the second half. In the 60th minute, we scored the first goal. I made a nice cross, and the captain toppled it with an astounding header. The whole school shouted and celebrated with us. It made our opponents really angry; they changed the way they played and started playing aggressively. After about 5 minutes of aggressive playing, they equalized.
The match got intense
source
Now, things got really tense. No, we didn’t lose hope, we started pressing them; firing shots and clean passes. We started dribbling them and the whole school loved it, but they didn’t it made them angrier. The referee announced that we had extra 4 minutes left (added time). Our number 5 gave me a really neat pass, I dribbled past 3 players, I got to box 18, and when I was about to shoot, then that bulldozer tackled me roughly, the worst tackle in the school’s history. Do you know how Sergio Ramos tackled Mohammed Sallah in the 2018 UCL final? Yes! That was exactly what he did. I tried getting up as other players gathered around me, but I couldn’t. I was sure I wasn’t going to continue the match, but would I still be able to play football ever again? I tried my best to stand up, but I fell right back. I had to be carried off the field.
The bulldozer guy was given a red card and we were awarded a penalty. We scored and that was the winning goal.
What lessons did I learn?
Despite the difficulties that we face in our day-to-day activities, we should not give up on what we love doing. Some people after facing a difficult situation, give up immediately media.
I didn't stop playing football. After the injury healed, I got back on my feet.