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TUESDAY 27 October 2020 | Tel: 021 910 6500 | Email: post@peoplespost.co.za | Website: www.peoplespost.co.za
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People’s Post
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Coming to America SAMANTHA LEE-JACOBS
“I thought if I took this step, I could pioneer the way forward for anyone who was thinking about becoming a professional footballer. Maybe make them think a bit deeper about the decision before they focus all their energy and stress into being a pro and securing a life after football. A football career is 15 years maximum, you still have 30 plus years by God’s grace. After that, what do you do?” This was not his first challenge in football though, which makes his journey to the USA even more remarkable. “I started playing soccer at u.9 and then stopped playing for two years. I played cricket and was not really interested in soccer at all,” he says. A chance meeting with a tradesman at their home reintroduced Tommy to the sport. “He was a coach for Tramways football club. They asked if I was sure I stopped playing. I played there for a year and then got scouted by the Fish Hoek Academy which is now Ubuntu Football Academy,” he says. The 17-year-old is originally from Mitchell’s Plain and resided with his family in Ottery before leaving for USA. The year-long selection process ends with Tommy living and playing for Northwood School, a private boarding school in Lake Placid, New York. The full scholarship is to play for the home team and complete his Junior and Senior High school (grades 11 and 12) abroad. Should he want to continue and his grades be satisfactory, Tommy could also complete levels toward his tertiary education. “I am feeling very heart-sore to leave, but I know if I leave and pioneer, I am making my family, community, coaches, country and the Man above proud,” he says. His hope is to give back to his community and academy. His message to the youth is to believe and work hard. “I am not the most academic person but I work really hard so if you have nothing, to have a change of mindset is everything,” says Tommy. “Chase your dreams and having your family is so important. Without my family I would not be where I am today. Even if you are stubborn, grow close to God and ask him for guidance. The people you surround yourself with (are) crucial. Surround yourself with people who are there for you and want to see you succeed and grow.”
SAMANTHA.LEE@PEOPLESPOST.CO.ZA @SAMANTHA_LEE121
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Calem Tommy.
PHOTO: SAMANTHA LEE-JACOBS
hat should have been a career-ending knee injury has been a career-changing one for a local soccer enthusiast who will now train and play in the United States of America (USA). When Calem Tommy started his u.15 career with a pre-season friendly match a few years ago, a major injury put him out of the game, with his future professional career left on the back-burner. “We played a game out in Somerset West. It was a casual game playing out on the hot turf. I play as an attacking midfielder so you play with lots of turns and agility. During the game, I did not think much of it. I think what happened was I turned and my boot got stuck. As I turned, my left knee twisted. I finished playing the game and did not really notice it. After the game, I felt something was not sitting well with my knee. I went for an MRI scan and we found out I had a tear in my meniscus. I went for surgery and seven months later after rehab, I was ready for a 90-minute game of soccer again,” he says. But it was during this period away from the game that Tommy realised he needed to set stronger future goals. “It was very early but it was a major turning point for me. I was just coming off the back of an injury and I thought, ‘What if this happens when I am a professional footballer?’ I will have nothing to fall back on and my mind started playing tricks on me. I thought I really needed to secure something to fall back on,” he says. But Tommy struck gold when an opportunity of a lifetime was presented by the Ubuntu Football Club, of which he has been a member for the past six years. Owned by Americans, the club offers an exchange programme that assists South African players to study and train in the USA and Tommy has already touched down and begun his journey. Still fresh off his injury, Tommy saw this opportunity to play but also set future roots in football and beyond. “I took a risk and my coach was not happy with me because he sees me as a hard-working young man who has potential to become a professional player,” says Tommy.
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