The mistake to greatness

Mistakes happen. it is a very complex element of life because of the aftermath it shapes up. Sometimes out of these mistakes, a greater outcome forms from learning from that mistake, and then there’s the heavier kind of mistakes, the ones where the outcome is not positive and at times has no outcome. We'll get a better understanding of this concept as we follow Jack Carlington, a twenty-three-year-old Scottish local in Celtic who played in a semi-professional team. Jack is a good, hardworking, and disciplined man who dreamed of being a professional football player just like his father. He’d wake up five in the morning and head to the field to practice because he believed that practice makes perfect and as insane as this routine looks on paper, it displayed his determination and commitment to follow his dream. In the afternoons, he’d do a light workout focusing on the little things such as his flexibility and mobility. In the evenings, he’d go to the nearby local football club to watch a game and from that game, he’d analyze every little detail such as how the players position themselves to receive the ball, how they work together to thread seamless plays, and breakdown the opposition. Jack was a huge admirer of Johan Cruyff, a Dutch legend, considered to be one of the most influential figures in football history, and Jack was inspired by the visual Cruyff had of football. It all looked possible for Jack until one day changed the course of everything, as he was playing in a match against the local rival team.

The score was tied and Jack’s team needed to win to stay in the league and avoid relegation but after an impressive display from Jack’s team, the game and the team’s fate was decided by Jack losing the ball in his half when he tried to attempt a Cruyff turn and allowing the rival team to score the winner. Jack was devastated at the sight of his teammates down with emotion and tears as they realized they are now relegated. In the club’s twenty-year history they’ve never tasted relegation and Jack’s mistake wrote a new unpleasant chapter in this club’s history, the morale around the stadium was down, the supporters were chanting insults at Jack for his costly mistake and Jack headed to the dressing room. Everyone in the team felt terrible but the same couldn’t be said for Jack who felt a tremendous amount of guilt knowing he is responsible for what has happened. The coach then walks in delivering the obvious bad news and from the reaction of the players, none were taking it well, especially Jack, who walked out in the middle of the lecture as he could no longer handle being the reason these individuals just endured a hard blow to their football prospects. The outcome was not just on the field, he faced a lot more from supporters that were passing by, all throwing criticism at him and one calling him “a joke to this club”. Jack did not go to his house that day and instead went over to his parent's place to stay for a while. His parents were happy to see him given Jack is always busy with football and because of his club being in a different city, he lives far from his parents. Jack spent the day talking with his parents about what happened at the game and how it has affected the club going forward. His mother could see the sadness on his face and she said: “I am sorry for what happened Jack. Things like this happen in life, don’t beat yourself up for it”. Jack burst into tears and yelled: “I am the reason the club got relegated, I am the reason the players in that team are going to miss out on bigger competitions and it is all my fault. I was never meant to play football, I’m sorry dad” and he walked into his room. Mr. and Ms. Carlington felt bad about the unfortunate event and they didn’t want him to give up on his dreams. Later that night, his father entered his room to see a distraught figure of his son. Jack’s father sat next to him and noticing how drained he looked, he consoled his son and told him that what happened was unfortunate but you can’t allow it to define you for the rest of your life. “You don’t understand I messed up it was my mistake that got them relegated, things will never be the same” yelled Jack to which his father replied; “No, one mistake doesn’t define who you are, sure you did not intend for it to happen but it did and it’s in the past now, you can’t change it but you can still decide to rewrite your story. Look, Jack, life is a beautiful lie, and what makes it that way is we tend to mature and improve after a mistake and, if mistakes never existed, your idol Johan Cruyff would’ve never existed. Cruyff wasn’t the big influence he is today from day one, he made a lot of mistakes in football and he took a lot of stick for that but he learned from those mistakes and because of those mistakes, he has become a big part of football. Cruyff never allowed his mistakes to decide who he is, he decided to learn from them and you should learn from it.” Hearing this lighted a spark in Jack who for a while considered quitting but now had second thoughts in his mind. The next day after that night, he woke up early and went out to practice and was practicing the one move that he got wrong but with newfound determination, he practiced over and over till he got it right. Later that day he went back to the city and rejoined his team and the players were surprised to see him but the coach was by far the most surprised. “I thought you were done with football,” the coach said, “I’m not done yet, it’s only round two” answered Jack as he walked into the dressing room. Jack played in the new season in the lower league but worked tremendously hard and everyone around him noticed and it rubbed off over everyone. The team as a whole were playing some wonderful football and were a force to be reckoned with, winning ten games in a row sealing a spot in the playoffs. The playoffs hands down were the most important game of all as winning this game would promote them back to the first league. Everyone was nervous but Jack was looking forward to it and huddled everyone for a speech about how it felt awful the day we were relegated but today is the day to rewrite that wrong, to make amends for that mistake and with that, the team was ready to play. The game had a fiery start with the score being tied to two goals each in the first few minutes. The first half was over and Jack’s team headed for the dressing room to prepare for the next half. The score was tied and Jack’s team needed to win because a tie would only mean another season in the lower league and this time Jack gave another speech; “They know how to give us a game but we also showed them we're not an easy bunch. This is it, this is our moment for redemption. Whatever happens today won’t define who we are, it’s what we choose to be, we are going out there and whatever happens, we’re going to take risks and win this game”. The team headed back onto the field to start the second half and it was a quiet display from both sides as the game went on. Time was really against Jack’s team with only two minutes to go and the score still being tied, Jack then had the ball and attempted the same move but he got it wrong again and it was a replay of the previous mistake all over again but this time, Jack did not allow it to end the way it did before. He chased down the player, challenged him and retained possession of the ball, and began to run up-field. This time, he was getting past players with relative ease, he made it past midfield and he was in the opponent's half and he got through the last defender and was one on one with the goalkeeper. Jack looked ahead and saw the goalie charging at him and as soon as he was closed down, Jack lobbed the ball over the goalie and into the net giving his team the lead and gaining promotion in the dying seconds of the game. Jack became a hero after that brilliant effort and his team was all over him because thanks to Jack’s resilience, the team was promoted back to the first league. It was a day to remember for Jack as he went from zero to hero and the supporters were singing his name and he became a fan favorite. Jack made the same mistake but instead of allowing it to decide his fate, he was determined to not let it end the way it did before and because of that, he helped his team achieve promotion and is now a hero for the club and the mistake he made last season that caused his team to get relegated was no longer relevant as he stepped up when it mattered. Jack has finally been able to make amends for a mistake he thought was the end of his football career but like his father said that from mistakes, we tend to learn and mature from it and in a matter of one game, Jack went from being a flop to being a legend for his club.