“Bye mom!” 

I said as I opened the door to leave the apartment. As soon as I opened the door I hear my mom say,  “Good luck honey, have a good practice”

It was 3:30pm when I got on the bus to get to Manchester City's Academy Facility. I'm eighteen, and I'm not on a professional team yet but hopefully soon I will be. Although I can't afford a car it's okay to ride the bus, it gives me time to dream about when I will make the pros and be able to support my family. I think about all of the fans. They cheer my name as I score or make a great run or a nice skill move and when I win a championship and see my parents cry wearing my jersey, my best supporters. 

Anyways, the city of Manchester is a beautiful place. I've gotten used to it since I ride the bus a lot to get to practice, but it never gets old. I still love seeing the people walking or biking to work, and parks full of people walking their dogs or hanging out with some friends. I passed through the middle of the town where all of the shops and restaurants are, but I've only gone to these places a couple times because my family can't afford going to restaurants and shops too often.

I got off the bus at 3:45pm, and I had to walk 5 more minutes to get to the facility. I put my earbuds on to listen to some rap. Listening to music helps me focus, pumps me up, and helps boost my confidence because me and a lot of other players get really stressed out trying to move up to the professional league. Also the times go by so much faster, and the walk seems so much easier when I'm listening to music.

When I got into the facility I checked in, shook some of my friends’ and coaches' hands, then I got into the locker room. I realized that I had some goosebumps on my skin, so I put on an undershirt. Quickly, I put on my jersey and cleats so I could warm up a little more because I was feeling a little sore from yesterday's practice.     

I got onto the field and right away I got the foam roller. As I stretched I heard my coach doing a run down of today’s practice: ¨Today we are working on our 1 on 1, and shooting.¨ As I heard this my brain exploded. As a striker, these are the days I stand out the most. ¨But we're starting with some conditions and some sprints.” At that moment everyone lost their smiles and the energy settled down. “On the line” and everyone jogged with their head down and everything was silent, you could even hear a pin drop. You could even hear your own breath. “10 suicides in 5 minutes and if you don't touch the line you guys are doing 15.” I would say I was pretty ready for the suicides because I stretched out a ton, and I usually go on runs when I'm feeling stressed about school or when I need to clear my head.

¨Well done boys. I can tell you guys have been practicing. Well done. Alright guys, get some water and then we'll start the good stuff today.” We all jogged but we didn't take too long because we were ready to start the fun of practice. ¨Alright boys. Split up. Defense and defensive  mids get back to the goal. Attacking mids and strikers go to the cone. Defenders pass the ball to the strikers and it is a 1 vs 1. Thomas, you start first.”

 I received a spinning ball hovering over the grass but I'm able to take a controlled touch and pick up some speed and momentum. I did cross over creating a foot of space just enough to squeeze the ball past the defender and send a spinning ball toward the top left corner beating the keeper. “Swishss”. The most satisfying sound was made and my coach’s glaring at me like superman actually being real. “Well done Thomas.” My insides were having a big party, but I kept a straight face and acted like nothing just happened as I jogged back to the end of the line. 

After all of my other teammates had their turns, it was my turn once again. This time I received a fast and high spinning ball but I was able to control the ball with my chest and pick up some speed. As I do another crossover I feel the defender's knee go into my hamstring like I'm being stabbed with a knife and fall on my right ankle. I yelled  from pain and all you can hear in the stadium is the wind whipping in the air. I tried to get up but the throbbing pain was too much for me to handle so I just laid there helpless on the ground yelping from pain. 

“Thomas, you ok?” I nodded my head and I could almost feel tears coming out of my eyes. I then remembered that the finals for the U18 cup was coming up in a couple weeks and hopefully this injury will be healed. I was put on the cart and went to see the team's physical trainer. “Thomas, what happened?” He asked.  “We were practicing and I went to complete a dribble move and Andrew lunged for the ball and kneed me hard on my thigh making me fall bad on my ankle. Will I be able to play in the Finals?” “Slow down Thomas. Let me inspect the damage.” He started feeling around my leg putting some pressure on some areas and asking if I felt any pain. I said no pain until I saw a big purple bruise the size of 4 quarters. He put some pressure there. I tried to squint my eyes to look like it wasn't hurting but there was too much pain, and I couldn't hold it in. “Stop trying to hide it. It will only make it worse.” As he was checking my leg he started to nod his head and close his eyes and at that moment my heart stopped beating and my face went pale. “Thomas… you got a serious injury. There has been some damage to your hamstring and you have sprained your ankle.”

“No, no please don't tell me that I'm out for the final game please don't tell me that”.

His head started shaking and at that moment I couldn't stop the hot drops of water coming out from my eyes. “There’s no way. Something's wrong” I said. I tried to put some pressure on my right leg, but my body was still throbbing with pain and my eyes almost shut but my face said it all. “This game was my chance to get to the pro level. Is there anything I can do to speed up the process?”

“Yes but only time will tell when you start playing soccer again but I doubt you'll be healed before the finals. Here are some things you can do to try to speed up the process but don't force or you’ll never be able to play again.” He handed me a piece of paper with things I can do to heal my injuries, and I walked out of his office.

When I got home from practice I headed to my room and as soon as my creaky old door opened I saw my mom and dad on my bed waiting for me. “Thomas, we're sorry to hear about your injury. How are you feeling?” They asked. Again I couldn't stop my tears coming out of my eyes. “The Athletic trainer said that I'm out for the Finals game. That was my chance to make it to the next level. My dream.” I gave them a hug and I told them that I needed to get some rest.

The next day the sun woke me up nice and early like it was telling me to get up. I got up and went through my morning routine. When it was time to eat breakfast I saw my mom come out of her room ready to go to work. She said good morning, gave me a kiss, and told me to not force myself. After she left I made a protein shake and went outside to stretch like the athletic trainer told me to do. I go outside and start doing the stretches. I start doing the lunges, but my legs start to tremble, and I can feel my ankles telling me to stop, but I push through and finish the lunges. After I finish doing my stretches, I head over to the gym to do some weights, especially upper body to stay fit and in good shape.

When I get to the gym I put my gear on and head over to the equipment. I did my upper body workout for about 45 minutes and then my head gave me the stupid idea to try the treadmill even though my ankle was still hurting. My brain was the size of a peanut because I decided to go on the treadmill. I got on the machine and as soon as the belts started to move I instantly felt a sharp needle go right through my ankle, and I immediately jumped and acted like nothing just happened. 

After the gym I got home and took a shower. At the end of practice yesterday, the coach told me he wanted me at practice everyday to watch, just in case I get healthy for the finals game. So I got home showered and got ready to head to practice. Again I made another protein shake and grabbed a banana because I was starving. I hopped on the bus, and I headed to practice. 

On the bus I started to feel down on myself and really sad that I was going to be on the sidelines watching all my teammates get ready for the game. They were all healthy and then there was me injured and with a big chance of not being able to play. 

I got there and I felt like the whole world was attacking me because all I saw was the whole population of mosquitoes all attacking me and that made me feel down to myself. Everyone asked how I was doing and I said the same thing to everyone. I'm good. When practice was about to start, the coach came to me and shook my hand. He also asked how I'm feeling, and I gave the same answer as everyone else. I’m good. The only good thing about not being able to participate in today’s practice was conditioning. 

For three weeks I had the same schedule. Wake up, do a workout and stretch. After that, I took a shower and went to school. After school I would head to practice to keep up with my team. Everyday at practice I would check in with the team’s athletic trainer, and I would see my healing process until two weeks later he said I was able to start participating with the team but no ball or physical contact. After practice I would get home and do a light workout and stretch. 

After three weeks of my injury I was feeling a lot better. My ankle stopped hurting but there was still some pain.The good news was that I was doing the athletic test to see if I was able to play in the finals. My ankle feels 100% but my hamstring still hurts a little bit but I think I can play through it. I’ve been thinking about this test for the day. 

I got off the bus and headed toward the facility. I got there and everyone was asking if I was good to play in the finals and I said to everyone that I had the test that day. I said hi to everyone and headed to the athletic trainers office. I gave a firm handshake signaling that I was feeling good and ready for today. He brought me to one of the fields and told me to start jogging and I did so. I didn’t feel any pain anywhere until he told me to sprint. I started to feel some pain. This time I was able to keep my eyes wide open and hide the pain by keeping a straight face. I've gotten used to feeling pain when I run so I've been able to hide the pain. After sprinting a couple laps, the athletic trainer grabbed some balls and called me over. He told me to pass the ball back  to him and each time he backed up. When he was little past midfield he signals for a long pass and I gave a driven ball to his feet. I felt some more pain but I again kept a straight face and kept my eyes wide open. “Good job Thomas, one more task.” He grabbed the rest of the balls and headed straight to the goals. He placed one ball further back from the other and told me to shoot with power. I was able to go through these shots easily but I still felt a little pain but I hid it well.  “Good job Thomas. Everything looks good. I will tell the coach you are allowed to play in the finals. Go get some rest.” My heart started to beat so fast and my face went pale. 

“Thomas you're going in.” At this moment my face turned pale, and I felt goosebumps creeping all over my body. We were down 2-0 against Manchester United in the 50th minute. I checked in with the ref and the game stopped for my substitution. I gave my teammate a high five and sprinted to my position and at the moment I felt this sharp pain on my hamstring, but I pushed on. I came onto this field lying that I was 100%, but I wasn't and this could be a big mistake. 

Five minutes after I got subbed on, I received the ball towards the middle of the field. I took a nice touch and sent a great through ball that barely got past my teammate and he was able to put it past the goalkeeper. After the goal I felt like all my pain went away, and that I was going to change this game for us. The score was now 2-1, and the game started again. In the 79th minute of the game, my teammate gave a low cross on the ground near the front post. I slid toward the ball making contact with it. “ Swishh”. When I looked up I saw the ball in the net and started sprinting toward my fans, and all you could hear in the stadium was screaming and yelling. I had just scored the tying goal for my team, and I was filled with joy and happiness. 

In the 95th minute Manchester City had the last chance to steal the game and win the finals with a corner. The stadium was silent, and all you could hear was the exaltation of the breath of all the tired players on the field. The ball was put into the box with a curve on it near the front post. I sprinted toward the near post making great contact with my head. “Swishhhh”. The ball squeezed through the post and the goalkeeper. All the fans shouted at the top of their lungs, and I was going crazy. I sprinted toward the corner flag and took off my shirt while sliding on the grass. My whole team started sprinting toward me, celebrating, laughing, and all hugging me. 

“Tweet” The last whistle of the game. Everyone on my team started going crazy and leaping and screaming with joy. I had played a hell of game, and I turned it around to win the game. That seemed professional material if you know what I mean. After shaking the other team's hands, we headed toward the locker rooms. 

After taking a shower and doing the trophy presentation, we headed toward the bus to bring us back home. I felt a touch on my shoulder, and it was one of Manchester City’s scouts. He pulled me away from my team to have a talk with me. “ Thomas, we've been looking at you for a while now and we’ve seen enough. We would like to offer a contract. Congratulations Thomas.” At this moment my face went pale and my insides we’re shaking. I had finally done it. “My Dream.”