Читать книгу Brilliant - Greg Pius - Страница 2

Born in Syria, Simon had to follow his parents on the migrants trial. After three years as a child in a refugee camp in Jordan, he traveled with his family to Australia,. He was just in time to start school with children of his own age.

Simon was a fast runner, which many bullies realized too late. Little Simon could outrun even boys much bigger than him. Learning to side step on the run helped him avoid many ambushes set by these bullies.

Simon loved football. Simon's father could have been a top footballer for Syria. That dream was dashed by the long civil war in his homeland. As soon as his son could run, Simon's father had been coaching him. Smaller sized footballs were used for this still very young boy. Goal posts were his family's garbage bins. Football boots were unobtainable in the refugee camp, so Simon had worn sneakers provided by the UN refugee agency. Now his father could afford to buy Simon a pair of second hand boots.

Simon wore these boots all the time around the house. He would have worn them to bed if his mother had let him. They only had one small sized soccer ball, so Simon had to be careful kicking it around the streets where he lived. Father and son went to every football game in which their new city's top team was playing. As Sydney had opened its arms to Syrian refugees, Simon's father insisted that his family support Sydney's football teams.

When he was at primary school, Simon signed up for a local football team. His father still coached him, but Simon spent a lot of time with his teammates. Having eye foot coordination skills rare for such a young boy, Simon played in positions he would dominate for the rest of his life. Simon scored goals with boring regularity. Few games in which he played did not see at least one "Simon Special" as his father called his goals. This ability to score made Simon popular with his teammates.

Simon struggled with school work. While he was good at Maths, Simon had difficulty with English, which was his second language after all. Reading was not Simon's strong suit. This made him even more popular with his mates. These young Aussie boys also struggled with reading and they felt comfortable knowing that Simon shared their difficulty.

Early teenage years were dominated by football practice from April to September. Simon played for his school team on Saturdays and for a local junior football team on Sunday. Very fit and very fast, Simon relished this double helping of the sport he loved.

His parents steered him to other sports when the soccer season ended. Simon played summer tennis, competed in a local swim meet on Thursday, took up running for a while and even played cricket. Spring and Summer sports became an adventure for Simon. His fitness, sharp reflexes and determination to succeed helped him shine.

But every April Simon returned to football. By the time he was fourteen Simon knew the names and sports records of every top Australian soccer player. Simon was an avid Sydney football fan, just like his dad.

Simon's goal scoring ability was finally noticed. His favourite football team's franchise gave him a youth scholarship which paid for professional coaching sessions once a week. When he turned seventeen, Simon was signed up to a professional football contract. For a year he played in the Sydney franchise's junior team where his positional play and fitness were taken to a much higher level.

When he left school, Simon was placed in the Sydney franchise training squad. Slowly his skill levels grew until Simon knew all the professional drills, calls and secret plays. Eventually his first top level game arrived. In the short time he was on the field, Simon found himself in front of his opponent's goal. His boot flashed and much to the delight of his fans he scored his first professional goal. It was to be the first of many.