A WAY OUT - SHIFT YOUR MENTALITY

I was sitting here excited and ready take you into the mind and preparation of a coach before a game or big tournament like the past Pirates Cup we just played, but as I set up my laptop and about to settle down, I got some bad news that another soldier has fallen from my hometown in Eastwood. That is 2 in the space of 3 months, might not sound like a lot but two young bodies that are being returned to the soil? One body is too many. As I sat trying to get answers as to why would something like this happen again? It made me think about how we feel that if we are born into poverty there is no way out for us. Let me explain what I mean.

In Eastwood, there are 3 parts to it, we have Beverley Hills (where I am from, according to everyone these are the people that have made it and are not struggling in anyway), Backstreets (you don’t want to go there and flex any muscles, neither do you want to walk around at night if you are not known) and then you have bottom section (these people aren’t sure whether they are backstreets or Beverley Hills, they just in between). Everyone from Eastwood felt as if there was no way out for them, its either they make it in soccer or they end up in the streets “hustling” to make ends meet. We all have different backgrounds and we all have our struggles; some struggles might not be as bad as the other but I still strongly believe it’s either your struggle shapes you into that soldier you need to be or it will eat you alive.

A lot of you will say that it is easier said when you are sitting in a privileged position and you are probably right but I have witnessed someone first hand start from a place of having nothing to having everything today. That same guy started where we all started, grew up in the same area we all grew up in but he didn’t allow his situation to stop him from achieving what he wanted to achieve. This person is my dad, he worked as a machine operated for 15 years, then moved on to be a supervisor before changing companies. I witnessed this man working day shift, night shift and some weird shift hours but he had a vision, he had a goal he knew what he wanted and he did everything to achieve it. I think everything he has speaks for itself but all I am trying to say is what is stopping you from creating so much more for yourself? What are you doing to ensure your future generations don’t go through what you went through? What are you doing to ensure that your next generation has your support as they grow older?

I might be touching a lot of nerves but in order to make an impact I need to go where everyone is afraid to go. You can sit there and say to me but I don’t have the means to do better myself how I want too? How do you want to? You know how I want to better myself? I would like to coach at a top professional club one day but every day I keep asking myself what am I doing differently to the person that has nothing else to do but achieve this dream of theirs? I don’t have that answer but the answers I do have is that I am trying to push two careers at the same time while getting a degree. “Yes, Brice but you have the means to do it.” Really, I pay for my own studies!!! Do you know that for 5 subjects a semester through Unisa, it is like R6 000 (doesn’t have to be paid off once) or less and you can sit at home, work and get a degree? Eastwood has a library that has access to all this information, what are we doing about it? All that time we spend doing things we know is wrong why don’t we try and do things that can benefit us and our future generations? We all are not capable of sitting behind books and studying but the point i am trying to get across is use the resources available to help you achieve what you want. Need assistance in starting a business, speak to people (I for one have access to register a business for you).

The loss of Shane Patchay should be an eye opener for a lot of us, we all thought he was invincible. I did as well and when I heard the news it hit a spot. Some one said to me “Everyone knew what he did, but not the person he was. After him there is officially no soccer in Eastwood.” Just take a second to let that sink in, a community flooded with talent, a community that can produce a world of talent has nothing to offer it. There are probably others that are trying but everyone knows that playing for a team like Re-United was something every kid in the community wanted to do. It was like the Leicester City of my days, a team the community felt proud of. So, my pain in mourning the loss of Shane it simply boils down to what he offered the community in the way of soccer. To whoever picks up the baton, please do so with pride, love and joy because that is some HUGE boots to fill as the task is not easy but the reward is endless.

To my fellow brothers, we all have a process that we are going through, we all have decisions to make. Its either we pick up that BC and continue with living for today or we drop that BC and start living for tomorrow, start living for a better life for your future generations whether it been the next AKA or whatever it is you want to do. PUSH YOURSELF BEYOND THE NORM, because the norm is a comfort zone.

We have lost two soldiers in 3 months with this mentality and I must say it was working for them but today we mourn them, today all we have to remember them is memories. I am writing this to tell you there is a way out but in order for us to see this, our mentality needs to change. We need a shift in the way we see life, in the way we do things and most importantly stop living for the present and start looking at our future.

REST IN POWER MURDOCK “MOODY” THOMAS!!!!!

REST IN POWER SHANE PATCHAY!!!! MAY YOUR LEGACY CONTINUE TO LIVE ON!

Coach B