Sophie Grace Wilson has always lived and breathed football. A former player with big dreams of becoming a coach, the sport isn't just a passion-it's her calling. Now, she's determined to break into the male-dominated coaching world, focused on provi...
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Sophie Grace Wilson's heart was beating out of her chest. It was normal for her to be nervous before a game and she didn't think that would ever change. While her teammates were conversing all around her, the only thing she was able to hear was her own heartbeat and the roar of the stadium outside of the dressing room. She sat on the bench staring at her unlaced shoes lost in her thoughts.
Most of the time she was a very confident 15-year-old, but she had her off days that brought her confidence level to below the ground. On those days she felt like she was really bad at football, this however, was not true and everyone that ever saw the girl play could tell you the same. Yet she often questioned her abilities, not thinking she was good enough. There was always something she didn't do well enough for her liking, or always someone that she thought was better than her. It angered her how her mind worked at times, how she let these self-doubting feelings get the better of her, not letting her enjoy the moment.
The UEFA Women's Under-17 championship was coming to an end. It was the last match for the English team, and they were fighting for 3rd place, after losing against Germany in the semi-finals. Sophie felt quite insecure after that match, she felt like she could've done more for her team, even though she scored two out of the three goals, making her one of the top scorers in the championship with 5 goals under her name.
Now, getting ready for their last match against Norway, she didn't feel like herself. Usually, she could block the negative thoughts out, but as she was walking towards the tunnel, she still couldn't get her head in the game. She walked next to her friends and teammates, Alessia Russo and Ella Toone, who were chatting about something Sophie didn't pay attention to. The two girls noticed that the brunette wasn't responding, they shared a look before Ella finally tapped her shoulder making them stop:
"Are you good?" she had asked.
"Yeah, why?" Sophie looked at her confused.
"You just seem to be in your head, more than you usually are" Alessia looked at the younger girl.
"Oh. I don't know, just don't feel like talking, I guess" she explained to the blondes, who nodded their heads and then started to walk towards the field again.
After lining up for the national anthems, the players got to their places. The brunette left winger walked to her position quite slowly, as if she was unsure of herself, as if she felt like something bad was going to happen, she didn't look up from her fidgeting hands and her shoulders were slightly slumped. After the whistle was finally blown, she tried her best to stop thinking about anything other than football. She tried to enjoy the game without feeling like the high expectations were weighing down on her shoulders.
In the 8th minute, England gets the ball and starts a counterattack. In the end the ball goes to Sophie, who wastes no time shooting it towards the goal and scoring the first goal of the match. The English crowd goes wild cheering for the young girl, who ran towards the right corner sliding on her knees extending her arms, then waited for her teammates to celebrate together, which they did running to the young girl, hugging her and screaming in pure joy. Sophie enjoyed the moment, never wanting to get off the high she was then feeling. Getting up after the girls had jumped on her back, she felt like her left knee was a bit sore, but she shook it off, not thinking much of it.
As the first half came to an end, the score was 1-0 to England. Sophie's spirit lifted slightly, but she still over thought every move she made. Thinking about some of the mistakes she had done, the possibilities she had missed and the slight uncomfortable feeling in her knee.
Starting the second half of the game, the team and the crowd was all hyped up, ready to bring the 3rd place home. It started out a bit slow, Norway being extra defensive. But the girls didn't let that affect their game, facing the challenge head on.
In one of the attacks that Norway started, Sophie took the ball from one of the strikers, starting a counterattack. As she got more than halfway through the pitch, one of the opposing team members pushed her making her lose a bit of her momentum and falling to her left knee. She scrambled up, not paying attention to the pain that surged through her knee, continuing to run. She dribbled past the only defender in front of her and she aimed at the goal. Right as she shot the ball her knee buckled, and she fell to the floor crying out in pain. The crowd's gasps echoed around the stadium upon hearing the young girl's loud scream.
Her teammates ran up to her, worried, calling for the medical team as the girl looked away from her leg, turning on her back and covering her face in her hands. As she tried to straighten her left leg, a great surge of pain shoot through it making her inhale a sharp intake of breath, while more tears ran down her cheeks.
Ten minutes later she was sitting in the medical cabinet, looking at the monochrome white walls. Her knee seemed to be dislocated, but an X-ray needed to be done so they could see how serious her injury was. The room was silent, except for the ticking of a clock and the still loud stadium. Fidgeting with her fingers, she thought about the start of her journey, when she first kicked a ball or her first football practice, or when she first enrolled in Manchester United's Academy, or when she was called up to play for her national youth team, and how all these milestones ended up bringing her to this point in her life, where she had to sit in a white room, suffering. She thought about her dreams of going pro one day, playing in the woman's super league for Manchester United. Tears blurred her vision as the doubt crept into her mind, at the thought of these dreams never coming to life.
Then she looked at her leg and she tried to recall what exactly happened. She assumed she probably strained her knee when she celebrated her goal or when she fell after she got pushed, but didn't really feel the pain as it was masked by the adrenaline. After that her knee could have been vulnerable and she stepped on it the wrong way, hence the dislocation. She prayed that that was it, she didn't want to fall back on training, she had to keep working if she wantedher dreams to become reality, she didn't want to say goodbye to football any time soon.
Little did she know, the goal she scored while blowing her knee was the last goal she would ever score, the last match she would ever play. But that is not the end of Sophies story, this is where it all began.
