THE STRIKER

he ball was laid at the centre of the field. The two players begun the game. Passing was precise and controlled. The midfielder took possession, lifted his head and with measured composure and calculation aimed the ball for the dashing STRIKER. He had anticipated to beat the offside trap by a semi circular run past the vigilant defence. .the referee's whistle however blew. He was offside. He thought of the many occasions in life when he was offside and didn't allow the natural processes of life to take their course. The many times he jumped guns and made wrong decisions; when he prefered office work to spending quality time with family, when he got too stressed and bothered by issues of life instead of laying them before God, the creator. But the best news was, there is always another chance to make things right. To mend fences. . The goalkeeper moved hastily to take the free kick caused by the offside. It looked more like a normal free kick. The ball rose and sped towards the goal. .the STRIKER thought. ' Our Goal'. The ball was received calmly by a prolific and industrious midfielder of the opposing team. He sped dangerously across the goal area, dummied a shot causing the defence to land in total confusion and disarray. He then chipped the ball calmly towards an overlapping defender who was on top speed who delivered a low, fast paced cross. By this time, STRIKER had read the situation and had made a dashing run to his team's penalty area and successfully intercepted the low drive cross before it met the anticipating boots of the approaching opponents. The ball was deflected over the bar ending up into a corner kick. .at times, . .STRIKER thought. .it may be useful to leave your comfort zone and normal field of play to lend a hand to overwhelmed colleagues. He realised that even though he was a sticker, he still needed to contribute to defending his team's goal mouth when duty calls. He realised that as a person, family would sometimes need him to withdraw from his core business and job in order to support them. At times, a hurting friend would need him to spend the night with him talking and opening up. He knew that perhaps a distant relative might need his extra commitment to go through life's challenges. He also needed to be there for others. . The opposing team prepared for the corner kick. One of the set piece artistes stepped up to take the kick. It was an inswinger. .meaning that the ball was kicked in such a way that it initially curled away from goal but curved ultimately towards goal. It was potentially lethal as a lanky attacker for the opponent team was lurking nearby and had broken off from his marker. He was a formidable header of the ball. However, one of his teammates managed to get ahead of the attacker and flipped the ball forward. Another teammate, a defender, took control of the lose ball, slalomed past three opposing players and slipped the ball past thereby releasing the STRIKER who was on a killer sprint with only two defenders to beat. He side stepped one of the defenders sending him off balance and then classically made a 360 degree turn totally confusing the other and sending him scampering to the ground. By this time, due to the burst of energy he exhibited, he was left one on one with the opposing keeper. Totally exposed, the keeper broke off his line and sped towards the approaching attacker to narrow the angle but the sly STRIKER was to much for him, rounding him gracefully towards his right and slotting the ball into an empty net. Celebrations ensued. But as he celebrated with other ecstatic teammates, STRIKER realised that even though a striker, he needed the help of his teammate, a defender, for him to score. Remember, it was a defender who released the ball to him to execute the speedy counter attack coupled with the text book finish. .in life, our success can't be pegged onto our skill alone but how we work with others and produce a synergy that executes and gives results. Teamwork always works because its based on synergy, coordination and team spirit. Thats the only way we can make it in life. . .AS IRON SHARPENS IRON, SO DOES ONE SHARPEN THE COUNTENANCE OF HIS/ HER BROTHER/ SISTER. ;)