Passion Unkindled Football

But.

Just like that.

I travelled back in time?

Kai is sure, almost certain that he has gone back to the past, to his younger days, before his life turned into a mess. But his soul, his brain still contains the memories of the future. It was as if his soul was sent back in time to his younger self.

He was overwhelmed to an extent, by such a sudden occurrence. If you were to tell someone they have the chance to redo their life decision. Chances are most of them will be too confused to conjure up an answer. But Kai raised to observe the pitch and the players competing on it, is it that difficult to steady oneself and grasp that chance tightly?

The man still adorned in the club sweater and joggers moved to take a seat in the technical area, where benches are provided for staff and players alike. On his mind was a herculean mess, but he felt rather peaceful, almost calming to observe the youth team players competing for their hardest. The act merely washed away any concern he had before, but only for a while, only for a few minutes whilst the players were kicking the ball could Kai temporarily forget the fact that he became his younger self.

He consoled himself, focusing on the friendly competition ongoing as a means of distracting himself. The hard-fought possession of the ball was a deranged mess, with the players going at it with aggressive tackles and rough physical play, yet there was a beauty to it that Kai could only marvel at. Their passion, intensity, their enthusiasm, are elements that hit Kai like a tsunami.

At a glance, anyone in the vicinity can see the desire in the players eyes to win. Kai looked around, searching for the scoreboard, or he thought there was a scoreboard. He looked around the pitch, searching for the electronic panel that states the scores of the team. But it only took a while before he realised that this was the youth team training ground, and such expensive equipment wouldn be provided here.

The man smacked his head, coming back to the past he could deal with, but so many details had he forgotten.

He didn know how long he had been observing the friendly, but it was long enough that the players finally took a break. The match has already concluded, long enough for Kai to ponder through the events. He looked dejected, but seemingly had a new perspective and view of his surroundings. He observed the pitch, the lush green field destined for football, he observed the facilities, the headquarters and training facilities built almost years ago for avid footballers, he looked at the players, those who are destined for the professional game. This opportunity… he shouldn waste it.

Kai stood up from the technical area and grabbed a last look at the players before making his way back to the headquarters, where there is a weekly staff meeting still occurring. But when he recollected that he had a staff meeting, and the fact that he had exited halfway through the event, Kai quickly picked up his pace.

”Oh god. Barely an hour since I came back, and I have already left a bad impression. ”

Kai entered the building and jolted past the long hallways before finding the one he is searching for. But right before entering, he steadied his breath and fixed up his unkempt hair before knocking on the wooden door.

But to his surprise, before he could even knock on the door, it was magically opened by someone on the other side.

His glasses and pale frame reminded him. Who was he again? Hugo?

Kai was about to thank Hugo for opening the door to the meeting room, but again before he could even speak, more people gathered behind Hugo, and all are staring directly at Kai.

”You
e blocking the way, ” Hugo stated. Which subconsciously made Kai move back without him even realising.

Out came a flock of people, whereby all middle-aged men and women, who exited the meeting room one by one. Kai took a while to comprehend this act, and he half contemplated whether they were all exiting the meeting room as a mutiny against him. But no discontent in the face passed him, he looked at his wrist and smacked his head harder than before as he realised that the meeting had just ended.

”Come in. ” a voice called within the meeting room. Which shook Kai to some extent, as he was certain that everyone had already left.

He peeked in, only to find the bubbly figure of Manager Marley still rooted to his seat. ”Take a seat. ” He gestured at a spot right beside him, near the front of the oval table.

Kai took a seat, and his thoughts returned to the mistakes he made, the half-truths he told, and the lack of thorough planning. He snapped out of his deep thoughts and focused on the situation at hand.

”So you feeling better? ” Manager Marley asked.

”I feel much better. Thank. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. I promise it won happen again. ” Kai replied apologetically, and even if he couldn sense the hostility in the Managers tone, it was better to show his sincerity and humbleness than not.

”Im sure you will. ” Manager Marley nodded.

”Umm, is there anything you wish to speak of? ”

”Well, you did miss half of the meeting. So I will brief you on what you missed. Mr… ”

Marley had a slight pause in his speech, pondering for a moment deeply, searching through his memory before remembering what he desires.

”Mr Kai. ”

”Right, ” Kai said back.

Marley, the bubbly man had a plump figure that has a stomach that bounces whenever he walks. Just thinking about it, Kai could finely remember the players made a joke about Marleys stomach being more buoyant than actual breasts. Kai had a snicker which he tried to conceal.

The pot-bellied Manager grabbed a pile of paperwork nearby before quickly scanning them, with quick darting eyes.

”Our next match is against RC Lens U-19, which is happening next week. Go through their match footage and note anything of interest. Also, find out any players I should be worried about. I will look through them on Wednesday. ”

Kai was slightly taken aback. In his past life, he had only really been tasked to do the mundane stuff on the training ground, like setting the cones and collecting drink bottles, carrying pieces of equipment, etc. What is this? Manager Marley suddenly tasked me with such an important task.

No. Kai shook his head, though only figuratively as the manager would see his actions. This must be a lesson for him to show such disrespect during the meeting. How could one just leave such an important gathering just with a simple excuse of needing some fresh air.

But, Kai also seemed excited at the prospect, even thrilled to be tasked with such a responsibility that other senior members of the coaching team would take. Remember, Kai has several years of memories of the future within him. Surely, with some clever observation and digging into his memories, he could satisfy Manager Marleys demand.

”Got it! No problem Mr Marley! ”

The chubby man was taken aback by such enthusiasm. Surely this was not in his script, to see someone so delighted to take such a big step in duties.

Marley shook off his thoughts and took a few extra glances at the paperwork, looking at the agendas mentioned. ”We also went through some player development discussions. But nothing that you should be too concerned about. We also went through some footage of our last league match to summarise anything we could improve. ”

Whilst saying this, Marley handed a small folder to passed it along the surface of the oval table right in front of Kai. ”Have a read when you have the time. We will be recorrecting those tactical deficiencies during training. ”

”Sure. Ill read them at the first opportunity. ” Kai noted whilst he took a brief glimpse into the content of the folder. But perhaps the first thing he noticed when he skimmed through the pages was not the numerous pages of text, but a multicoloured spreadsheet that specifically outlines the schedule of the upcoming week.

The manager noticed the object that piqued Kais interest. ”Thats the schedule Hugo made. Quite impressive hey? ”

Kai nodded his head, but not surprised as he had seen this once before. But still, the amount of sheer detail that is put into the schedule is immense, which still never fails to surprise him even if he had seen it before.

Each day of the week, In each separate hour, In each separate minute. All of the time that is available in the week is planned for the players. Which drill would be practised on what time is listed, exactly when the players will eat, and how long will they eat. What time will they rest. The schedule is filled to the brim with details of the week. Its hard to believe that all this info could be squeezed into one A4 sheet of paper.

”Well kid, I read your resume and know this is your first time doing coaching. Don worry. You will get used to how we do things here. ” Marley chuckled, doing a choo-choo action with his arm like a small joke.

Kai nodded. ”Thanks, Mr Marley. I will try my hardest. ”

Marley responded with a soft smile and used both of his thick arms to support himself off the comfy leather seat. ”The meeting has long finished. Lets get on the pitch and train the boys. ”