When chasing a dream becomes a nightmare

A promising football player from Zuid -London says he is told that he could never play the sport that he loves again was “one of the most difficult things to deal with mentally”.

Collin Skhoyimue was signed at the Academy of a League One -Club just before his 14th birthday and two months after his contract, he was selected to play a match over his age quality.

But that was short -lived when he sustained the cartilage in his knee during the game and was then released.

Eight years later, Collin, now 21, said it was “someone who took his dream away”.

It is a well -known story. There are an estimated 1.5 million players organized youth football in England at some point – but Only about 180 of them will make it as a Premier League professional.

Collin's love for football started when he was five years old.

“I remember that I folded socks in a ball and put on the floor and play,” he says.

He would make football goals on both sides of his house with the help of his mother's shoes and would try to score as the only player for both teams.

When he was signed for the League One Football Club in December 2017, he went home to surprise his mother Sylvia.

Collin says it was “a good feeling that the hard work has paid off” and he “proved the haters wrong”, referring to the people at his school who had doubts about him and called him names.

League One is the third level of professional football in England, under the Premier League and the championship.

“Collin is a very passionate boy, as soon as he gets it in his mind” I'm going to do this “, he is so determined and he will go for it and get it done,” says his mother.

Collin was one of the three young boys who were chosen to be tried for the football academy of the 300 trispers, which he describes as “a dream”. He says he used his six -week summer vacation to prepare for the first open test.

Two months after he was signed, the footballer had the opportunity to play for the younger than 15 years, even though he was in the squadron under 14 at the time.

During this match he passed the ball of the defense and was injured when his knee bumped into an opponent's knee during a tackle.

“Then my football career turned into a nightmare,” says the 21-year-old.

Despite the fact that he for six months with his academy rehabilitated, Collin decided to get a scan with the NHS, where doctors diagnosed him with a congenital discoid meniscus and told him that he would need an operation on his knee.

He was then placed on the NHS watch list and had the operation nine months later.

Six months later, the Collin team was about to go under the season.

However, the academy manager who initially drew him for the club had left the team, which means that the new coach had not seen him play and he was released.

“One of the most difficult things about it is not that I was released because of my ability or if I am always too late to train … But the reason I was released was out of my hands, so there really was nothing I could have done to prevent myself from released myself,” Collin says.

“Football is a company,” he adds. “Once you play and you're doing well, everyone likes you – but if you are on the sidelines and don't play and no longer play useful, they just throw you away.

“As a football player you are just a plus and I think the sooner you realize that, the better.”

Despite the operation, Collin's problems continued with his knee and underwent another operation. Six months later, a scan showed that the problem had not been solved.

Collin says that his surgeon then told him: “You have now had two operations … The problem has not been solved and you will never be able to play football again.”

The last 10 words were “one of the most heartbreaking experiences,” says Collin.

He adds that he did not go to school for a week because “his dream was over”.

Despite the fact that he did not play football for four years, Collin did not give up the hope for the game he loved.

After he finally recovered his knee, he made his first performance on the field in August 2022, even though he said he would never play again.

“That was one of the best days of my life,” he says.

He then developed a love for coaching, began to manage a team under the 7S and started his own coaching company to be that person that [he] necessary when [he] Was younger “.

After he was signed with a new football team and played for a year for the full -time National League, Collin suffered a different injury to his other knee and has been in recovery since December 2023.

He now organizes a series on social media called Blonde 2 Pro where he shares his journey.

Collin hopes to use his story to inspire and motivate people around the world.

“I have experienced a lot and if you have experienced a lot, you have a lot to give, so I feel that I have to give a lot back,” he says.