It's not often South African youngsters get an opportunity to meet an English Premier League club legend, but the SuperSport United Diski Challenge players got some solid advice from a former West Ham United striker who went through a lot in his career.
On Friday afternoon, SuperSport players and technical team members, led by club legend and head coach Thabo September, got to visit the English Premier League offices in London, as part of their tour of the UK as champions of the 2022/23 DSTV Diski Challenge season.
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Not long after they arrived, they got to hear from former West Ham striker Carlton Cole, who is considered an icon at the club after making over 250 appearances.
The more Cole spoke, the players got to realise that he did not have an easy career and football is not all smooth sailing. They got to understand the importance of listening and getting mentors in their lives to ensure that they are able to stick it out through some of the difficult moments they are still going to face in their careers.
When speaking to the SuperSport youngsters, Cole said: "You need to listen to your managers and coaches when they are talking. One thing I've learnt about being who I am is that I am a great listener. I listen first and then I make sure that I attack it the way you said it. You guys are here now (in London) and that's a good start because a lot of people don't get this opportunity to hear a (former) Premier League player talk. I hope you get a lot out of this trip.
"Resilience comes in all sorts of forms. You've got to be resilient to the outside noise because there are a lot of people who will talk to you about things that are not going to affect your life, but it can be in your brain. All you need to do is remember what your coach, your teachers and the people who care about you think, like your family. You've got to have resilience to accept criticism. Don't take it too personally because it's there to improve you."
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SuperSport are due to face Queens Park Rangers today and then they will travel to Wembley Stadium on Sunday to watch Arsenal and Manchester City in the Community Shield.
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