Football can be a great educational tool, to teach us life-skills and help us grow up. But it can also be a place where we learn to behave stupid! Some football teams is just an excuse to fight, drink and get girls- some even do crime together! 

Luckily, with all the teams we work with as part of youthzones, football is a tool for education and growing. So what makes the difference, what makes football to sometimes be good and sometimes be bad? I think it has everything to do with reflecting. The ability to reflect on our behaviour and having friends (teammates or coaches) who are good people and that help us to reflect. Once we get in the habit of reflecting (thinking) about our own behaviour, we can start learning and growing. Lets face it, some people never learn and never grow up, they just become worse, angry, rude, selfish, making excuses, blaming... 

As I am typing here my left leg is paining. I was kicked very badly yesterday while playing football in Freedom Park, Soweto. The kick was silly, away from the ball and gave me a bad injury, which even kept me awake last night, today I'm walking like someone who was in an accident! Anyway, the moment I got kicked I was so angry and felt like I wanted to fight, or at least insult the person who did it... I managed to keep quiet, but I'm sure everyone could see in my body language I was upset. Afterwards, Doc told me it takes time to learn how to handle it, not to keep grudges and plan how I will kick this guy in the next session. He even told me to take the guy out for a drink! I thought, that is the last thing I want to do, this guy nearly takes me out for two months, why be nice to him! And with these thoughts I realise that football is also a tool to test and improve my emotional maturity.

In today's world there is no groups of helpers, teachers or developers on the one side and beneficiaries, learners or disadvantaged on the other. All of us are learners, all of us are teachers, we are all disadvantaged and we all need to learn and grow up, to become more human. Even someone who kicks me, can become my teacher, teaching me more about myself and life than what I can learn at university. 

I hope I can continue to have good friends that help me grow through the habit of honest reflection.