Big Lions!

So this blog post is about a pack of lions I happened upon during my first couple weeks here in Ghana.

No, they are not the wild, carnivorous cats that exist in Africa, but another kind of lion. These are the Saboba football lions, a team of 10 boys in my village of Toma. 

One day I was back at my place after a day in the field, and heard a knock at my door. I opened it to see a group of boys standing outside staring at me. One of the boys walked up to me and handed me a letter. Naturally, I opened it and read it. 

It read: Big Lions

           P.O. Box 2, 

           Saboba, N/R

           26-08-20

Dear Sir,

I am very happy to write you this letter. I hope you are fine as I am over here. 

Timothy, I am writing you this letter to tell you that we are they Big Lions. 

Our name,s, is, #21 Timothy, #5 Kwesi, #17 Divine, #18 Prime, #13 Joshua and #4 Joe. 

     I was then asked "Master, will you manage our team. We have no manager to coach our team." I replied, that I would be honored to coach their team, but was unsure if I could do it. I did have a football however, that one of the other EWB people gave to me, and so offered it to them although it was flat. They returned 10 minutes later with the ball pumped up and asked when we could have our first practice. I suggested maybe after I was done work. They said "thank you Master", and were on their way. 

     I then would arrive home everyday to find the boys waiting with the ball outside my place, waiting to say "hello master" when I would arrive. I did not like being called "master", and so asked to be called Mark instead, but they would just forget my name and started calling me Master again. I then tried "Coach", only to then start being called "Master Coach", which is the one that stuck. I would go and try to coach them when I could, only to realize structured coaching and practicing was not what these kids wanted at all. What they did want was just to play a game and have a "manager" which was really just a referee who played with them. Any coaching would be to encourage fair play and resolve disputes and fouls. 
     After having played with the Big Lions for a couple weeks, I returned home to see that they were not at my place asking if I could practice with them on that day. I stopped by and asked what was the matter, and it turned out the kids had played with the ball so much, it died after only a couple weeks. I tried looking for a ball in town, but nowhere could one be found. I finally found one on market day and purchased it to get the boys playing again. Training soon quieted down as school started up again in late September, but I still try to meet with the boys on weekends when I am around. 

Since then, I was asked by my friend Mo and his brother Salifu, who run a mineral "pop" stand in town, to join them for a game sometime. I joined them one weekend, only to find that I was actually practicing with the city team, which consisted of super-skilled and very fit 16-20 year olds. I soon found that I had no where near the pace or endurance that these kids had. I was quickly thrown into the striker position, as here I could not do as much harm by not being able to keep up with these kids defensively. I soon found that the style of football here is played with the philosophy of going full out, full speed and just trying to score. I prefered to slow things down a bit, keep some possession, and play some defense. Surprisingly, I scored a few goals along the way, and won over the coaching staff a bit. I since then have been invited back to train with the team a couple times a week. It has been great to get some exercise and enjoy the display of skill these kids have. 

For many people in Ghana, football is the only sport that matters. Many in their youth see it as a ticket out of poverty, and thus all aspire to play in England one day for the top clubs in Europe. Most are fans of Chelsea in London, which have a Ghanian, Michael Essien, as a regular star on their team. Most boys tend to follow their games religiously, and can all be found on Saturdays or Sundays watching a 21inch tv screen in a crowd of about 50-100 people at Mo's pop stand.

Playing with a team in Ghana has been a very different experience. It has been fun to practice with the boys, and sometimes I get to even join in exhibition games against the secondary school team. Games tend to draw a large crowd in town, mostly made up of students. It is truly an electric and awesome experience. The fans all stand behind the respective goals of the team they are supporting and for a full 90 minutes are jumping up and down, singing, and banging drums. When a goal is scored they all rush the field to celebrate with the players, then return to behind the goal line. 

As my placement is coming to a close, I will miss my time as a coach and player in Saboba. I got to have some fun, experience something very different and make some friends along the way. I am sure the "Big Lions" will do well one day when they go off to play in national tournaments in Tamale.