CHAPTER 5 : Tryouts I

The week had gone by and it was Saturday now. Kaiser and his mother had surfed the internet and asked around in hopes of finding the most affordable and competent academy in the federal capital.

However this was only a formality. Kaiser knew what academy he wanted to attend from the start. That was where future stars of the Nigerian national team and other stars from European leagues would be unearthed

Kaiser slyly convinced his mother to allow him join the Siaone Soccer Academy, located in the high-brow Wuse 2 area.

While preparing, they had bought a decent number of jerseys and shorts, shin guards, socks and a new pair of boots.

When Kaiser and his mother stepped in they were greeted by the sight of multiple other kids ranging from ages five to seventeen. Kaiser looked around and observed the scene playing before him.

The kids aged 5-8 were all gathered under a blue canopy with their parents standing close by.

Those aged 9-13 under a red canopy with their parents still fairly close.

Kids aged 14-17, were under a white canopy, being debriefed by coaches. Kaiser and his mother ran into some traffic on the way as there was an accident that blocked the highway.

This delayed them and instead of them having to have arrived by 8 am, they instead got there twenty minutes after 9.

Fortunately, however, the trials hadn't started yet. Siaone Soccer Academy was unique from others in the sense that they didn't just accept everyone.

They only chose those who had technical and physical skills which were advanced for their age, as their academy was known for being linked to academies in Europe and other countries.

By this time, Kaiser was starting to garner attention from the other parents and kids who came for the trial. He always garnered attention wherever he went because he was mixed. It was no different here obviously.

"Mom, I think I'm supposed to go under the white canopy since they look to be around my age." Kaiser said, looking up at his mother.

"Okay Osho, just do your best okay?" She said as she hugged him. Kaiser then took his boots and ran towards the canopy.

Just as he was about to walk under the canopy, however, he heard the sharp ring of a coach's whistle.

One of the coaches supervising the kids in his age group walked up behind him. He was a tall man with a bald head and a thick beard. He was buff, not fat, just fairly in shape.

"What business do you have here?" The coach barked at him angrily.

"I came here for tryouts to join this academy, sir." Kaiser said as respectfully as he could.

"You're here for tryouts and you're only coming now? You can't be serious!" The coach barked at Kaiser once again.

Suddenly, the [Ultimate Athlete] menu popped up and Kaiser could see the [Mentality Monster] skill showing active.

That explained why once again he wasn't phased by the coach's words. From the corner of his eye, he could see his mother with a panicked expression on her face.

She began walking towards him but he secretly shook his head, signalling for her to not come closer.

The last thing he would want is for the coach's ego to get bruised by his mother. If that happened, his dream of joining the academy would be gone.

"I'm sorry sir, there was an accident on the way here and that delayed me. It won't happen again." Kaiser said, looking straight ahead.

The coach wanted to take another jab at him when another voice from behind called out. "Coach Eze, leave the boy alone."

Turning around, Kaiser saw a short man with a bald head and an equally smooth face, his stomach was bulging out.

"Coach Idris, look at the time this boy is coming, this is a sign of indiscipline on his part!" Coach Eze said.

Coach Eze was upset as he thought Kaiser was the son of some rich foreign family who were looking down at their academy, hence his hostility towards him.

"His mother and I discussed it and she said there was an accident which blocked the highway. Should he have flown over the traffic? Try to be understanding." Coach Idris said calmly.

Finally, Coach Eze decided to back off and let the boy be.

"What's your name, young man?" Coach Idris asked him.

"My name is Kaiser, sir." He answered.

"Kaiza?" The coaches both asked in confusion. Completely mispronouncing his name in the process.

"You can just call me Osho sir." He said with a respectful smile on his face.

"Okay osho, since you're late I'll go over it again. The recruitment process for this academy is simple. We will test you all by making you complete a variety of drills and the top percentile of you will then play an exhibition match."

"The top eleven players will then be accepted into the academy." Coach Idris summarized.

"Any questions?" He asked Kaiser.

"None at all sir." Kaiser replied sharply.

"Good. Parents, please we will be taking some buses to the training ground to carry out the trials. Boys please enter the white bus, parents please enter the green bus." The coach said as he gestured to two buses side by side with one another.

Kaiser and the other boys made their way to the bus in a straight line. After getting onto the bus, Kaiser could roughly see 40 other boys with him.

As he took his seat at the back, some older boys came and stood around him.

"Look at this small boy, you think Nigeria is like America where you can pass with the trials with the power friendship?" The tallest boy said with a laugh.

"Haha, don't mind him. He can try it, but he'll go back crying by the end of today." Another boy said as they all laughed and went back to their seats.

Again, Kaiser could see the [Mentality Monster] skill active and he smiled as the boys kept giving him glances and laughing at him.

"This is going to be very fun, he thought to himself."

A short drive later and the bus pulled through the gates of the famous, M.K.O Abiola stadium at the heart of the federal capital.

The stadium was used to play international matches for the national team, the Super Eagles. A team Kaiser hoped to play for one day.

During the short 30-minute ride, Kaiser listened to numerous conversations that were happening around him and was able to pick some things.

First, he understood that challenges would get progressively harder as the trial went on which was understandable.

Secondly, he understood there was some kind of favouritism among some of the kids in his age range as their parents were heavy investors in the academy.

And one of those kids happened to be part of the group that came to pick on him earlier, Joshua Arase. Apparently, his dad was a serving minister, hence his pride and disregard for his age mates.

And finally, he heard two very exceptional boys were trying out for the academy as well.

The first was Gift Orban, a sixteen-year-old prodigy who was originally supposed to play in the previous U17 World Cup but was dropped for unknown reasons. He would go on to become a future star playing for top clubs in Europe.

The second is Malik Abdul Kareem. He lived in Spain for the majority of his life and rumours circulating were that he played for the Barcelona academy; La-Masia, while he lived there. He would eventually play for Barcelona, becoming one of the few African players to do so.

He didn't care though. All that was important was for him to do his best and progress through the next stage of the trials. He turned around and saw the green bus filled with parents following behind them.

He had to do his best, even if not for himself, for his mother.