Hard graft will help you get back on track, says the West Ham United full-back
“I’ve been released by a pro academy and I’m finding it hard to deal with the rejection. How did you get back into the game?”
David Gibson, via Facebook
Aaron Cresswell says:
“I joined Liverpool’s academy when I was 12 but got released after just a couple of years, so I know how you feel. I found it very difficult to deal with – it was devastating. When you’re that age, you just want to enjoy your football; you don’t see it as something you’re going to do as a job for the rest of your life.When I told my dad I’d been let go he said, ‘It’s not the end of the world’ – but it was to me.
To help me recover my confidence he encouraged me to get out there and carry on playing, so the next day I was out in the streets playing football with my mates, really enjoying the game again.
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I never stopped believing in myself. I knew I had to keep going. The main thing I focused on was enjoyment and working hard.
Eventually this paid off and I joined up with Tranmere Rovers and started working my way up. Now I’m where I want to be and I want to keep playing at this level for the rest of my career. I want to create some great memories.
I wouldn’t change my journey. Everything I’ve been through helped me get to where I am today.”
