Callum Wilson Early Life Was Fraught With Difficulty But He Learned How To
Stand On His Own An Inspiration To Nigerian Youth
Starting, his full name is Callum Eddie Graham Wilson. Callum Wilson as he is
known was born on the 27th day of February 1992 to a Jamaican father and
English mother in Coventry, United Kingdom.
Unlike most British footballers, Wilson never had the ideal childhood life. His
Jamaican father left him together with his mum while he was a baby.
Any child who has lived through a parental break-up especially having his dad
disappear will know only too well the deep emotional pain it can cause.
This is the
focal point of Callum Wilson’s early life story.
Wilson grew up alone with his mum who later had five other children, three
brothers and two sisters. His early life was fraught with difficulty.
Nevertheless,
he learned how to stand on his own two feet without a father figure around. This
was done to set an example for his siblings.
Early on, Wilson’s participation in football activities steered him away from the
poor choices he could have made as a child.
He started his football journey with a successful trial with Coventry. Unlike other
kid footballers, Callum had no lifts from his parents in this case, his mum. In his words;
My mum had her hands full. It was hard when I was growing up for her to take
me to train. She was a single mum with lots of stress on her.
It was family friends
and team-mates who picked me up to the training ground.
Wilson at some point didn’t feel comfortable as he felt he was becoming a burden
to his helpers.
Getting fed up of relying on people for lift made him abandoning
his training to play for his local Sunday League team.
Despite a change of mind, Wilson still never got the satisfaction he desired while
he played for Sunday League.
He felt he had made a bad choice which would ruin his chances of becoming a
professional footballer.
Back then, he had his dreams set at becoming pro, earning big monies and taking
care of his family members.
Persistent thought on this prompted Wilson to
abandon Sunday League football hence going back for trials with Coventry.
Speaking about this experience, he once said in his words;
I tried again when I was 12, didn’t like it, i went back to my Sunday team again.
Then the third time I knew that if I wanted to be a professional, I had to stick it
out and bear the lifts off other people.
Wilson’s final decision to remain at Coventry marked the beginning of his
professional career.
Wilson after his third successful trial with Coventry decided to stick fully with the
youth club.
As a young teenager, all Callum wanted was to have his place of
accommodation due to the overcrowded nature of his family home.
Living away from home meant there would be zero distractions. Football finally
became the ideal reason for his mum releasing him from home.
After his home release, Wilson found a lot of space and time to spend with his
friends and be himself. Speaking about his decision, Wilson once said;
I’m a person now who likes my own company. It’s nice to be able to have my
freedom and peace.
Wilson while at Coventry youth setup was allowed to multitask football with
other sports.
According to reports, he participated in kickboxing for a couple of
years. Speaking about his kickboxing experience, he once said;
I only had three fights.
I won all three. It was by technical knockout. At that age,
I saw myself making my opponents cry hard when i bit them to fights.
Although Wilson didn’t allow Kickboxing to completely grab him as he had his
eyes set out to his greatest wish of becoming.
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