Breaking Barriers

Premier Soccer League's Most Promising Player of a tournament winner - Terrence Mashego - best known as Marcelo, born and bred right in the heart of Tshwane at the famous town of "Flaka" Mamelodi, Pretoria. Mashego started his Primary School at Bula Dikgoro then proceeded to Bona Lesedi High school where he matriculated in 2014. In 2016, he enrolled for a National Diploma in Sports and Exercise Technology with The People's University (Tshwane University of Technology) but unfortunately couldn't complete his studies. Nonetheless, that did not stop him from continuing to broaden his educational qualifications as he now holds a Higher Certificate in Sports Management which he completed with Trifocus Fitness Academy and is currently studying Law with the University of South Africa (UNISA). Like any other boy who grew up in a township, his first encounter with a soccer ball was in the streets of Mamelodi, “I was playing in the street until the neighbours started to complain because I was breaking something everyday with the ball, then I decided to join one of the local teams called Junior Lovers. I was playing for Under 11 and at that time I was only 6. As the years passed, I joined a bigger team that was in a league of its own - Arcadia Sherpard. This move came after I was recruited by Smiley who is a good friend of mine and was playing for that team. I was 11 when I joined and played for 3 years then moved to Morning Stars FC to play for their under 15" he said. Mashego was then promoted to the first team of Morning Stars which was then playing in the SAB league at the age of 16. With all the talent, hard work and dreams of playing pro, at the age of 20 when he was in University, he decided to trial and join TUT Men's Football Team in 2016. With the experience that he had, fortunately he was selected to form part of the TUT High performance team. With opportunities that came with playing for the high performance team, Terrence was heavily exposed to a lot of other opportunities. After winning the Varsity Football Tournament (2016) with TUT, he was scouted by Pontsho Madumo to join Mthatha Bucks that was then playing in the NFD. He played for two seasons with Mthatha Bucks until it was relegated. Thereafter, in the 2018/2019 season he joined the Champion Team TS GALAXY which is where he is to this day. Reminiscing about the days he was still playing for TUT and the lessons that came with that period of his life, he said: "when i joined TUT, I was going through a rough phase in my life, and I'm very grateful for what Coach Bushy Moloi did for me. He allowed me the space to do what I love and - to be honest - the experience I had was truly the most memorable. I was part of the team that made history especially for our University that is - winning the Varsity Football Tournament (2016) and that came with one of biggest lessons. I've learnt that, "God is able, what you are going through today is just a foundation of what you will need to hold all the blessings you will receive in the future.” His journey might seem as if it was easy for him to be with TS Galaxy, Mashego explains: "what I'm experiencing with TS Galaxy are the fruits of the seeds I planted while playing at Mthatha (together with the other teams) because playing for Mthatha Bucks was not easy. I wasn't playing as much as I thought I would, but i didn't give up; instead, I thank myself for such opportunities that I have today.” Terrence was asked to mention something he wishes he was told and prepared for with regards to playing in the NDF & MDC and his answer was this simple, "I wish I was told that it's possible to be benched for 15 games straight. This came after his own experience and he added, “It's not easy to break barriers especially in a new team where you found players with more game time.” Mashego continues to write his name in the history books as he formed part of the TS Galaxy squad that won the Nedbank Cup for the very first time, he shares his experience and lessons, "one lesson I've learned from winning the Nedbank Cup is that beyond football there is life itself. I learned that, it doesn't matter how big your problem is or how big your goal is, as long as you can put your heart into it, you can conquer. Beyond that, my life changed after that win. I believe I’ve cemented myself in the history books and , of course, being awarded for the work I’ve done.” Indeed Terrence gained a lot of recognition during the Nedbank cup so much so that he was named PSL Most promising player of a tournament. He shares how he felt about winning that award, “to be honest, at first I didn't know anything about the category 'the most promising player of a tournament', I was surprised when I got messages from friends informing me that I'm nominated in that category. I still can't believe what has just happened that night because recently I watched the clip from the award ceremony and all I see is just the sweat and sacrifices I've made.” Winning any award comes with influence and some kind of motivation especially to upcoming players. To play his part, he posts his workouts videos on his social media pages for the aspiring young talent to see that if one wants to win they must constantly work on improving themselves. Given the capacity, he wishes to give back to, Mamelodi SOS - an orphanage home in his community for the great work they have been doing. In closing, this is his note to self "Dear Terrence, never be content with what you have, because you can still do better.” May this article spark hope and not be seen as a benchmark for success. Terrence like a rocket that you are, keep shooting up and beyond the stars. Editor :Nomvula Kgoale IG: @NomvulaK_Words