It’s more than hard work and talent - It takes persistence too

Thabiso 'Machesa' Lebitso, born and bred in Sebokeng in the Vaal. He commenced his Pre-school at Zakheni, then proceeded to Itsebeng Primary School and matriculated at Jordan Secondary School. Thabiso is currently a Sports Management student at Tshwane University of Technology (The People's University).

He began playing football at the age of 7, in 2009, where he joined an amateur team called Junior Lions which was under the leadership of coach Paseka Moqolosane (Gepman) in the Vaal. Fast forward to 2017, he joined Tshwane University of Technology FC which is playing in the SAB league, University Sports South Africa (USSA) tournaments and Varsity Football Tournament. Early in 2020 January, he made his biggest leap yet when he signed his first professional contract with Chippa United FC of the Premier Soccer League (PSL).

Lebitso became one of the most decorated and watched individuals in the students' favorite tournament, Varsity Football. He shares what that period in his life meant for him and his football career - "Varsity Football Tournament was the first quality tournament that I started playing since I have started my football career. This, honestly, made me realise the potential that I have in terms of playing football because not only did it help me to understand that in life you have to be patient, but when it is your time to shine, you'll first be given a chance and you must use that chance that GOD and coaches are giving you to give it your all. In 2017, I didn't play all the varsity games because I was basically starting as a substitute in all the games. The dawn of 2018 came with the privilege to wear jersey #10 (which was worn by one of TUT's star players who's currently in the PSL called Themba "Messi" Ndlovu) then I started to play a few games while struggling with an injury. In 2019, I reached the peak point of my career in Varsity Football where my season was fantastic so much so that I was nominated for 'Player of the tournament' which that alone was a win for me" he said.

2019, truly, was a great season for Thabiso as he formed part of the 2019 Nedbank Ke Yona team search. He was asked of one of the biggest highlights of the whole experience, he replied, "my biggest highlight was when I was given the responsibility to be the leader of the team, that is being named Captain, so when I watched that moment on TV for the first time I was so emotional and proud at the same time to finally see my hard work paying off and all I can think of is that it can only be God."

Machesa said that he started having challenges when the Ke Yona team search was happening at the same time that the Varsity Football Tournament was taking place. He explains his challenge this way, “I had to focus on serving the University by playing Varsity Football Tournament while being with the Ke Yona team at the same time, and that was the most challenging thing as well as having to balance my studies and football in the midst of all the high my football career was in" he said. He continued to say: “with all the challenges that I had, I lost my mother while being busy with the Nedbank Ke Yona team search and this was a few days before I can go represent the country in Italy for the World Student games. It was the most difficult time of my life - having to achieve so many great things in my life and then suddenly lose my mother. I would have loved to have her by my side as she was supposed to see all that I've achieved before passing; however, all is resting in God's hands and his will.” He said that the lessons that came with the whole experience was that, “in the most difficult times of your life, above all, fight to be mentally strong and fit to handle any given situation. I told myself that I will not allow those situations to pull me down not to achieve my dreams - so the trip to Italy really helped me with the healing process. Now I can safely say that anything is possible in life if you put all your work in and don't let any challenge pull you down. GOD is testing our faith everyday with challenges that we face."

Day in and day out we see players that we believe are the future stars in football only for them to quit playing. Lebitso was asked what kept him going in the quest to play in the PSL and his response was: “I've always had a dream that one day I want to be playing in one of the top football leagues in South Africa and I worked towards that, seeing that I'm from a poor background. My mother wasn't working, so I saw football as my breakthrough to break the chain of poverty. In that regard, my hunger for success made me who I am today - and I'm proud to say from the zone that I'm from in the Vaal, I'm the first player to play in the PSL. My father didn't really promote the soccer life because he believed that school is better than football, but I worked so hard to show my fellow brothers and my dad that it is possible and now he is one of the most happiest fathers ever."

Like any other player, Thabiso was once at his lowest due to an injury which he thought would end his football career even before he started, he said, “I broke my ankle in 2016 and It took me 8 months to recover. Honestly, I thought of quitting football because I thought I was never going to play the game again, but thank God I've recovered." He leads us to the grand moment when he signed his PSL contract, "signing my first professional contract was overwhelming, it felt like a dream. I was over the moon and didn't believe it at first. I was thrilled and didn't want to think much about money (salary) because all I ever wanted was to play in the professional league, have a T-shirt with a PSL logo on and my surname written in bold at the back."

Machesa shares the experience of his childhood dream coming to life - playing his first match as a PSL player, "my debut playing for Chippa United was when we were playing against Polokwane City and I played 30 minutes of the game. At first, I was scared, but after a few touches I was both relaxed and tired because I was running all over the pitch. Overall, I was elated to be filled in. However, my first live game was against TS Galaxy which poeple assume was my debut as the match against Polokwane City wasn't televised and just to point out the difference between the two games. I'd say in my second game, the nerves were out of the window and I was mentally prepared twice as much as the first game."

His parting words to his fellow mates in the football industry who are working towards their goal to play in the professional league are: "anything is possible when you put GOD first and secondly put 120% effort to everything that you do because you will never know who is watching. To add, in every opportunity you're exposed to, make sure you use it wisely and to the full capacity. Next, remember to respect everyone because in football everyone is a link to your success, so let’s keep working hard because our times of breakthrough are not aligned the same but your time is coming as well. Also, all you have to do is to keep pushing and not compare yourselves to the person next to you, but rather focus on your own tracks and capabilities. Last, Respect football and it will respect you back. Talent alone won't get you there, hard work won't get you there, but persistence will."

Editor:Nomvula Kgoale