Warriors Reloaded is at it again. Today, we focus on recently signed W Connection goalkeeper Marvin Phillip, as he talks about his troubled past, his present and his promising future.
“I would say we should get a little more recognition for the role we play. Some people underestimate the importance of the goalkeeper,” he asserts.
“The match is 90 minutes and you have to try to keep your side in the game for as long as possible by not receiving any goals. As a goalkeeper, the type of work you do is different. You have to be training and working hard right through. There is no room for mistakes.”
Metamorphosis
During the first five minutes of talking to Phillip, one notices three things: his honesty, his composure and his humility.
However, there was once a time when these adjectives would not be used to describe him.
“My behaviour was not that good about seven years aback. I was a bit hot-tempered,” he admits.
Despite his past disciplinary issues, Phillip says the past is just that–the past.
“I was recommended by a police officer, who is also a close friend of mine, to attend temperamental classes to work on my temper. But that was then. Now I’m cool and understanding. I think I am someone my son can now look up to.”
Fatherly duties
When it comes to his fatherly duties, the 24-year-old does not mix matters.
It’s not peculiar to see him “kicking ball” with his three-year-old bundle of joy Tyrique.
“As long as I have no training on evenings, we play in the field near to my home.
He used to try on my shoes all the time, until his mom bought him some football boots of his own. Right now he is definitely into football,” he says with a laugh.
Football…inevitable?
Just like the great football legends, Phillip believes he was destined to “play ball.”
Football found this Williamsville resident at age 11.
His skills even at that age was evident.
“I used to play mainly sweat matches at home with family and friends. A coach saw me and asked me to join his club—The Gasparillo Youths,” he reveals.
After a brief screening, it was a done deal.
“The coach said I had good potential to be a goalkeeper and I was chosen,” he shares.
Since then, Phillip continues to climb the football ladder, representing his former schools, Presentation College and Princess Town Secondary in the Secondary School Football League, and playing for the national Under17 team in the 2001 World Cup.
Today, he is an asset to his team W-Connection, which recently won the First Citizens Cup for the fifth consecutive year.
Wedding bells?
So, what’s in the cards for this ambitious “goalie?”
Well, let’s just say, wedding bells may be ringing in the not too distant future.
He says, “Marriage may be in the plans... in the next two years or so... Probably…”
Stay tuned...