Fellows Book Online Version 2020

43 the Fellows as a positive example. “I really need to bring back to my players, to the academy I am working in, the energy she expressed with her face and her eyes” was the comment of Andrea, who added, “I want to transfer a bit of what I had experienced, her passion and the will to overcome difficulties”. “I cannot agree more with this concept”, was the reply of Steven Bakker (Feyenoord Rotterdam). “We should bring the players some examples of the behaviors of people that can highlight how one can always achieve their dreams no matter what’s your background or the difficulties you are facing.” Andrea Caronti (AC Milan) suggested, “We should refresh more often to our guys the luck we have. It is easy to feel entitled to the situation we are in, and still we need to realize we are very lucky”. “On this regard, I like the word perspective. We need to offer our player that. We need to make them see the situation they are in and the incredible opportunity they have in their hands.” This was the comment of Mauricio Monaco (Aspire Academy). Lewis Charnok (Everton FC), plugged in adding: “We need to offer examples and tangible behaviors for the players. Maybe to bring that to life, I would suggest sitting down with the management and deciding which are the values we want to communicate, and which are the behaviors that bring those values to life. We need strategies to bring ideas to life”. Tatiana Perez Vergara (Universidad de Chile) reminded everyone that “Beside the role of the family, which did strike me and was really a nice story to hear, I’d like to underline how there is the need to have an inner drive to keep on pushing in front of adversity”. “I agree, maybe passion is not enough” added Luis Alfredo Sixtos Meliton (Mexican Football Federation). “I think we should add on top of that good decisions. We need to train ourselves, the coaching staff, the players and all the people involved to make good decisions.” Matteo Pincella (Italian Football Federation) agreed with the comment and was keen to add, “Passion needs to go hand in hand with the system and organization in order to put in place an environment in which to chase success”. Another topic that was brought up was resiliency. “Resiliency is really important in life in general and it is fundamental for the football environment too. Learning from failure is important; keep on pushing with the same motivation is crucial to keep on growing” were the words of Tatiana, inspired by the experience of Bebe Vio. Connecting to that, Luis Alfredo added that “Learning and teaching not to give up is really important. We need to have in mind that what we are trying to achieve is possible, and we need to spread that feeling through all the people involved in the process.” “To all this I would add the importance to be flexible” was the comment of Alberto Rios Fernandez (Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa) who went ahead to end the workshop with the thought that “The capacity to adjust to what occurs in our life as well as in the pitch is really important for everyone in general and Bebe was fantastic in this regard. This should be brought to our academy players.” “You have to be able to be positive in life and in sport as well” was the contribution of Maria Ilaria who went on to say, “It was amazing to hear a person that faced so many difficulties in her life refer to herself as a lucky one. That’s something that Bebe shared with us that was great to hear.” “I cannot agree more,” said Christian Domingo Chiu (Real Madrid CF). “Attitude is extremely important.” Jantho highlighted the role of the mind: “The power of the mind is an amazing thing. We really can work to achieve the unbelievable and beyond. I am really pleased to receive this kind of inspiration from Bebe experience”. Difficulties, joy, passion, resiliency, perspective and support were some of the concepts that exalted the Fellows, pushing them once again to a constructive dialogue. The workshop was enjoyable, and the participants would have liked to extend well beyond the time available.