At the age of 7, my nephew Felix Wilson was diagnosed with Perthes Hip. He underwent major surgery and was confined to a wheelchair and crutches for two and a half years. During this period he could not play sport.
In January this year Felix, now 11, represented Victoria at the Australian Futsal U12 Championships in Sydney, and got to wear the Captain’s armband.
Felix is modest and unassuming. He doesn’t talk much about his sporting exploits, but last December he brought home from school the following piece of writing he’d done for an English assignment:
Soccer
Everyone has a home.
But mine doesn’t have
a roof it has green grass with
two goals at either end.
It’s where dreams come
true. It’s where hearts
are broken. And it’s
Where I belong.
From Felix
About Dave Goodwin
Dave Goodwin is a Queenslander by origin. He was born in the country town of Kingaroy but he’s been based in Melbourne for the past 40 years which makes him a fish out of water. Along the way he’s developed a passion for the Hawthorn Football Club. His musings on Aussie Rules (including applying nineteenth century bush ballad forms to sports reporting) were part of The Footy Almanac editions from 2007 to 2015. As a cricketer he played in four losing grand finals in Melbourne’s Mercantile Cricket Association for the Yarra Park Club -– albeit he's taken four career hat tricks, bowling leg spin. He’s an appreciator of athletics and of the noble art of boxing.
Great stuff, Felix. Keep up the sport. May it always bring you great comfort.
In BREAKING NEWS Felix found out yesterday that he’s now been named in the Australian Futsal team and is touring to Malaysia in November. Incidentally, Felix made an appearance in my Round 3 match report in the 2012 Footy Almanac (Hawthorn v Adelaide), when he was introduced to the concepts of socialism and Jarmanism.