Pressure Drop

The man…

t’s typical of Emeka Meeks’ modesty that it’s only in passing that he mentions being signed by major league football clubs in England.

The boy…

We had been in touch before meeting up at St Anthony’s Football Club in Kilcoole, going over what our From There To Here chat would cover today.

And from his childhood passion for football growing in Nigeria to his current passion for passing on his love for the game – and his considerable skills – to a new generation, the fecker never once mentioned his glory days as we prepared for today’s interview.

Then again, as the video below reveals, for Emeka, the beautiful game is as much about your psychology as your physicality, and having a distinct lack of ego to counter-balance the drive to be the best is clearly a healthy combination.

Moving from his native Nigeria to sunny Ireland when he was just 11, it didn’t take long for Emeka’s football skills to be spotted, and by the age of just 14, he was playing professionally.

Not long after, the majors came knocking, with the only obstacle in this much in-demand player’s goals being paperwork, as these were the days when visas for international players came tightly bound in red tape.

Since moving into coaching though, Emeka has never looked back. “It started out as just helping some kids get their skillset and mindset more on the game,” he explains, “and then, their friends wanted to sign up. And then more, and more…”

To the point that Emeka’s Modern Legacy Football Academy is busy all-year round these days, with various seasonal camps and after school programmes – the latest batch of which starts in May at both St Anthony’s and Wolfe Tone in Bray.

Just how Modern Legacy got all the way from there to here was the starting point of our fine Tuesday morning video chat though, as Emeka laid out his beautiful game plans…

You can find out more about Emeka and the Modern Legacy Football Academy right about here, and get in touch directly on 0852753173 or [email protected].