Ben Sigmund is an example for every sportsman who ever got a knockback, a don't come Monday or a see you later.
Sigmund, who retired from professional football at the end of the latest Phoenix season, was in Dunedin yesterday to promote his latest book, meet some southern football bosses and train some aspiring youngsters.
Sigmund (35) took a roundabout way to becoming a professional footballer and international, but in some ways that bred the resilience that kept him at the top for so long.
"I never thought I would be a professional footballer. Sure, I made Canterbury rep teams when I was growing up, but playing for a living was just a dream,'' he said.
"I just went Awol from when I was 18 and then turned back up when I was 26. I had a good life in that time, went to all the parties, enjoyed myself. But I lost my love of the game for a while.
"I played rugby for Sumner when I was 23. But when I was 24, 25, I decided to have one last chance, give it one last crack.''
He was lucky enough to be recognised and ended up at the Phoenix, where he spent eight years before ending it a couple of months ago.
"I was lucky that I got picked up but many don't. When I was young, I just did not have the support mechanism around me. I did not have the resilience, a good enough attitude, the communication to help me along.''
That is what Sigmund hopes to move into now he has hung up his boots.
The former centre half wants to help in the personal development of players, not as a coach, but on the mental side of things.
"I got my last chance at 26 and from that moment on I learnt to never give up. Never threw in the towel. That is what I want to do now. Get into the clubs and schools and teach players about resilience, the communication and how to work harder.''
He said obviously not everyone was going to be a top footballer but it was about players getting to their level and playing the best that they could.
Sigmund said that in the end, he had little option but to pull the pin on his career.
"It just got to a point where I was in too much pain. It was too much of an effort to get everything working. I would get up and not look forward to training. Mentally, that was very tough.''
Sigmund, who would play the rest of the season for Cashmere-Technical in Christchurch under his first coach, John Brown, said he hoped his book, Fully Committed - the Ben Sigmund Story, would help inspire people to keep playing and not give up when it does not go your way.
As for the Phoenix, Sigmund said the front office needed to spend some money.
"They are bringing some good young players through and Ernie Merrick is a great coach. But with those young players you also need the hardened experience, the old pros, who know how to win. Maybe they have to spend some money to get them to come here.''
