Football academies: When chasing a dream becomes a nightmare

Collin Skhoyimue, wearing a white T-shirt, staring at the camera — Collin Skhoyimue, 21, still plays football semi-professionally and coaches the sport [TRY42]

A promising footballer from south London says being told he would never be able to play the sport he loves again was "one of the hardest things to deal with mentally".

Collin Skhoyimue was signed to a League One club's academy just before his 14th birthday and two months into his contract, he was selected to play a match above his age grade.

But that was short-lived as he suffered an injury to the cartilage in his knee during the game and was subsequently released.

Eight years on, Collin, now 21, says it was like "somebody taking his dream away".

It's a familiar story. There are an estimated 1.5 million players playing organised youth football in England at any one time - but only around 180 of those will make it as a Premier League professional.

Collin's love for football started when he was five years old.

"I remember I used to fold up socks into a ball and put it on the floor and play," he says.

He would make football goals on both sides of his house using his mum's shoes and, as the only player, would try to score for both teams.

When he got signed for the League One football club in December 2017, he went home to surprise his mum Sylvia.

Collin says it was "a good feeling that the hard work paid off" and he "proved the haters wrong", referring to the people in his school who had doubts about him and called him names.

League One is the third tier of professional football in England, below the Premier League and the Championship.

"Collin is a very passionate boy, once he gets it in his mind 'I'm going to do this', he's so determined and he'll go for it and get it done," his mum says.

Collin was one of three young boys who were chosen to go on trial for the football academy out of 300 trialists, which he describes as "a dream". He says he used his six-week summer holiday to prepare for the initial open trial.

Two months after being signed, the footballer was given the opportunity to play for the under-15s, despite being in the under-14 squad at the time.

During this match, he was passing the ball from defence and was injured when his knee collided with an opponent's knee during a tackle.

"After that, my football career turned into a nightmare," the 21-year-old says.

Collin Skhoyimue standing on a football pitch in Waterloo, speaking with the U7s he coaches before the coaching lesson begins — Collin coaches under-7s and has a coaching business [Deedee Kyeremateng]

Despite doing rehab with his academy for six months, Collin decided to get a scan with the NHS, where doctors diagnosed him with a congenital discoid meniscus and told him he would need surgery on his knee.

He was then put on the NHS waiting list and nine months later had the operation.

Six months afterwards, Collin's team was about to enter the under-16 season.

However, the academy manager who initially signed him for the club had left the team, meaning the new coach had not seen him play and he was released.

"One of the hardest things about that is not that I got released because of my ability or if I'm always late to training... but the reason I got released was out of my hands so there was genuinely nothing I could have done to avoid myself from getting released," Collin says.

'Just an asset'

"Football is a business," he adds. "Once you're playing and you're well, everyone loves you - but when you're on the sidelines and you're not playing and no longer useful, they'll just throw you out.

"As a footballer, you're just an asset and I think the earlier you realise that, the better."

Despite the surgery, Collin's problems with his knee continued and he underwent another operation. Six months later, a scan revealed that the issue had not been solved.

Collin says his surgeon then told him: "You've now had two surgeries... the issue has not been solved and you will never ever be able to play football again."

Those last 10 words were "one of the most heartbreaking experiences", says Collin.

He adds he did not go into school for a week because "his dream was over".

Despite not playing football for four years, Collin did not give up hope for the game he loved.

Having finally made a recovery to his knee, he made his first appearance back on the pitch in August 2022, despite doctors saying he would never play again.

"That was one of the best days of my life," he says.

He then developed a love for coaching, began managing an under-7s team and started his own coaching business to "be that person that [he] needed when [he] was younger".

After being signed to a new football team and playing for one year for the full-time National League, Collin suffered another injury to his other knee and has been in recovery since December 2023.

He now hosts a series on social media called Injured 2 Pro where he shares his journey.

Collin hopes to use his story to inspire and motivate people around the world.

"I've been through a lot and when you've been through a lot you have a lot to give so I feel like I have a lot to give back," he says.

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