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Black Stars captain Andre Ayew was a guest lecturer at the University of Ghana psychology class on Friday.
The 34-year-old guest lectured for the two-hour class on numerous topics relating to psychology.
Ayew addressed issues such as joining the Black Stars team as a teenager, being a leader in the team and how he has faced adversity and bounced back during his career as an athlete and human as a whole.
The Ghana international conveyed his delight to be allowed to speak to the students.
“It was a great moment for me to have the opportunity, the honour to be here today…It’s not everyone who has this opportunity,” he said.
“Honestly I loved it. I loved the experience, I loved the way the student’s mentality is. I have seen and I can confirm that a great job has been done in there…For me, it was just great to come and have a moment like this to share my experience, my ups, my downs.
“As for today, it was to give a glimpse of hope of what is being mentally tough and mentally strong.”
“We can’t be going back and forth with our own people”
Ayew also advised the students not to succumb to pressure in their pursuit of achievement because it is an unavoidable stage of life.
“It is not just in football but everything around you. Whatever you want to do, there will always be pressure when there is a lot to do,” said Andre, adding, “But if you want to achieve anything, then you will have to be able to deal with pressure because that is where the real work starts.”
“All this is part of me growing up and part of me becoming the man I wanted to be because after football there is more life to face and other things I, as a person, want to achieve in football.”
Ayew was at Legon on the invitation of Dr. Collins Badu Agyemang, Psychology Senior Lecturer and facilitator for the Sports Psychology class.
Dr. Agyemang thanked the Black Stars forward for coming through to share his experience with his students.
According to him, the experience shared will go a long way to inspire the next generation.
“For me, I must say it’s a humbling experience. Over the years, we have had guest lecturers come to class but an active athlete and an elite one, of course, Andre is the first and it is not surprising he was awarded the ABC Mental Fortitude award,” Dr Agyemang said.
“He’s done a lot to bring the relevance of sports psychology to life. He’s clearly shown that athletes, especially from a budding moment go through a lot of challenges and they will need support to shape their mindset and develop their level of resilience.
Some of the students who sat through the class were thrilled to have Andre Ayew speak to them about his experiences.
Ayew was presented with a framed citation at the end of a two-hour class and was honoured, becoming the first recipient of the ABC Mental Fortitude award in recognition of his mental toughness and all-round resilience.
source: myjoyonline
