Determined 'baller' battles back from career-threatening injury

file-Donovan Peart

Ryon Jones, Star Writer

One of life's many sureties is that there will be obstacles: but what makes us stand out as individuals is how we overcome those challenges.

Former national Under-17 invitee Donovan Peart believed his football career was over after sustaining a serious injury to his preferred left foot.

"I was playing a game for Manchester parish team against the national team and got a call to come to the national under-17 camp right after that game," Peart recalled.

"A couple weeks after I went back home to play a league game with my team, Star Liner United. I got a serious cut from a goal post. I was out for three years because it was a muscle, so I kind of stopped playing football," he added.

Peart's love for the sport however, saw him return, but he now has to force himself to use his right foot.

"I was originally a left-footer. It took me at least three and a half years to really master my right foot, but it was worth it because after that I have scored some really beautiful goals with it," Peart explained.

"My left leg feels shorter than my right when I am running. If you should see me play then you'd think something is wrong with one of my legs because I run and limp a bit.

trained every day

"A lot of persons who believe they are 'one footed' just need to go training every day and use the leg that they are weakest on and they won't believe how strong it gets."

The Bellefield High past student represented Los Perfectos, Seba United and Sporting Central Academy before leaving the Island in 2008 for Antigua and Barbuda. He currently represents Old Road United in the Antigua and Barbuda Premier League, the Digicel/Red Stripe Premier Division.

He began playing in the Antigua and Barbuda league midway the 2008-09 season, scoring five goals in seven games. He followed that up last season with nine goals in 16 games, helping his team to a second-place finish in the 10-team table. That saw them qualify for the Caribbean Football Union Club Championship, which will see them travel to Jamaica to play Tivoli. Old Road also won Antigua's biggest knockout tournament last season, the super-eight competition. According to Peart, the switch to Antigua was motivated by monetary benefits.

"It was just financial. I was playing and getting regular starts, but financial reasons was why I made the switch to Antigua", Peart admitted.

Peart hopes to return for the second half of the Digicel Premier League and represent Sporting Central Academy, and concedes that Jamaica's league is of a higher quality than that of Antigua and Barbuda.

"The league in Jamaica is higher. I think they don't spend enough time in training here, but they have a lot of guts and heart. I think if Jamaica had as much guts and heart, we would have reached much further based on the talent we have."

The 30-year-old, despite deeming age to be against him, believes that based on the shape he is in, if he plays the right level of football he can make it back to the national team.