journalistic piece

Hamilton Marks, Jr.
English 3017 Section 01
Professor: Sally Chandler
March 19, 2007


T.E.A.M
By: Notlimah Skram

The story about to be told is one that exemplifies passion, courage, bravery, skills, teamwork, and motivation in regards to athleticism. This is a story that centers on the spectacle and adrenaline of playing soccer through the eyes of the athletes and the fans.

Today is Friday, March 16, 2007, the day of the tournament or the wage. There are three teams participating in this tournament. They are, The African Team, The Haitian Team, and The Hispanic Team. Each team consists of five players, no substitutes. The purpose of this tournament or wage can be traced to four weeks ago.



It all started when an individual named Hamilton Marks, Jr., a fan of soccer and an excellent player, as he so clearly demonstrated his extraordinary skills during the tournament, sought to organize an event in the Hardwood Arena at Kean University, which would allow him and his friends to get together and play soccer. As he stated “I’m a fan of soccer, and I’ve been playing since I was a boy. I believe I’m very skilled in the game, and I will love to play for Kean University. However, I have a job, and a busy school schedule which will not permit me to do so. I knew my friends love soccer as well, and we all I usually free on Friday. Thus, I decided to plan a scrimmage for Friday, which was the first time that we all assembled to play. Initially, it was suppose to be a one time deal. However, the response I received from my friends was so enticing that I decided to make it a weekly event. Soon, the news of our Friday rendezvous began to spread, inviting both the Haitians and Hispanic, I was shocked as to how many people I saw on the second Friday. The practice was fantastic. There were many people and more teams. There were team consisting of few Haitians and Hispanic, a team of few Africans and Hispanic, and a team of few African and Haitians, and a team of African, Haitian and Hispanic. We

all played together on the same team, working together as one, ignoring cultural differences ego, and over-powerment. That is how a team should be.

However, I witnessed something that shocked me! On the third Friday, we the Africans came in early as usually, and were the first on the field. We decided to play around with the ball in preparation for our usual scrimmage while waiting for the rest of the gang. Soon after the Haitian arrived and bundle up together, sitting and washing us play. The Hispanic also arrived, but with a ball and started playing around amongst themselves. When the practice started, I came to see a team of Africans playing against a team of Hispanic, and later a team of Haitian playing against a team of African, and a team of Hispanic playing against team of Haitian. For me it was very awkward. However, we dwelt with it and decided to play. After the scrimmage was over, suddenly, out of nowhere a Haitian said we should play for money to know who the best is. The African second the opinion, and the Hispanic went along with it. This was how the tournament of $250 started.”


There is a struggle of power in almost everything we do. That struggle exists between men and women, boys and girls, blacks and whites, Protestant and Catholic, heterosexual and homosexual or lesbians. Today we bare witness to a power struggle in sport (i.e. on the soccer field). However improper this statement is, we are here to put one group of people over the other as the players themselves phrased it.

The first teams called to action were the African and the Hispanic. REFEREE- “Gentlemen! The rules are simple. A team of five against another with five minutes to play. You loose a game and you’re out. I will pay attention to fouls, so play fair and play well. Let’s play!” The Hispanic with an excellent first touch. Three minutes after and no goal. The brink of the fifth minute saw a goal from Hamilton Marks, Jr., a member of the African Squad, against the Hispanic. When the time elapsed, the Hispanics were out of the tournament or wage, leaving the African a Haitian to battle. Again the referee is called to action. “Gentlemen! The rules are simple. A team of five against another with five minutes to play. You loose a game and you’re out. I will pay attention to fouls, so play fair and play well.

Let’s play!” The Haitian with a captivating first touch and game strategy. Their strategy was to work as a team, which was what the African were doing; however, play with excessive force inorder to score. Eventually, their excessive force overpowered their idea of teamwork, causing Hamilton Marks, Jr. to score his second goal in the tournament and his first on the Haitians. The Haitian lost two-zero, second goal scored by The African Captain, Michael Enwere.

The tournament is over and the Africans earned the bragging rights and the cash price of two hundred and fifty dollars. When interviewing Captain Michael Enwere about the outcome of the tournament, Mr. Enwere said, “It was a great tournament. We knew what was at stick and we tried to keep that in mind as we played. We also applied hard work and an acronym called T.E.A.M, meaning, together every achieve more to our strategy. If you can learn to work together, with skills and passion for what you do, you are untouchable. You’ve heard it folks! Those were the inspiring words from the African Captain Michael Enwere. Now we’ll hear with the man of the day Hamilton Marks, Jr.


Hamilton, do you have something to say to the folks and your fans out there?

“Well I’m glad this is over. It was awkward that we had to separate ourselves and compete when we could’ve just played ball. Maybe we needed it or maybe we didn’t, and that’s something we will find out as time goes by. Nevertheless, soccer is a universal language. It is a sport played in every part of the world uniting people of all kind. Soccer brought us here together as one, and soccer will keep us here as one. Thank you.”

There you have it folks, words from the man of the day, Hamilton Marks, Jr.

The tournament at Hardwood Arena was a success. It introduced us to three power ethnic teams who demonstrated their way of playing soccer. It was a fascinating experience to see athletes battle it out because of what they love. However, when you stop playing for what you love to play for what you can get, you are no longer playing for the right reasons.





Most cases of athletes getting in trouble sometimes have something to with this. They stop playing with passion, and motivation to playing with ego and only for profit and fame.

The tournament at the Hardwood Arena taught us that we should play because we love playing not because we are trying to prove a point. Moreover, separation creates

awkward feelings amongst people even friends. This is Notlimah Skram reporting. Channel 71 News.