On the surface, Morecambe captain Farrend Rawson concedes, he can look a little intimidating. He is 6ft 4in tall, has a shaved head and a beard.
He possesses what he describes himself as a “grumpy resting face”, something I probably wouldn’t have been brave enough to tell him 20 minutes earlier.
He is a League Two central defender and that means heading a lot of balls and winning a lot of challenges. On first viewing, Rawson is adequately equipped for the task.
That appearance – “the one thing I can’t really control” – is part of what fuels his determination to help others off the pitch. All footballers do fine, unheard work in communities that we too rarely hear about, but Rawson is still an exception. He was recently recognised as the EFL League Two Community Player of the Year.
Everyone at Morecambe, and in Morecambe, would concur. Rawson has become a key link between football club and community. He does PE lessons, visits soccer schools, offers advice to potential academy players and goes into schools. He spends time in Morecambe’s Extra Time project, a sanctuary where over-60s can socialise.
He has visited a local hospice to see two patients receiving end-of-life care. He organises collections for toys for children in a local hospital and presents for the staff.
On a matchday, supporters regularly pass comments to the club about the captain’s readiness to meet supporters before and after the game, socialising, taking pictures and having conversations about their Morecambe stories.
“You want to leave a mark on someone,” Rawson tells i. “That’s not just footballers; it’s anyone who has been seen as successful or is in some way – and this is weird for me to say – idolised. For me, it’s the little satisfaction you get: smiles on faces, people genuinely interested in what you do.
“It’s about time. The easiest thing to do sometimes is to go into your pocket, but what’s a 10-minute conversation, a high-five, asking how someone is feeling? It’s not much.
“And it helps if you can learn even one per cent of somebody else’s experience. It can only help you grow as a person. I’ve met some inspiring people along the way.”
This stuff is easy to do when things are going well; less so when times are hard. Morecambe were relegated from League One last year.
Last week, Morecambe were deducted three points for paying players late. Rawson called on the owner to sell and give the club a chance.
“It’s not easy at all,” Rawson says. “Footballers are in the public eye; you’re always being judged. I’m the lucky one really – I see the community work as my escape. The club is brilliant at that, they don’t overwhelm us. But we get around the whole of the area and they get the best of every person.”
At 27, Rawson is an old head on younger shoulders. Nottingham-born, he came through the famous Pelican club as a striker or midfielder and only played as an emergency centre-back for Nottinghamshire boys. After four games he was scouted and signed for Derby County.
Almost a decade on, this has been a nomadic football life: loans to Rotherham, Coventry City and Accrington, moves to Forest Green Rovers, Mansfield Town and now Morecambe but he was determined to use it to its furthest advantage.
He talks of feeling like Santa Claus in the children’s ward when bringing toys, of school visits when he felt 10 feet tall because the kids were screaming his name, but one day will always stick with him.
“I met two lovely gentlemen in a hospice who were receiving end-of-life care, met all of their families too,” Rawson says.
“One had supported Morecambe all of his life. He went to all the games when we went down, so understandably he was battering me! Unfortunately, one of those two gentlemen isn’t with us any more.
“Those are the times when you walk away understanding so clearly how precious life, memories and family are. What we’re doing at Morecambe, which isn’t the biggest club in the world, can still produce joy within so many people’s lives.
“That touched me a lot. To be chosen to go and speak to those gentlemen, and for them to share their memories of me and of Morecambe, fuels everything else.”
Football never stops, nor the pressure to perform. A new owner may come along soon. Rawson has years left but he accepts he will need a plan one day. For now he is happy to keep doing what he’s doing: using community action to make a difference.
“It’s simple: I want to try and do what’s right,” he says. “We’ve all been there. We’ve all had a situation in our own lives where we spoke to someone as a kid that we remember a decade later. If I can provide one of those moments, amazing.
“If they remember it, brilliant. If they immediately forget my name and never watch me play, that’s fine too. I’ll remember it and that’s all that matters. Footballers come and go. They’re remembered and they’re forgotten. As long as I can help people, that’s all that matters to me.”
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/Qa5ms4I
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