A teacher communicated with a student’s football idol requesting him to record a motivational message ahead of the A-Level exam period because he was worried after seeing his lack of focus. the sportsman promised to take the student out for congratulatory lunch if he got the grades he needed.
‘Life-Long Evertonian’ Tom Simmons, 18, was having difficulty with schoolwork earlier that year, causing his photography teacher Mr. Wyatt to think something innovative. The photographer thought of taking the help of former football Duncan ‘Big Dunc’ Ferguson, who was currently assistant manager at Everton.
Tom was very happy to receive a personal message from Ferguson, who swore to treat him with some good food if he got the A-Level grades. Sticking by his words, when Tom saw that he got an A in photography, a distinction in media, and a distinction star in science after months of hard work, the Scot turned up to personally celebrate with him.
Speaking in an interview, Tom, who was from Liverpool, said that his photography teacher Tom Wyatt was a good friend of Duncan. His teacher noticed that he was not doing too well in his assignments. So, him knowing that Tom was an Everton fan asked Duncan personally to film a small video for Tom to boost his confidence and motivation.
At the time Tom was completely unaware until Mr. Wyatt messaged him through school asking to give his mother’s phone number where he sent the final video of Duncan to her and then to Tom. He further explained that when he first saw the video he was flabbergasted and laughed from the way he presented it and couldn’t believe that he would set something like that up.
He was unable to describe how happy he was. In the clip, Big Dunc said to Young Tom that he just wanted to wish him all the best. Duncan said that his teacher told him that he was slacking off a little bit in his photography. He motivated him a lot by saying that he should buck up and start preparing to score better. If he achieved that, he would take him to lunch someday. Ferguson then panned the camera around behind him to show off the Goodison Park saying that he should think about it and hopefully he would be back soon.
After getting the message in April, Tom said he started making an all-out effort at his coursework to try and get the highest possible grades. Finally, when he got the grades required, he messaged Tom, his teacher, his grades and he said that he did a good job and assured that he would sort everything out with Duncan.
Duncan messaged Tom first about how he got on with his grades. Tom was elated that Ferguson took the time out of his busy schedule to join him for lunch at a Greek restaurant in Liverpool called Eureka, along with his brother Jack and Mr. Wyatt. The food was amazing and Dunc paid for it all which was very kind of him. He came straight from his training ground to come to see them.
They had a nice talk and sat for few hours talking about football life at Everton, Tom’s future plans, and even Dunc’s future plans. Tom said that he was a very real person and comfortable to talk with.
Ferguson gave him a signed Ferguson 9 shirt. At last, Tom said that he was thankful to Duncan and his teacher for making a moment he would never forget.
