BY Victor Akhidenor
We are not calling for Edwin Okon’s head as Super Falcons coach but to open his eyes to other job opportunities he can pursue – effortlessly.
We are not also saying that Edwin Okon missed his divine calling by choosing to be a football coach; far from it. We are merely pleading, yes pleading, with Edwin Okon to look inward and tap into other talents God has deposited in him.
So, after spending some time with Edwin Okon in Winnipeg and Vancouver during the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada, we can beat our chest and proudly declare that there are at least five Edwin Okons hidden inside the one Edwin Okon we know.
Yeah, this is an obvious one but we still lost valuable time thinking about the best entering point for our beloved coach. Should he start his own church and automatically become the pastor-in-chief or pick up an assistant pastor position in another church?
We spent sleepless night with black coffee deliberating on this and finally agreed that an assistant pastor position for Edwin Okon could cause rancour in the house of God.
Edwin Okon, who became the head coach of Super Falcons in 2013, has grown above the “ass” role after been an assistant coach with the women’s national team as well as coaching the U-20 women’s team. He has paid his dues even before starting his current calling in the Lord’s Vineyard.
Moreover, is there a better prayer warrior than Edwin Okon? Have you ever come across a coach who talks more about God and miracles than the opponent and tactics?
What are the duties and responsibilities of a pastor that Edwin Okon can’t take to like in a fish in water?
We agree that specific duties of a pastor vary by denomination and church, but several biblically-mandated responsibilities are common across most Christian churches and impact the level of a pastor’s success.
Worship
The core duty of a pastor is to lead worship services and who do you think does that in the Super Falcons? Captain Evelyn? Wunderkind Asisat? Edwin Okon!
Counsel
A more day-to-day duty of a pastor is in shepherding his flock and doesn’t that sound familiar to the duties of a coach like Edwin Okon? Or you don’t agree with us?
Leadership
Pastors are expected to lead by example and to challenge church members to follow biblical principles. Can anybody accuse our dear Edwin Okon of lacking this attribute?
Knowledge
Being knowledgeable of the Bible and in prayerful communication with God are both duties and responsibilities for pastors.
Case closed!
Edwin Okon has a beautiful and unique voice and bet you know about this.
We may not have heard him sing like you but we have heard his “product” – the Super Falcons – “enter His gate with thanks giving in their heart”.
And we know it’s only one person that could have put it there – Edwin Okon, the choir master!
But what does it really take to be a choir master? A good one, that is.
We “consulted” Chris Rowbury, a choir and singing workshop leader based in the UK, during our Project Edwin Okon.
He came up with six qualities, which unsurprisingly, Edwin Okon already has!
Enthusiasm
A good choral director needs to have an enthusiasm for choral singing, for song, and for music in general. But more than this, their enthusiasm needs to be infectious and inspirational. They need to sweep the whole choir along with their enthusiasm, excitement and vision.
E is for Enthusiasm. E is for Edwin!
Fun
Any decent choir leader must have an excellent sense of humour and needs to maintain and atmosphere of fun in rehearsal and in performance. Most people join a choir because they want to enjoy themselves and have a good time.
Excellent music-making will naturally follow working with our fun-to-be-with Edwin Okon.
Decisiveness
A choral director needs to be prepared and know what they are doing and what they want to achieve. You can’t be clear if you don’t know what you want! It helps if your decisions are consistent and you don’t change from rehearsal to rehearsal. Choir members need to know that you’re in charge and that you have an end result in mind. Never mind our dear coach didn’t meet his target of winning the World Cup in Canada!
Clarity
A good choir leader will be very clear with their instructions and directions. Choir members need to know what’s happening at all stages of rehearsal and performance without any confusion or ambiguity. They need to know that they’re in a good, safe pair of hands, that the director knows what they want and is clear in passing that information on.
Musicality
A good choral director doesn’t necessarily have to have studied music, know music theory, be able to read music or play an instrument. But they do need to have a deep, intuitive understanding of how music and harmony works. They need a strong sense of musicality.
We particularly agreed with Rowbury on this point during our “consultation”.
Let’s make this point clearer:
A good coach doesn’t necessarily have to have studied football, know football theory, be able to read the game or play it. But they do need to have a deep, intuitive understanding of how music and harmony works. They need a strong sense of musicality.
Like our Edwin Okon!
Patience
Maybe this is the most important quality, especially with a community or non-professional choir. Learning songs and perfecting performances takes time. Not everyone learns at the same rate. Not everyone understands in the same way. Un-learning bad habits takes a long time. Some people may still be learning to sing in tune like Desire Oparanozie, while others are able to improvise harmonies like Asisat Oshoala.
A yoga instructor leads students through exercises that help improve flexibility, strength and balance. With our first-hand knowledge of Edwin Okon in Winnipeg and Vancouver, he fits this bill perfectly.
“Yoga is a mind and body-related practice in complementary and alternative medicine that has roots in ancient Indian philosophy. The word ‘yoga’ means union, and practising yoga is thought to create a union between mind and body,” Ronaldo Dixon, a business administrator, communicator and sociologist from West Virginia University, said.
Dixon gave the job description of a Yoga instructors as one who “helps to guide students in yoga through a variety of postures, or asanas, and breathing exercises referred to as pranayama. Instructors provide hands-on direction to make sure students are performing movements properly and applying the breathing techniques. Yoga instructors may work in a class or in a one-on-one setting.”
Outside the spiritual realm, we were convinced that this job best suited our client Edwin Okon so we went for a second opinion.
Jason Wachob, founder and CEO of mindbodygreen, “spoke” at length on the qualities of a good Yoga instructor.
We listened and yawned through his long talk and picked out five qualities, which again unsurprisingly, Edwin Okon has.
Presence
This is one of those indescribable qualities that you can feel when a great yogi walks into the room – their presence commands attention. Like Edwin Okon walking into a press conference.
Physical Skills
Though you don’t have to be the most gifted physically practitioner to be a great instructor, you do need a minimum skill level to teach at a high level. But sometimes there’s no better way to lead than by example.
And we have never seen anyone better than Edwin Okon. Go and see the match between Nigeria and Sweden to understand what we mean.
Versatility
Just like a great basketball coach is flexible enough to adjust their game plan at any minute, a great yogi spots his or her students’ needs or abilities and can adjust on the fly. They can do this because they’re in tune, and because their teaching has the depth to go any which way.
Details
God is in the details, especially when it comes to the subtleties of one’s yoga. When you practise for a while, it’s the details that take you to new places in your practice, places that you never thought you could get to.
Edwin Okon is a man of God so he’s a man of details!
Music
When Wachob spoke on music, we became more convinced this is Edwin Okon’s best choice outside the spiritual realm.
“I’ll never forget what one of my favorite professors at Columbia, the famous film critic Andrew Sarris, said about the role of music in the classic film The Graduate – how the music by Simon & Garfunkel was a character in and of itself,” he said.
“The same goes for yoga as great music should go hand-in-hand with each sequence and play a role in getting you to where you need to go in your practice that particular day.”
We are sure you have only seen Edwin Okon “work” during the 90 minutes of a match. But being in Canada for the World Cup, we saw Edwin Okon at his very best in another 90 minutes setting.
The Super Falcons played only three matches in the competition and each involved a pre-match and post-match conference lasting 15 minutes. So, that’s 30 minutes raised to power three!
In those 90 minutes, Edwin Okon produced vintage acting skills even the best of Hollywood will find difficult to match.
He had a feeling of ease during the interaction with the media.
Everything came out effortlessly.
His God-tactics; his need to go back to the drawing board; his lack of interest in the FIFA ranking which had his team at 33 in the world.
That was the post-match conference against Sweden.
Everything came out effortlessly.
His God-tactics; his need to go back to the drawing board; his lack of interest in the FIFA ranking which had his team at 33 in the world.
That was the post-match conference against Australia.
Edwin Okon was effortlessly consistent in his delivery. And we think that’s the number quality of a good performer!
We know about other qualities a good actor must have but we re ready to ignore them. Being effortless and consistent in your delivery is enough.
We didn’t include this just to fill up the list; rather, we see a Mike Tyson in Edwin Okon.
And not just because of similar built and height – both of them are fighters. You can confirm this from USA coach, Jill Ellis.
Being a fighter takes a special combination of skill and will, power and finesse and an unmatched physical and mental toughness. Qualities Edwin Okon already has.
Boxing requires a resolve to not only survive, but thrive in any situation you’re faced with. From technique to tenacity, these are the most important characteristics of any great fighter. Qualities Edwin Okon already has.
Like we said in the beginning, we are not calling for Edwin Okon’s head as Super Falcons coach but to open his eyes to other job opportunities he can pursue – effortlessly.
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