Learning to Grow by Mohammed

Learning to Grow by Mohammed - August 2026 Scholarship Essay

As a goalkeeper, I received a piece of feedback early on that changed how I approached not just soccer, but learning in general. My coach pointed out that I was excellent at making saves but weak at communicating with my defense; I was solving problems reactively instead of preventing them. At first, I took it personally. I saw myself as a strong keeper, and the criticism felt like it undercut that. But sitting with it, I realized the feedback wasn't about my ability. It was about a blind spot in how I used that ability.

I started treating every training session as an opportunity to organize the defense out loud, even when it felt unnatural at first. Over time, it became instinct, and I was eventually named team captain, a role that required exactly the kind of proactive communication I'd been missing.

That experience reshaped how I take feedback generally. I stopped treating criticism as a judgment on my competence and started treating it as information about a gap between where I am and where I could be. When I founded the Al Jawhara Cup, I applied that same mindset, actively seeking input from volunteers and past organizers rather than assuming my first approach was the right one, and adjusting logistics based on what wasn't working.

Now, my default response to feedback is curiosity rather than defensiveness. I ask what specifically prompted it, and I look for the actionable step inside it. That shift, from taking feedback personally to using it functionally, has become one of the most useful habits I've built for continued growth.