When Calvin Sosibo's playing career reached its end in 2012, he was still only 27.
Rather disappointing for any footballer to have a career being cut so short.
At that time, he had been in his second stint at Maritzburg United, which came after having been with Kaizer Chiefs, Bidvest Wits, a stint in Turkey, and minutes in both the U20 and U23 national teams, where he was a bullet down the left flank.
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"A book doesn't have to be 100 pages all the time because at times you end up having more with unnecessary things," says Sosibo, who now runs the CS Academy in Johannesburg, which caters for the 5-13 age groups with specialised training.
"As someone that was tasked with having four siblings, I had to make sure that they transition into human beings and have a better life than I had because footballers are usually chosen to get families out of situations that are unkind.
"So, for me, my career end wasn't intentional.
"It was an injury and then football politics and dynamics which I didn't want to be part of.
"Playing football is a sport and not a full-on career which comes with benefits, so players need to be always aware of that," he notes, while detailing what happened at Chiefs, where his breakthrough never happened.
"For me, it wasn't anything difficult based on my age at the time and the calibre of players that were there.
"It didn't work for me, but being at Chiefs shaped me into the kind of player and person that I am today.
"It wasn't difficult when I asked for a loan so that I break into the PSL team.
"I didn't have any qualms because I was always appreciative of the fact that Chiefs gave me the platform that helped me get to be where I am today.
"I will never ever talk ill of them because it was up to me, and I volunteered to leave.
"The pre-season games that I played made me aware that it is possible to make it, but I was aware that I'm with matured players while still developing at a time.
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"That time, Chiefs had 'Shoes' (John Moshoeu), Thabo Mooki, Patrick Mabedi, Patrick Mayo, Scara Ngobese, Rowen Fernandez, and Cyril Nzama, which was players that were miles ahead of me.
"Was I was going to be patient and win trophies without contributing?" says the well-articulated Sosibo.