Busy during the pandemic, Daniel Wassef, a resident of Laval, began collecting Guinness records by playing his soccer ball.
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It all started with apparent boredom after back-to-back business shutdowns due to the spread of COVID-19.
Wassef said, “It started during the first booking, and he joined him on the phone. I did it on the street where I live, played a little soccer because I had nothing to do. Instead of watching Netflix and eating and getting fat, I went to my street and played soccer” .
The successes didn’t take long to jump on the 23-year-old, as on April 8, 2020, he hit a feat that earned him his first honour. Throwing a soccer ball into a basketball hoop from a distance of 5.77 metres. An achievement that has not appeared in the logbook before.
“One day, I decided to try to hit the ball in the back with the basketball in the basketball hoop. I finally got it,” he described about what gave him the sting to continue research in the Guinness Book of Records.
A little over a month later, the Montreal local record holder hit the round ball for 1:01 to pass the previous minute mark and take home the second official plate. Then he popped for a third time by bouncing his favorite gym accessory on the tips of his toes 151 times in one minute, the best time.
He received his fourth shield a little over two months ago, on June 21. The challenge was to put the ball between his foot and leg and jump while performing a 360-degree rotation. He performed this skillful maneuver 10 times to overcome the ancient eight mark.
full of hope
Wassef, who aspires to study biomedical sciences at McGill University, said he has never been on competitive football teams. It was rather watching professional football from an early age that inspired him.
“I have been playing football since I was 10 years old. What inspired me at the age of 10 and what made me feel good is seeing the underfoot movements that Lionel Messi and the greatest players in the world were doing. Their shots and their powerful stuff, really amazed me and inspired me to play football.”
On his way to the most amazing achievement, the person whose parents are of Egyptian origin wanted to send a message of hope to all his friends and members of his community.
“If you can make Guinness records, there is no reason why people can’t believe in themselves,” Wassef wisely said. I believe in them and know that they can achieve good things in life.”