Mothers are God’s gifts, and there is no one on the planet who will unconditionally love you but you mother.

Shaneil Buckley, one of the young Reggae Girlz, says her mother, ShuShanne White, is a big motivator and inspiration to her.

Buckley, 17, who scored an impressive 45 goals to lead Excelsior High to their 11th schoolgirl title this season says her mother, above everything — except for God, of course — has been her “guiding” hand and light in a dark place. “My mother is the most wonderful person on the planet.” “She is someone to the rest of the world, but she will always be number one to me,” Buckley told the Jamaica Observer.

“My mother is a very nice person. She is cheerful and she is someone you can sit down and talk to. She’s very special to me. She’s a God-given gift, and I adore her,” Buckley added.

Buckley stated that her mother has been the driving force behind her success in football since the beginning.

“My mother has been by my side since I was a child growing up, not because I am her only kid but because of her personality. She has been there for me since the beginning and continues to do so. She is the reason I am where I am right now, living my dream,” she said.

Buckley, who hails from Newland in Portmore, stated that while her community may not have been the best place for her to thrive, her mother undoubtedly paved the way for her.

“Everyone knows that the community of Newland is not the best place to live because of the violence, but my mother has always been there for me, supporting and guiding me through the difficulties. She put me on the right track, and now I want to make her proud,” Buckley explained.

“I just want her to keep doing good and supporting me because I know one day I will make her very proud. I am grateful for everything she has done for me, and I adore her; I want her to remember that,” said Buckley, who is a part of Jamaica’s Under-20 football team that will depart the island later this month for the World Cup Qualifiers.

Buckley, according to White, means the world to her as she is her pride and joy.

“Shaneil is a very shy girl, yet once you get to know her, she is really humorous, she is highly motivated, and she pursues her dreams. I am always there to encourage her, no matter what the obstacles are, and I always tell her to put God first in all she does. I always make an effort to attend her matches and support her on. It feels great to be the mother of someone like Shaneil.”

White added: “I know she’s very successful and living her dream because I could see at a young age that she had a passion for football.”

She stated that she has been by Buckley’s side since the day she told her she wanted to play football.

“She told me she wanted to play football from the beginning, [and] that was when she was around five or six years old, and I was always telling her, ‘Baby, do track and field,’ but Shaneil responded, ‘No, mommy, I want to play football.’ I informed her that no one ever made a big deal out of football, and she replied, ‘Mommy, I’m going to make football great.’

“I remember carrying her to Newland Basic School and she saw an upstairs house and she turned to me and said, ‘Mommy, I want to buy you a house big like that or bigger because I am going to be a star,’ and from that day on I started calling her my star girl,” White shared.