I write this with a smile, but surely there’s some irony in an excellent article about the excesses of the Roman Empire, and which concludes with an anecdote about your very own Roman.
A personal best of 2.25 metres in the high jump & a Fine Arts degree represent a duality which is not often present in either the athletics or arts worlds, and of which you, as a parent, can be rightly proud.
(I played a reasonable standard of rugby union and completed a Literature degree, and am familiar with the kind of confusion that this combination causes some people.)
Oh, yes. You got me! Funny thing is that we named our boy thanks to our obsession as archaeologists with all things Graeco—Roman, and as a name that matched his Greek paternal surname!
I got involved coaching little 5 and 6 year old children soccer in my 60s. Why? Because all the studies have shown that children that play sport, particularly a team sport, have better psychosocial abilities, they are more resilient and have improved executive functioning. Plus they have a lot of fun. I am also adopting John Woodens 6 principles to teach the kids respect and responsibility. Those skill sets are interchangeable in all aspects of their lives.
I would be very happy to see some of the kids make it to a professional level. But my main aim is to mentor and coach them to make them kinder responsible and respectful people.
All power to you. Because you are making a massively positive change to those young people‘s lives. I say that as a parent with two children who made it through the most troubling teenage years with barely a hiccup because they were closely engaged with the sporting world, and had no interest in the things that cause such problems for young people. Thank you for making the world better place.
I totally agree. In my teens & twenties I’d try anything. In my thirties I tried volleyball & netball for the first time.
I think the only individual sport I’ve played has been golf. But even the best professional golfers seem to yearn for the camaraderie of team sport, as shown by their keenness to take part in such events as the President’s & Ryder Cups, not to mention the Olympics, where they’re part of an even larger team.
In team sports we learn cooperation & communication, and to take the good & the bad (hopefully with equanimity). As Rudyard Kipling wrote in ‘If’, we learn to “meet with Triumph and Disaster, And treat those two impostors just the same.”
As you say, if we can become kinder, more respectful & responsible people, & at the same time have fun & stay fit & healthy, what’s *not* to like about playing sport?
Thanks for the wonderful glimpse into the background of Bouncy Boy.
We started Flippy Boy off in much the same way. He went to swimming first because I view it less as a sport and more of a survival skill, then to gymnastics because the little bugger would climb and jump off everything, and we didn’t want him to kill himself.
We took him to cricket, where he would cartwheel around the field. He badgered us for years to do more gymnastics and we resisted because we’d seen kids burn out from doing too much too young. Eventually he wore us down and by 10 years old was going 30 hours a week.
Like Bouncy Boy, he’s traveled the world for his sport, and has many international friends among his competitors. The best part is how much they all encourage each other. They cheer each other on in success and commiserate together when they fail.
I love what sport has given my little Flippy Boy, and am proud of what he has given back to it.
You’re an exceptionally good mum, Sally. You and I both know how much of a struggle it can be to arrange family life around nurturing an elite sportsperson. But you’re now experiencing the rewards. He is a wonderful young man, and deserves all the good things that come his way. And you deserve to bask in the reflected glory. You earned it. 🩷🩷🩷🩷
They should have a swimming competition next in the newly renovated reflecting pool! Maybe build an athletics track around the reflecting pool and hold a few running competitions. Next you can knock it up a notch and hold a climbing competition on the Statue of Liberty 🗽
I played A-Grade hockey in my early teens, and continued playing for many years. I loved it. It was the one thing where I felt confident in my ability. I was good at it, even if it was just a local country league.
Of course, it was the Americans who monetised sport. Because their brand of capitalism has no room for anything else but profit margins.
The sad thing about the cage fight on the White House grounds was that everyone with an ounce of critical thinking skills saw it for exactly what it was, and who it was aimed at. The reflected glory would never be enough to rub off on that orange bag of pus because everyone, even his cultists, knows exactly what he is.
As for bouncy boy, he’s certainly played in elite company!!
You were a hockey player as well! So was I. Left half back. Loved it! Although I went to an all girls school where sporting achievement was not quite the flex it was amongst the boys. I’ll always be grateful that my two kids had their father to introduce them to sport as something to aspire to. They both missed all the nasty teen problems because they were so committed to their sporting endeavours, the last thing they wanted to do was get into drinking and drugs.
I write this with a smile, but surely there’s some irony in an excellent article about the excesses of the Roman Empire, and which concludes with an anecdote about your very own Roman.
A personal best of 2.25 metres in the high jump & a Fine Arts degree represent a duality which is not often present in either the athletics or arts worlds, and of which you, as a parent, can be rightly proud.
(I played a reasonable standard of rugby union and completed a Literature degree, and am familiar with the kind of confusion that this combination causes some people.)
Oh, yes. You got me! Funny thing is that we named our boy thanks to our obsession as archaeologists with all things Graeco—Roman, and as a name that matched his Greek paternal surname!
And I looked at the Australian Athletics team for the Commonwealth Games - he must have been very close to selection.
I got involved coaching little 5 and 6 year old children soccer in my 60s. Why? Because all the studies have shown that children that play sport, particularly a team sport, have better psychosocial abilities, they are more resilient and have improved executive functioning. Plus they have a lot of fun. I am also adopting John Woodens 6 principles to teach the kids respect and responsibility. Those skill sets are interchangeable in all aspects of their lives.
I would be very happy to see some of the kids make it to a professional level. But my main aim is to mentor and coach them to make them kinder responsible and respectful people.
All power to you. Because you are making a massively positive change to those young people‘s lives. I say that as a parent with two children who made it through the most troubling teenage years with barely a hiccup because they were closely engaged with the sporting world, and had no interest in the things that cause such problems for young people. Thank you for making the world better place.
I totally agree. In my teens & twenties I’d try anything. In my thirties I tried volleyball & netball for the first time.
I think the only individual sport I’ve played has been golf. But even the best professional golfers seem to yearn for the camaraderie of team sport, as shown by their keenness to take part in such events as the President’s & Ryder Cups, not to mention the Olympics, where they’re part of an even larger team.
In team sports we learn cooperation & communication, and to take the good & the bad (hopefully with equanimity). As Rudyard Kipling wrote in ‘If’, we learn to “meet with Triumph and Disaster, And treat those two impostors just the same.”
As you say, if we can become kinder, more respectful & responsible people, & at the same time have fun & stay fit & healthy, what’s *not* to like about playing sport?
Thanks for the wonderful glimpse into the background of Bouncy Boy.
We started Flippy Boy off in much the same way. He went to swimming first because I view it less as a sport and more of a survival skill, then to gymnastics because the little bugger would climb and jump off everything, and we didn’t want him to kill himself.
We took him to cricket, where he would cartwheel around the field. He badgered us for years to do more gymnastics and we resisted because we’d seen kids burn out from doing too much too young. Eventually he wore us down and by 10 years old was going 30 hours a week.
Like Bouncy Boy, he’s traveled the world for his sport, and has many international friends among his competitors. The best part is how much they all encourage each other. They cheer each other on in success and commiserate together when they fail.
I love what sport has given my little Flippy Boy, and am proud of what he has given back to it.
You’re an exceptionally good mum, Sally. You and I both know how much of a struggle it can be to arrange family life around nurturing an elite sportsperson. But you’re now experiencing the rewards. He is a wonderful young man, and deserves all the good things that come his way. And you deserve to bask in the reflected glory. You earned it. 🩷🩷🩷🩷
You are too kind, Meaghan.
They should have a swimming competition next in the newly renovated reflecting pool! Maybe build an athletics track around the reflecting pool and hold a few running competitions. Next you can knock it up a notch and hold a climbing competition on the Statue of Liberty 🗽
I’d be concerned about the health of the competitors!
I played A-Grade hockey in my early teens, and continued playing for many years. I loved it. It was the one thing where I felt confident in my ability. I was good at it, even if it was just a local country league.
Of course, it was the Americans who monetised sport. Because their brand of capitalism has no room for anything else but profit margins.
The sad thing about the cage fight on the White House grounds was that everyone with an ounce of critical thinking skills saw it for exactly what it was, and who it was aimed at. The reflected glory would never be enough to rub off on that orange bag of pus because everyone, even his cultists, knows exactly what he is.
As for bouncy boy, he’s certainly played in elite company!!
You were a hockey player as well! So was I. Left half back. Loved it! Although I went to an all girls school where sporting achievement was not quite the flex it was amongst the boys. I’ll always be grateful that my two kids had their father to introduce them to sport as something to aspire to. They both missed all the nasty teen problems because they were so committed to their sporting endeavours, the last thing they wanted to do was get into drinking and drugs.