I'm an only child. The elders had me very late... my father was 40 and mother 36. I won't front and say that I grew up poor, but like every family, we had our moments and went through a few things.
The elders were big on education. I had private school education from nursery school to matric and that was their sacrifice. I always wanted the fresh gear, video games, money to go hang at the mall and run up in the arcade... my high scores were an expensive exercise.
Although I didn't see it then, my parents were quite reasonable. I had to stay out of trouble, get decent marks(I had to do well in maths) and they would meet the odd request... they didn't let it get out of hand. I had "Golden China" video games but I couldn't just get a game a week... that was too much.
The one area where my parent's spent their hard earned money with no question was anything related to sports. I've had tennis rackets, hockey sticks, cricket bats, soccer boots and more... never played rugby.
I did karate from age six to 16(your boy had a black belt), but karate eventually lost to basketball... soccer was simply for exercise(never been great).
My friends know this, growing up I was seriously obese. You know how I feel about food. Karate made me strong, limber and aware but you didn't have to be trim... I still whooped asses, plus Master Splinter had a gut so I was good OK!
Basketball however came with the curse of swagger. It's the gear, the attitude, the flair and hence my tattoo... Poetry in Motion. Basketball became my first love and I worked my ass off to get in shape for it and play at a high level. It wasn't a cheap sport to indulge in and I thank the elders for putting me on.
Lately, I feel as though parents have no interest in their children being active. Parents will put up all the money for Playstation, Xbox and other gadgets. I see kids getting a happy meal but not even playing in the playpen.
How does this relate to life? How does this relate to friendships, relationships and business? Well if you didn't play sports then you don't know how to work in a team. You don't know how to lead or how to follow when necessary. You do not understand that personal sacrifice of individual glory can result in your team's victory.
If you didn't play sports then you will always fight to be the man in your squadron or to have all the attention on you in your female crew.
If you didn't play sports then you will be sulky employee who always complains about your boss, not knowing that excellent results make you and asset and your boss needs that.
Sports teach you how to deal with pressure, how to dig deep and never quit. Sports teach you how to be competitive and how to motivate. I'm glad that my friends are active(most of us) and part of the reason we really get along is due to lessons we had on the sports field. We can't always get along and agree but we're a team and the bond is the victory.
If you have a child or younger sibling that just chills, eats, watches TV and plays video games all day, you a doing that child a major disservice. Take them outside, kick a ball around, get them involved in some sort of extra-curricular outdoor activity with other kids and watch them develop...
Kids that play and love sports are also less trouble... apparently.
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