As a parent, I feel it as my duty to motivate my child to not only take up at least one extra-curricular activity but try and excel in it through sheer hard work and utmost sincerity. I strongly believe that this one activity will ultimately help the child to understand the value of hard work, something to turn towards during low moments of life and also for its intrinsic joy.
Since their childhood, my two daughters have shown a natural flair for sports during their school sports meets. We could not let go of this and decided to give a proper direction to this liking of theirs by first identifying the sport they liked the most. To start with, we enrolled them as many sporting activities as they wanted and gradually came to a mutual understanding that running is what they both loved to do. In the beginning, running was a mere verb for us but later we realized that this was one of the most technical sports. Then begun our search for a good coach and we soon realized that a ‘good’ coach may not remain constant there is always a better coach who can give more to the child. However, this mainly depended upon our daughters’ involvement and their improvement in sports. Getting my daughter trained by the best coach also involved lots of family coordination and individual sacrifices. This mainly involved continuous and consistent training with the coach by letting go of all the simple pleasures that they enjoyed such as spending time with friends or even going to a mall. And this rigor soon started showing results and my daughter begun to win medals.
After about two years of hard work, state level medals started appearing on the walls of our hall ! This achievement of theirs not only made us proud but we observed a profound change in their personalities. These wins grew their confidence by leaps and bounds.
Thankfully, my daughter didn’t take it easy after these achievements and continued to work hard till she got selected at the CBSE nationals which were recently held in Chhattisgarh. About 2700 athletes from 200 schools participate in this national event. Participating in the nationals was kind of an eye opener but a learning experience for me and my daughter. Although we didn’t manage to secure any medal at the nationals, the fierce competition levels at these tournaments amazed me. The medal winners were immensely happy for their well-deserved glory but those who tried their best and still missed the mark made an impression too. Although the preparation level of almost all the athletes was similar, the one who won seemed to be different from the rest. Surprisingly, the winners usually came from relatively modest backgrounds and simpler schools. However, last minute injuries, unsuitable food, uncomfortable stays and other distractions also spoiled chances for several deserving athletes.
Another important learning from the nationals meet was to focus on a single event instead of multiple events and train with high intensity for only 2-3 months before the final meet. Training round the year for this event may not be advisable. Winning a medal in the nationals is difficult but certainly achievable.
I strongly believe that this one activity will ultimately help the child to understand the value of hard work, something to turn towards during low moments of life and also for its intrinsic joy.
