The other weekend I played golf in Valderrama, tennis in Paris and scored the winning try in the rugby World Cup final in Cardiff. And all from the comfort of a living room armchair. My imagination seems to be the only part of my being that is working well these days. God be with the days when I really believed that it could be me out there and that if I practised a little bit harder it would be. Arthritis, knee surgeries, an excessively sweet tooth and a reluctant acceptance of the onset of middle age have well and truly put paid to my lofty ambitions. The writing is on the wall. There have been no 38-year-old, 18-stone Wimbledon champions in the recent past, and I doubt I will make it at this stage. But it has been great fun trying. I would encourage parents to afford all their children the opportunity to engage in a range of sports. If parents aspire to raise their children through to adulthood in a healthy and positive manner, playing sports is the key.
Involving children in sports is probably the greatest single developmental tool to which parents have access. Watching sports on TV is a useful way to introduce children to a range of different sports - so long as the interest does not remain in the TV room. When a child engages in sporting pursuits, there are so many worldly attributes being acquired. The physical benefits are self-evident: a child will learn to be more co-ordinated, will maintain a level of fitness and will enjoy all that goes with being physically healthy.
But the advantages of sporting activity go way beyond the physical domain. There are lessons to be learned about life. Participants learn to enjoy success graciously and to accept that defeat is not the end of the world. They learn that the cliched "taking part" is the most important aspect. And it is. Toiling with the opposition, learning to co-operate with team-mates, overcoming obstacles and being determined in the face of adversity are all essential attributes.
The marketing moguls have conspired to make soccer the most visible of all sports. It is likely that most children will want to pursue this activity, but parents should try to ensure that children try out a range of sports; just because it appears on the television all the time does not mean that it is the most suitable sport for your child. Create opportunities for your child to try out a number of different sports. Indeed, children should be introduced to some of the less familiar pursuits: all forms of dancing, for example, are particularly beneficial activities which promote physical development and co-ordination; chess will certainly exercise the mind; and there can be no more beneficial pursuit than the scouting and guides movements. Regardless of which activity the child chooses, all will help to build self-esteem and confidence. The child will meet new friends and the personality will develop as a result of these experiences. There is no way that a parent can force a child to like a given sport. Many sporting heroes have expected their offspring to pursue a similar career path to themselves, only to discover that, for example, the child has more interest in artistic than footballing pursuits. Encouragement is certainly acceptable: forcing children against their will is not. If a child clearly indicates that he is not interested in a given sport, then drop it. But do try to introduce a different activity. Following the progress of an adult team or individual is a useful way to develop children's interest in sports. They are more likely to want to try it for themselves. Parents must keep a balance between being overly keen and showing no interest at all. Your children will let you know what level of involvement they want. Listen to what they tell you and respond accordingly. Being a supporter of the team on which your child is playing pays dividends well beyond the hour or so you have to stand on a sideline in the freezing cold.
PERHAPS one of the biggest benefits of a sporting culture within the household is that it helps ease that awkward passage through adolescence. If a young person is purposefully engaged in sporting pursuits, this is incompatible with the regressive and rather pathetic teenage culture of hanging out on street corners, disappearing to the outer reaches of the neighbourhood with plastic bags full of cans of beer and ingesting a variety of illicit substances, including tobacco, at a time when their bodies are simply not ready to absorb this type of treatment. Young people who are more concerned about their fitness levels are less likely to be taken in by these darker aspects of the teenage rite of passage. And they are also more likely to have the confidence to say "No" when pressure is brought to bear by the peer group.
On the topic of peer pressure, it was a particularly sad spectacle to see Robbie Williams pulling away at cigarettes on stage in front of 80,000 screaming fans on his triumphant night at Slane during the summer. Whether they like it or not, pop icons have huge influence on impressionable teenagers. It makes it much more difficult for teenagers to avoid these temptations, when people like Robbie are promoting it on such a high profile platform. It seems that if the tobacco companies are being stopped from overtly advertising their poison on billboards, there appear to be plenty of celebrities who are prepared to do the job by holding fags in their fingers while in the full glare of the cameras. Have you noticed how many films have actors smoking their brains out?
How much evidence do you need about the effects of tobacco on a young person's health, Robbie? Promoting your interest in football in public would be much more appreciated. Keep the smoking to yourself.
