That would be me ... when it comes to sport.
Kate and I were watching the Bills versus the Rams before dinner. She asked what sport was like football and which sport was like hockey (good Canadian kid!)
Well - rugby is like football, but we don't really play much rugby in Canada (or at least on television we don't)
Hockey is probably the most like soccer on land.
She then asked if skating was a sport. Sure, I said, it is like ballet on ice. I haven't brought up ringette - not hockey for girls, but which we have a sizable contingent in my area.
Is swimming a sport? Well of course - you can race in the Olympics like a foot race or how about syncro swimming ... just like ballet in the water, or perhaps skating soaking wet. Gymnastic didn't quite fit into the discussion. Or, how about water polo - the sport which just baffles me - it would take a ton o'energy to compete in that sport, and hopefully worthy of the silly hats. I only played inter-tube water polo in non-competitive intramural at university and can only imagine the real thing.
The whole idea of sports and parenting has me a bit baffled. I think team sports should be encouraged as a social outlet and a skill involving physical activity. I didn't play on team sports for a whole host of reasons which weren't at all a poor decision by my parents - but the fact is I am not at all sports oriented.
I know a few kids that do an exceptional level of sport activity each week (i.e. three intense training sessions, or multiple intense sports). I am not quite sure what befuddles me more - the concept of a child of seven, eight or nine being that physically active or the idea that perhaps this could be the norm and I have four kiddos and work full-time.
And, for the record, I have yet to mention Canada's national sport, lacrosse, (hockey on land, with a pinch of 'how much pain can you endure when hit by a ball pratically made of cement') for which I will always have the honour to have learned from an American no less!
2 comments:
mmm I suppose it depends a little bit on a parents' own experience...I was very active at school and can not imagine E not being active in more than one sport. But then again, he is a single kid and most of his activities happen in school hours...and I suppose the bonus point is that he is a very enthusiastic participant that would do absolutely every activity the school has to offer (and there are at least two for each day of the week).
I draw the line at one sport at a time. Anything more is too much I do believe. That's all that I can handle with one kid in sports. Who knows what will happen if they all choose to join something eventually.
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