The very survival of youth sport is reliant on parents - funding, transporting, being on committees, coaching, managing, umpiring, administration, and the list goes on.
Saturday is synonymous with sport in my family and yet it is very much a family time - whether watching your own children, nieces and nephews, parents.
Is winning important?
Is fair play important?
Drug cheats, rascist comments, referee abuse, coach harassment - they have all been in the news this week.
But so has the joy, heartbreaks and benefits of participating in Sport.
Children like to participate in sport, whether they lose or win. It is adults that make an issue of the result. Instead, Mums and Dads, set goals on such areas as performing certain skills, times, or "plays" well. In that way athletes can achieve (and measure if interested) success regardless of the final score. If we win then that is great too ( I am competitive and I do like to win for sure).
Play to perform well - within the rules and within your team structure and ethos.
Ultimately don't we all play sport because we love it!
All fired up after reading an article in The Press this morning.
