KSP DadSpeak: Why Sports Matters And Winning Doesn’t

On KSP Dadspeak, this dad talks about the importance of sports for kids.

I’ve had a variation of a dream often. My daughter is on a football pitch. She collects the ball high up from a slightly wayward pass. She brings it under her control, twisting from an oncoming opponent, drops her shoulder and taps the ball in to open field before giving it chase and then prods it further down the pitch, running at opponents in her attempt to make for goal.

Sometimes in the dream, she’ll pass the ball right outside the penalty box, only to be given a return pass a few feet from goal and she taps the ball in. I’ll often dream she’s playing golf where I’m her caddy and sometimes, I’ll dream of her as a pole vaulter. And yet, the most satisfying part of this dream is not that she’s winning, but that she’s playing sport. So, while winning and excelling at the sport is up to her, I believe making sure she plays some sort of sport is definitely up to me and her mother. Some of you may wonder if that makes any sense, at all?

Let me explain. If your child doesn’t want to excel in sport, or in art, or music, or even academics, the more you push them to practice or try to enjoy it, the more they’re likely to resist. It was the same when we were young, and that hasn’t changed over the years. So, what can we do?