I couldn't write my memoirs without a considerable portion devoted to sport.
Sport represents so much - fitness , community, conflict resolution, friendships, commitment, team work and the list goes on. I guess I put so much emphasis on sport some would say that maybe as a family we over did it😀😳
Personally I found commitment to sport took me away from everyday stress and was always full of joy and involvement despite occasional bouts of nasty politics.
My family joke about the 6 000 sports played during their childhood😀
How did it start?!
I don't want to challenge Roots in the saga arena so I'll try and paraphrase.
The kids were energetic and activity at the park all too soon became a little passé.
Ben loved BMX and we'd regularly frequent a nearby BMX track but as a sport I believed it was too driven by trophies so we looked elsewhere. We found Coolbellup Soccer club and although Ben was too young to play competitively he trained and eventually he played as did his sisters until we all needed to head off to a bigger club and found Cockburn where I trained Sian's team and the girls played in boys teams and Ben eventually graduated to the men's game. Sundays in winter were preoccupied with four different games and over time Ben , Peta and Leigh were selected for state teams and that meant club and state training during the week. Leigh was eventually identified as talented and toured 4 times in one year , at one point the youngest in the state women's team.
During winter the girls played netball. Every Saturday morning we would head off to Gibson Park in Fremantle , play three games and good to go with athletic leotards under netball uniforms we would race to cross country competition - some weeks race walking , alternative weeks - running. Some comps were as far as Mundaring or Joondalup so it made for a long day, then backed up with a Sunday of soccer.
Kept us off the streets😀
Over the years we belonged to East Fremantle , Armadale , Fremantle Spirit, Murdoch, Queens Park, Beeliar, Northern Redbacks, Cockburn, Coolbellup, Joondalup soccer clubs and I am eternally grateful for parent support who helped me with transport and became like second family.
Other sporting ventures:-
Basketball at Cockburn at 6 in the morning when even Ben was so small the coachs had to lift them to reach the ring.
Gymnastics at PCYC
Rythmic gymnastics when Sian was expelled for getting possessive with a ribbon😀
Tae Kwon do for Sian who got a brown belt before she retired 😀
We used to go roller skating every Saturday morning at Kwinana when Leigh was about 18 months old.
Tennis at school and at Fremantle tennis club.
My biggest over reaction to the importance of sport was my attention to swimming.
Not being able to swim myself I was determined that each child should be more than competent.
They all started at Fremantle pools before they turned 1 and after that the lessons never stopped.
Every summer at Point Walter jumping on a bed of jelly fish or Coogee Beach fighting off stingers.
Every spring - lessons at Milne pool in Spearwood.
Then private lessons with a sun baked lady called Jean who rewarded good performance with unbelievably tasty toffee.
They powered through the lessons so rapidly that time stood still for a while until they were old enough to go for their bronze medallion.
I still remember the day that Ben and Peta had to complete the rescue portion of the test with Ben easily lifting Peta onto a paddle board with Peta on the other hand struggling to negotiate Ben out of danger onto the board - her arguement 'you could have helped me' and his response - 'what if I was really drowning!?'
The other most gruelling commitment would have to have to have been - athletics.
Every Saturday over Summer - sometimes all weekend .
Being Centre chairperson I felt responsible for setting up every Saturday so with stunning regularity we got up at 5 30 and headed to Santich Park with the first task of the day being -'putting out the flags'.
I had to use some bargaining power so used a treat at the canteen as a lure - needless to say I had a fairly significant tab every Saturday afternoon.
A vast range of track and field events this sport is the one I rate most for replicating life skills.
Other participants became life long friends and a community was formed, based on a common goal.
Disappointments overcome, hard work rewarded- athletics really was a microcosm of a wider society and though time consuming - very satisfying.
Peta played beach volleyball for a school team.
They all participated in Glory zone with sessions taking place at Lords in East Perth at 6 in the morning.
I feel I have forgotten some sporting involvement but I guess you get the idea.
It was a big part of life and fitness and fun still plays a big role in our lives.
I love the fact that my family have diverse skills and have confidence to try anything and experience new adventures without fear or trepidation. They have made life long friends and most importantly have memories that last a lifetime - these memories often form a lion's share of dinner time conversation- a favourite is the never ending tale of who won St Jeromes open girls Triathlon at the ski park - Leigh or Peta 😀😀
If you can play sport you can do anything - a great way to meet people and make new experiences and learn for life 😀
Comments