21 May 2021

Post date: May 23, 2021 8:40:40 PM

I have a friend with two teenagers, one of whom is incredibly naturally talented on the football field and one who would be regarded as not having quite the flair as their sibling. However, it is the second child that puts 110 % into training, into attending extra coaching sessions, who does the hard work of practice, practice, practice, and it is this child who is really going places in the sport.

Interesting. Not everyone can compete at a high level and 'success' may look quite different for each child. The old quote "You don't have to be the best you just need to be better than you were yesterday" and all that..... and what a child can learn from playing a team sport is incredible:

• • They can learn about hard work.

  • They can learn about being a team member, the give and the take.

  • They can learn about what it feels like to win and to lose (and how to do both well!).

  • They can learn to listen hard to their coaches and managers.

  • They can learn to share.

  • They can learn to accept responsibility.

  • They can learn about self-regulation.

  • They can....

The list goes on but a stand out for me is that they can learn about persevering, about sticking with it, about what their responsibilities are when they sign up to be on a team. They can learn about sheer GRIT! This concept of GRIT comes up time and time again. This is why we would love you to support your child through the emotional ups and downs of being on a team and not let them bow out too quickly if it gets hard.... especially as we start this winter sports season.

Thinking back to my friend's children - it really is the perseverance and determination that is really paying off for one of them.... certainly not talent alone. Even though the theory that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master something has been flouted as untrue... good things generally do take time (and plenty of effort!)

Let's try hard to help our sporting young Worser Bay School folk find the joy in small improvements as well as bigger and give them every chance to learn more about themselves.

Here's to a fantastic term of team sports and a wholehearted thank you to our coaches, managers and parent supporters. This too takes some perseverance and GRIT!

If you are interested in taking the GRIT Test for yourself to kick off Term 2, here it is, it's only 10 simple questions.