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'Developing' a Passion for Sports

By Karen McNamara

By Karen McNamara

When the child is ready, the sport will appear! My now 14-year-old daughter was the hand-holder/skipper on the soccer field, the flower picker in the outfield, and the manner police on the basketball court (Pardon me, can I steal that ball?). She saw sports as a social event, while her mother – who came from a serious sporting family – was horrified that she did something wrong in her child rearing.

A year ago, her friend asked her if she would please, please, please go to volleyball lessons with her. After reluctantly agreeing, she went. Fast forward one year and Shea is now on a championship caliber team with supportive, determined teammates and a passion to be the best volleyball player possible. Her selection for this already-established team was based on her outstanding ‘timing and footwork’ gained through years of Irish Dancing, which to her was FUN (and to mom was IRISH), but who would have thought there would be a connection with wigs and digs? Certainly not me.

My lesson in retrospect: Expose kids to all types of activities and let it be FUN! These experiences can provide a foundation for future options that incorporate all that they have learned along the way into a passion that is all theirs to run with.

Shea volleyball1

 

So tell us, what sports are your kids involved in?

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