Be More than a Spectator

I haven’t watched much World Cup.  Well…none, really.  It’s not that I don’t find it interesting—I actually find it fascinating.

I mean, here’s a sport that is easily the number one sport in the world.  The most participants.  The most spectators.  There’s something special about it, not simply because the rest of the world is soccer crazy.  The international flavor and unabashed nationality make it quite a spectacle.

But I won’t be watching.  It really doesn’t have anything to do with the faked injures that seem to happen in every game (although the athletic trainer in me would be furious if I had an athlete that flopped like that and I ran on the field thinking the worst).  It’s just that it isn’t in me to sit and watch sports much.  Like almost never.  The Super Bowl?  Maybe.  The NBA finals?  Not this year.  The World Series?  It depends.

The Tour de France is going on right now and although I love everything about the bicycle, I won’t be watching much.  When Lance Armstrong was competing, I was glued to my TV set.  Not so much now.  Maybe it was the drugs and scandals and all that but it doesn’t hold quite the draw for me that it once did.  I would rather ride my bike than watch others do it. 

I guess I’m just not much of a spectator.  Never have been.  For many years, I watched my own kids play sports.  When they were younger, I was often their coach.  At first, I wanted to leave that to others.  But there was such a need and the other coaches were just dads like me (or moms) so I jumped right in.

It turned out to be quite rewarding.  I probably got more out of it than the kids.  I hope that I was fair to all and treated everyone equally.  Actually, I know that isn’t true.  I was harder on my own kids than I was on my own.  One embarrassing photo has me scowling at my daughter.  She was probably 8 or 9.  She didn’t deserve that.  She never did. 

I find myself watching grandkids now.  I am much more detached.  I take great joy in just watching them.  Not watching them win.  Not watching them score the winning goal.  Just watching them find joy in sport and movement.

At the youngest ages, the absolute most important thing about sports is that the kids learn to love to move.  The very best player at 6 is not necessarily the very best player at 16.  And we know without a doubt that early sports specialization is a very bad idea for a ton of reasons.

Early specialization increases the injury rate, increases the burnout, and hurts the development of their athleticism.  You want your kids playing lots of different sports.  Again, the emphasis should be on movement.  Active children become active adults.

As for me, I have always preferred to be in the game.  I love my time on the sidelines but I’m working then and part of the team.   I’m not sure what I will do when I do finally give it up.  I don’t think I can sit in the stands.

So where’s this going?  Just this—don’t be a spectator in life.  Don’t let your sports participation be watching the NFL on television.  You don’t have to play on a team or anything like that—just stay active.  Walk, jog, dance, ride a bike, paddle a canoe, something…anything.