Paul Ashenden: Tragedy brings out best of sport
FOR generations, Australian children have woken, too early, on Saturday mornings with a sense of excitement.
Opinion
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FOR generations, Australian children have woken, too early, on Saturday mornings with a sense of excitement.
They have donned shorts and skirts two or three sizes too big, shaken their mum and dad awake and headed off to the local sporting club.
They gradually pick up the skills of their sport but also, more importantly, they learn precious life skills such as sharing, teamwork and the art of working together towards a common goal. As they grow up, some become serious about their sport.
They spend more and more time at the club.
They adopt role models, create life-long friendships and these clubs become their second family. An elite few will go on to represent their sport at the highest level.
Even for those who do not, the role sporting clubs, associations and communities play in their development as good citizens of Australia is immeasurable.
And, as witnessed after the tragic death of cricketer Phillip Hughes last week, the role these same clubs, communities and associations can play in times of tragedy is similarly immense.
The way cricketers from across the globe rallied around Hughes’s family and friends was as moving as his death was heartbreaking.
We often lambaste our sporting stars when they fail to live up to our sometimes unreasonable expectations.
But if the Phillip Hughes tragedy highlighted one thing, it was the absolutely critical role sport must continue to play in our society.
Be it cricket, tennis, football, soccer, swimming, gymnastics, rugby, netball, basketball, lawn bowls, golf, croquet, hockey, squash, equestrian, boche, motorsports or athletics — we, as a society, must do whatever we can to help them flourish.
Councils must make grounds available, state and federal governments must help maintain and upgrade facilities and schools need to promote sport whenever they can.
The clubs themselves must continue to strive to provide the family-friendly environments which allow young people to thrive.
We owe this to those littlies in the over-sized shorts and skirts who wake up their parents every Saturday morning.
Paul Ashenden is Editor in Chief of Messenger Community News.
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