Another Sunday. Another tournament. Here I stand on the touch-line once more, watching my boys acquire the battle scars of rugby that represent some vital male rite of passage. I won't pretend I get it but I do know when my eight year old is off-side (because he spends a lot of time there) and I know my ten year old is relatively safe because he's not in the scrum. I also know that it's cold, damp and foggy and, if I'm really honest, I'd rather be at home with the Sunday papers and a hot cup of tea.
And yet it's quite a sociable place to be: we recognize school mates who play for other clubs, people we met skiing. I chat to the mums and dads of our team mates as we cheer them on. It's what we do. It's what Hong Kong does. Organised sport, be it football, hockey or rugby, has replaced our spontaneous weekend footie games on the Common with other boys from the neighbourhood. And astroturf has replaced the muddy grass of home. The irony is not lost on me: now that I no longer have to do the laundry there is not a trace of mud to be found.
And yet today I have the feeling that organised sport has not quite ticked all our boxes. On the way home from the tournament with both boys in the back of a taxi I am inclined to believe our eight year old is trying to tell me something. I am as baffled as his older brother.
1 comment:
I've found life here is much more organised. When my sons did soccer in Scotland, they went along to the community centre, they practised for an hour, then the group was split in two, and they had a game.
Here you have to be in a team. The team meets mid-week to practise (twice or even 3 times as they hit the lofty age of 9), and there are matches at the week-end. Much more competitive. I can see the value, but it does take some of the fun away, particularly for the less sporty. If you're no good, you always play with others who are no good, and in a "less competitive" league, so your chances of improving or just having a good game from time to time are low.
You hear stories of kids not being able to get into a basketball team at the age of 7 or 8, because all the other kids have been learning since they were 4, so are inevitably more skilled, and do better at the try-outs.
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