Raising kids is running a marathon. On this Mother’s Day, I reflect on all the shorter sprints my daughter Isabella and I have shared in her 15 years. Some of those are sport-related, and some are just about life.
I have integrated sport as an essential part of Isabella’s life from the moment she could walk.
I was a single, sport-obsessed mum for the first nine years, so developing Izzy’s sporting side was very important. Sports help with tuning physical skills, making new friends, learning teamwork, and boosting self-esteem. As Novak Djokovic says, “Sport helps kids view competition as opportunities to learn from success and failure.”
Learning from failure in sports is an important life lesson that teaches grit, resilience, and focus. I wanted Izzy to learn the social sports, which consist of tennis, swimming, skiing, golf, horseback riding, and sailing. If she can perform them at a respectable level, it will serve her well later in life. I have benefited greatly from learning these skills as a kid.
Izzy and my holidays were often sporty adventures. It is fun to witness her sense of competition at the family Christmas ski race. She works hard to try and win her age group. I am an advocate for the importance of healthy competition. My competitive nature has gotten me through some of my darkest moments, including climbing Mount Everest. When I felt like giving up, I channelled my thoughts toward the woman who held the previous speed record completing the Seven Summits in 14 months. I was focused and driven to beat her time. I used this healthy competition to push myself harder and further out of my comfort zone. Having a goal-driven, competitive nature provides motivation and life skills which I'm trying to pass on to Izzy.
She and I have shared many fun holidays where we play tennis, ski, surf or go galloping across deserts. Being amongst nature and exerting oneself brings Izzy and me some of life's most fulfilling experiences.
Adventures and sports keep kids on the straight and narrow during the nightmare teenage years where they like to experiment.
Not to imply that sport is a total cure for mother-daughter relationships and the teenage years. I regularly suffer through tantrums, rude behaviour and lack of focus. I have had sand thrown at me, spent hours in the sea with shrivelled fingers teaching wake surfing and chilled to the bone on the ski hill. Instilling a daily exercise routine in a hormonal sloth with attitude is a constant battle. Parental perseverance is key, as once the sloths start to move, the benefits are immediately evident. Separated from iPhone screens filled with Snapchat and Tik Tok, the fresh air activities work wonders.
As a Laureus Sport For Good ambassador, I take to heart the words of Nelson Mandela at the founding of our organisation: “Sport has the power to change the world, It has the power to inspire, It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to the youth in a language they understand.”
Izzy and I understand each other through the language of sports while enjoying so many adventures and happy times. Shared sport is one of the great joys of life— happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing mothers.
Also see: Annabelle Bond on the physical and mental benefits of running