Let children be

The City Times covered the Inter-primary Athletics on Friday, which was, for the most part, a heartwarming event.

Hundreds of eager children with broad grins on their faces descended on the sports field at Hoërskool Brandwag.

They were all dressed in their schools’ athletics kit and stood in solidarity in their support for their peers, who were taking on rival schools.

There is nothing wrong with a bit of healthy competition.

The little ones were keen to show their mettle against their opposition, and were well backed by parents and grandparents in the stands.

Some of the proud parents screamed their lungs out from the sidelines as their pride and joy sped towards the finish line.

I was approached during the morning by the father of a Laerskool Rynfield pupil, who pleaded with me to photograph his daughter with my over-sized camera lens.

When the time came, I made sure I made good on my promise that I would get “the shot”.

The little blonde girl won the race and broke a record.

After her sterling achievement, she rushed to her mom and dad and jumped into their arms.

When the proud father put his daughter back on her feet, he and his wife were both teary-eyed.

It was heartwarming to see the parents’ adoration for their child and utter sense of pride; evident in their emotional state.

It was clear that the girl had tons of fun competing in the sprint and was fortunate to have parents who cared for her and spurred her on.

As great a moment as this was, I am sure there are parents out there who demand of their children to participate in a sport and place significant pressure on the youngsters to shine out on the sports field or in the classroom.

The love for sport needs to be initiated by the child and not forced upon them by a teacher, coach or parent.

The parent, coach and teacher should simply be there to grow the young ones already rich desire to become the best at what it is they are doing.

There are, however, times when parents get it horribly wrong.

I can remember when I played cricket at primary school.

One of our star batsmen would cry when he was dismissed cheaply; in my opinion, largely due to his father’s hawk eye on his child’s performance.

While covering the athletics on Friday, I noticed some of the school coaches and teachers barking orders at their athletes from the sidelines and almost popping veins in the process.

I do recognise the importance of the screaming and motivation as a means to rev you up and bring out the best in you, but, let’s be honest, these are primary school children.

Developing sports stars of the future certainly does start at a young age, but I could not help but feel sorry for these children as they were commanded to run faster, breathe deeper and not forget there is only another 300m to go.

I am sure a lot of these children do have ambitions for great sporting heights, but I am sure most of them were just too happy to miss a day of school.

Before you impose immense pressure of these children, make sure they are living out their dreams and not yours.