Sports: Starting Them Young

I am a sports-loving person. I learned how to play chess at age 5; swimming, biking, badminton, darts and basketball at age 9; volleyball, soccer and softball at age 11 and; tennis and ping pong at age 13. I can still remember my very wet shirts and uniforms because of these games I played at school. I could no longer count the many times I was scolded by my parents because I arrived home late. It’s difficult to resist my classmates when they asked me to join them in their basketball games.

Now at 32, I have my own collections of badminton medals and trophies. The last one I received middle of last year. But I am now on a downhill on this particular sport. I retired from basketball and volleyball when I started wearing glasses four years ago. The last time, I passed the ball to the opponent. I am no longer as quick as before when playing pingpong. In fact, I already found it hard to hit the ball, hitting shadows instead. I have not played real softball and soccer after high school. I still play chess but very erratic in my moves.

But I encourage kids to engage in sports. Start them young, so they say. Joining team sports can improve team work and instill discipline among them. And one way of encouraging them is to buy the equipment and play with these kids. At Shopwiki, they have available memorabilia and equipment for team and individual sports. I bought sports equipment in the past as gifts to some of my godchildren. Now, I am looking forward to buy a softball bat, ball and mitts to introduce the sport to the kids at church. Softball is something new to them.