This is my 11 year old son Harrison who I’m super proud of ??
This weekend he had his first competitive rugby match. I didn’t have the opportunity at school to play ??, and subsequently, never really followed rugby so this was a real eye-opener for me. It was an early start arriving in full school uniform (blazer, shirt & tie) 1hr before kick-off (is that even what’s it’s called ????♂?). There was a powerful presentation from the 1st team captain who articulated the benefits of playing rugby & explained how becoming part of the ‘Rugby Community’ is like a ‘Universal Passport for Life’ that opens doors/opportunities all around the world. It was a great match Vs Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield (their kids were an absolute credit) & whilst being physical ???? the respect shown for the rules, the officials & each other was 1st class. Afterwards, both teams got showered, changed back into their uniforms & then enjoyed bacon butties & a drink (non-alcoholic of course ??).
Sunday was a complete contrast! Harrison had a grass roots junior football ?? match. It’s usually an eventful fixture ??, last season one of their players was sin-binned for verbally abusing one of our players. More surprisingly some of the opposition’s parents were doing the same, shameful & nothing short of bullying! Yesterday was no different & the same parents verbally abused our goalkeeper for his height - his heart/brain are certainly bigger than theirs! For the first time in his life Harrison squared up to an opponent, which I wouldn’t usually condone. But when I asked him why, he said to begin with they were calling him Ron Weasley (which even he found childishly amusing ??) but that deteriorated into calling him a ‘ginger t**t - these are 11 year olds! One of their players got yellow carded for giving our manager the ????& at the end of the game their parents took their players off without the customary handshake & it just felt really hostile as we walked through their parents back to our cars!
Luckily Harrison got his revenge as he scored 2 goals to add to the 5 from the last time we played them! He wishes he could play them every week, I certainly don’t!!!
For me this comes down to the importance of discipline & respect in all aspects of life. I don’t want to criticise other people’s parenting, as I’m not perfect & appreciate my kids are extremely fortunate ???? but there is a clear right & wrong way to behave. Instilling this at an early age will have a huge impact on someone’s future conduct. We as guardians set the behaviour our kids learn from & will follow, it’s exactly the same with business leaders & their teams.
I’ve always had a respect in business for the camaraderie between rugby players & now I finally understand why! At the same time I’m not saying this only applies to rugby but the same behaviours apply to anyone who is passionate about an activity/sport that requires respect & discipline like martial arts, dance, scouts/girl guides, DoE etc
