Trailblazing #11 (02/01/2024)!

What I recently found interesting:

What is the purpose of sports?

I speak with many parents about the college sports system in the US and while they are always willing to learn a different perspective, they usually come with one of the two firm beliefs: a) this is an all-around opportunity of a lifetime for their kid, or b) it is the end of their kid’s professional aspirations. In the first few minutes of the conversation, the parents oftentimes share their kid’s successes (sometimes failures too) and discuss the various investments / sacrifices (time, money, energy) they have made to make that all possible, after which they hope to receive advice on how to get into the college of their dreams.

• All of the above makes sense, but my first question is always → whose dream is it and what does the kid really want? And if the kid is present, I prefer to have them answer.

I ask that directly because I believe that intrinsic motivation is the most important key to fulfillment in life. And the three critical qualities of intrinsic motivation are: a) it applies to sports as much as to any other activity in life, b) it is not permanent → it develops & evolves throughout our lives & c) it is not limited to just one activity in life at any given time.

College sports as an example is very close to my heart, because I also believe that playing sports at a US college is one of the best experiences an athlete (of all levels) can have. But … it can only be that if chosen consciously by the kid. Because it will be the kid who will have to:

• a) deal with smaller and bigger injuries,
• b) regularly cope with wins & losses,
• c) pull an all-nighter to finish the assignment just in time to get ~2-3 hours of sleep before the 7 am practice,
• d) say ‘no’ to a friend’s party because they have a match the next day,
• or e) skip professional tournaments due to college obligations.

So what is the role of a parent when it comes to youth sports? After winning his first Grand Slam title this past Sunday, Jannik Sinner said: “I wish that everyone could have my parents because they always let me choose whatever I wanted to and even when I was younger, I played some other sports, and then they never put pressure on myself.” → in my view this quote is not about winning the game itself, but rather about consciously taking ownership of one’s choices. And parents play a crucial role in that process by creating an environment in which the kid, while receiving vitally important guidance from parents & coaches (the value of which should not be diminished), can subconsciously associate playing sports with enjoyment. Sport is both beautiful & cruel in that, with a few exceptions, there is always just one champion at the end of the competition. And while I wouldn’t change that feature for anything, the parents’ role early on (at least until ages of 13-15) is to encourage sports participation to their kids as a way to develop:

• friendships (thru a fun bonding activity),
• an outlet to let go of all fears & stresses of daily lives,
• a healthy lifestyle,
• respect for fair play,
• leadership qualities (thru dealing with ups & downs of the competition),
• and many other skills & values.

At the end of the day, while not everyone can become a professional athlete, everyone can & should reap the intangible benefits of playing sports.

• Because Sports is Arts. We are all creative souls, and just like we freely draw / sing / paint, we also run / jump / kick with a smile on our faces from the day we are born. Some time around ages of 12-13 reality starts to kick in & we, naturally, begin prioritizing (understandably or not) activities that will provide us with the best possible future. And sadly, this is when 70% of kids (as quoted in the leading article) tend to walk away from sports for good. To be clear, I am not arguing that every kid / teen should practice 20+ hours a week, but I am urging the adults to optimize for realizing those long-term intangible benefits of playing sports rather than winning youth tournaments, when encouraging the kids to go to practice. Maybe then, more kids will develop that intrinsic motivation needed to just go out and play sports their whole lives.

Miscellaneous

Personal

In July last year, a friend of mine showed me a tweet which led to a deep reflection on how valuable the time spent with parents is and that there is no replacement for that.

• For better or worse, I have not yet been a big caller. But I really enjoy spending in-person quality time with the people I care about. Even more than that, while family trips (& other cool activities) are wonderful for their own reasons, they are also filled with time-consuming logistics to optimize for, which is why I especially enjoy & value doing the mundane everyday things with my family. As such, on the personal front my January was full of activities like: watching a Liverpool match with my dad, or driving my mom to work or other appointments. And during those (& similar) activities it is not about catching up, nor is it about having the most intellectual or entertaining conversation → it is simply about being together and being ourselves, without any judgement ??
• Separately, I just arrived back in NY after a 6-month hiatus from the US to catch up with friends & pack for my next adventure …

Song Recommendation

“Unstoppable” by Sia -> while my January was intentionally filled with physical & mental rest after quite an adventurous & travel-heavy 2nd half of 2023, this song kept me energized for what’s next ??