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WE have
seen scores of sports clinics, particularly basketball
clinics, being offered to kids especially this summer.
But that
doesn’t mean that learning sports or embarking on a
fitness program is left for kids and teens alone.
This
means that adults, even parents, do have the opportunity
to immerse themselves in sports.
This
writer has noticed that for the general adult
population, participation in sports decreases as one
gets older.
When we
were all school-age students from elementary to college,
there was physical education to get us involved in
sports. I remember that aside from basketball, which
undeniably is the first choice, there are even
gymnastics (not the type we see in the Olympics),
volleyball, football and martial arts.
And even
prior to that, kids are involved in physical fitness
even outside school when they played in street games
when the neighborhood was still relatively safe and
miniparks still abound.
But as
said earlier, a person’s involvement in sports decreases
up to the time the participation is as a spectator
during a game.
There is
a reason for this. Perhaps, adults think of sports as
juvenile, a preoccupation only for kids.
There
is, however, a slight change in previous years when a
lot of people got involved in badminton, even those who
considered basketball as a favorite sport.
Better
is the day when most Filipinos have a sport to call
their own, not only as spectator, but as direct
competitor.
Can we
imagine a society like this?
The
first significant change would be overall health. Most
likely, lifestyle diseases would be reduced. Coupled
with clean living, could you imagine the medical costs
going down and the improvement of mood patterns? There
could even be an improvement on how energetic people do
their jobs at the workplace, hence improving
productivity.
And
these adults, as they become parents, could pass on the
habit or traits to their offspring.
I say
that parents should also be involved in sports and it is
a must for their children.
It
doesn’t matter what kind of sport. Although basketball
might already be too physical as one gets older, there
is badminton, running and simply brisk walking.
Government should see sports not only for its glories in
international competitions, but also for the best
interests of a healthy citizenry. |
