‘parents become expert at

A CL i.

NITION 9

A PARENT ON THE SIDELINES

9:00 a.m. May 7, 1983 is a time and date
of particular importance in Tumbler Ridge
as it marks the beginning of organized
children's team sports. In this parti-
cular instance, the sport is ball and
credit is due to Mr. Andre Gervais and Mr.
John Talbot for their initiative and
efforts. One look at the children's
smiling faces after practice plus their
eagerness to return at 1:00 p.m. for a
second practice confirmed the success of
the day from the players point of view.

As I watched my own children play, a
number of thoughts passed through my mind.
I realized how much I had missed their
excitement of team involvement during the
last ten months. When your child is part
of a team, you become part of it as well;
it's fun to share in their anxieties,
excitement, and sense of challenge. It's
also fun to go along with cooking blue-
berry pancakes on game morning because, as
everyone knows, blueberry pancakes have
magical powers which go a long way in
ensuring team success. (It's worth noting
that an occasional batch of berries is
totally deficient in mysterious
qualities...).

1 also wondered, as I stood at the side of
the field, how many hundreds of thousands
of parent-hours will be spent with Tumbler
Ridge minor’ sports. There will be
dancing, judo, figure skating, basketball,
swimming, soccer, hockey... and parents
will be there, on the sidelines. Some -
times dinner will be a hotdog from the
concession stand because there isn't time
to go home between sports. Other times
mother will go in one direction with one
child while father runs elsewhere with
another child. Scheduling - we sports
it or else we
don't survive.

And then there's the cost of equipment and
the never-ending growing out of it. In so
many ways, I'm a genuine member of what
is, in my family termed the "McFramst"
trait; I hang onto my money, save all my
material scraps, and make endless soups
out of leftovers. But when it comes to
sports equipment, I shell out with unchar-
acteristic disregard. I suppose it's al]
part of the syndrome of vicarious partici-
pation in your child's sports.

As I watched the boys play ball, I also
thought about the importance of sports in
the development of a child, both physic-
ally and mentally. A good sports program
teaches a child to be aware and proud of
his physical and muscular development.
The team which isn't prepared physically
is at the mercy of its counterpart so each
team member becomes responsible for his
physical conditioning. If nothing else,
the child as an adult will always have a
basis for comparing his body's condition
which, if not totally depressing (and
resulting in severe mental breakdown or
anguish), will encourage him to maintain a
reasonable level of physical condition.

THE TUMBLER TIMES - PAGE 8

Sports programs and team play are import-

ant builders of character as many of
life's rules and attitudes are _ first
experienced in the sports arena. Children

learn that you have to have a drive to win
- but to win as a team, not as a lone
individual independent of everyone else.
They learn to accept constructive critic-
ism, to establish relationships with
authority, and that "you win some and you
lose some". Truly, in a good team sport,
the games children play, adults follow.

And so 9:00 a.m., May 7, 1983 is a parti-
cularly important day for me. I am so
happy to have organized team sports in
Tumbler Ridge and I want to thank in
advance those many unknown and_ future
coaches for their contributions to my
children's adult characters.

HAZARD WARNING: Parents and coaches are
not to take the foregoing too seriously;
the main reason for participating in
organized sports is for players, coaches
and parents to have FUN!

J. Stock

PIZZA. —

HH! ZUZ-Z%Y 22
...I[AKE.- OUT SERVICE

NEXT To THE BANK

NEED A HAIRCUT?

THE HAIRPLACE, located behind the Royal
Bank iS now open. They advertise

"Fuld

service hair and skin care for men and
women", and word-of-mouth says they are
doing a highly professional job. They're
open 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. Honey through
Friday; Saturday - 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Call Edie or Rhonda - 242-3367.