A blast from the past
I little something to keep you going until after the next home game!! Enjoy
Last year I did a bit of writing each home match.
Thought I would share it with you.
From September 2010
“What a game”, no not Barcelona’s multi-millionaire stars but a random basketball 3-on-3 at the one of the local public courts. Any given evening, year-round, and all over the city you can find a pick-up game. Folk of all ages 15 – 55 rock up and play, guys on the way home from the office and teenagers wanting to kill time before dinner (boys and girls). Everywhere you look around the city there is an abundance of sporting activity; basketball and volleyball courts (no nets but folk bring their own, just like they bring a ball and a pair of shorts), distance markers for running and walking laid out on the sea front and in the parks, outdoor gyms on the beach, and nearly 100 miles of cycle ways in the city limits alone.
Spain is a country on top of it’s game, so many world titles in the past years in a whole variety of sports , Alberto Contador winning the Tour de France, Rafa Nadal world number 1 tennis player along with European and world basketball and football titles. Why? The weather here is better for outdoor sports, you might think but to be honest it is far too hot outdoors for three months a year and it still gets cold for three months in winter. So why the quality?
On first glance at the schools you would be forgiven for thinking that little or no sport is getting done. Inner city schools have no grass areas to play in, small concrete spaces, but look closer and it's a very different picture. Instead of a kill-joy atmosphere, here if there are windows that might get broken they are covered by a grill. High nets surround the whole play ground to stop those escapee balls getting onto the street. No matter where the school playground is (some are on top of the 8-storey high school) ball games will be played.
This love of sport is continued after school. Until last year I was an English teacher at a local after-school English club. As part of one of the lessons they had to write up a timetable of their after school activities. Monday-roller hockey, Tuesday-basketball, Wednesday-English, Thursday-swimming. Friday-English and Saturdays are spent going to competitions of some sport or dance or whatever. All kids here are at school until later than British kids, and they all go from school to do another educational or sporting activity for another hour or two. The Spanish are appalled at the idea that some British kids only do 2 hours of sport a week.
Curiosity got the better of me and I set the same task to my adult English classes. As I thought, lots of taking kids here, taking kids there, but among that was roller hockey, basketball, swimming, football and dancing with fireworks (this is a whole other story for another time). They all said they loved playing in teams and sport is unquestionably good for you, physically, psychologically and morally.
If we want to get somewhere in sport internationally, be it football or whatever, we have to get the kids and adults of all abilities involved. The current focus on "excellence" is, I think, counterproductive. If enough people are playing, and enjoying sport of all types, if everyone has the attitude that sport is for all and for always, quality athletes will arise. Or we can just try and find a sport no-one else is playing and be world champs in that. Anyone for elephant polo?
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