I have never been the sporty type, despite my attempts. In high school I gave Cheer-leading a go, but I was so uncoordinated that I kicked myself out of the team as a favour to the rest of the members (no jokes). Next, I signed up for the girl’s mini cricket team, but when I ran away from the ball instead of for it, the captain very gently advised me that perhaps this sport just wasn’t for me. And then; Netball. Perhaps I thought throwing a ball into a hoop would be easier than catching one and with this attempt I actually made a team - the D team! Yes, they made up a D team especially for those who were hopeless at the game but wanted to play nonetheless. I have to add that our poor little D team never won a game, not one! A for effort, right?

While my two left feet and butter fingers got me nowhere and a sporting career was definitely not my cards, what’s important is that I tried. I put myself out there, I learnt some new things and I accepted failure – and then grew from it. Sport was just not my thing, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to at least give it a go. For this, I have my parents to thank as well as those teachers who gave me a chance, even though they knew that there was no way I was going to ever make the A team.

My parents had me when they were very young (I was a bog woopsie). This forced them to put their tertiary educations aside and instead they took on blue-collar jobs that kept them busy for the better part of each day. They worked extremely hard and when they came home, there was more to do. They worked as a team to clean the house, make dinner, bath and prepare their kids for bed, collapsing into their own beds late at night. Although they had no impressive qualifications, they worked hard and were soon rewarded with higher positions that earned them a more comfortable living.

Their hard work and determination did not go unnoticed. Both my sister and I absorbed this into our beings and by the time we entered high school, teamwork and ambition was in our blood. Yes, we did the usual teenage thing and watched tons of TV and often cooped ourselves in our rooms listening to music, but we also “put ourselves out there”, just like my parents did. We tried new things, we worked hard at school and we enjoyed our time as kids as much as possible, knowing that adulthood has high expectations.

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So, do you want to know what my advice is for getting kids to play sport? It’s easy! Simply be the example.

• If you want your children to work hard, show them what hard work is.
• If you want your kids to be team players, make them a part of your team.
• If you want them to at least attempt to play sport, show them that it is OK to fail.

I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying. Michael Jordan

I would also like to add that in our modern world, what you as an adult might define as "sport" might be completely different from what kids today view it as. Sports is not simply soccer, rugby and cricket. There are so many other awesome physical activities to do, from Skateboarding to Rock Climbing and even new inventions like Parkour. It's important that you make a variety of options available to kids, since you never know which sporting "niche" might grab their interest and pull them away from their TV and Xbox.

Last but not least, remember that sport must be fun! Play games as a family or spend quality time together hiking, rowing or playing a round of tennis. One of my favourite games as a kid was to bounce a tennis ball off a wall in the courtyard with my dad - it was just me, him and a good use of energy.

Much love - @sweetpea

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