They say that good habits we form in childhood, stand us in good stead for our later years. Those who take part in sports as children, usually carry on being active in adulthood.
In this blog I talk about how athletics shaped my younger years and how it continues to have a positive effect here in my later years. I also revisit my old training ground; City of Portsmouth Athletics club, to see if anything has changed and discover that it’s a very affordable way to get active and more.
Sport England research suggests that encouraging positive attitudes to sport and physical activity in children from an early age can help them to feel more motivated, confident and able to get active throughout their life.
From personal experience, I’ve found that taking part in regular sport as a young person has really helped my strength and mobility and also had other benefits throughout my lifetime; Team skills and personal skills that are transferable in many walks of life like self-discipline, confidence, and stamina; the ability to keep going when you don’t think you can.
The sport that I took part in was athletics, mostly track events. As a child all I really wanted to do was play outdoors all day with my friends, but we sometimes got into a few scrapes and my Mum was keen for me to have a positive outlet for my energy.
When I showed promise at the school athletics trials, I was encouraged to join Portsmouth Athletics Club. The women’s team which was separate then, was called Portsmouth Atalanta and we used to train every Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings – each training session was about 2 or 3 hours long. My best friend had also joined the team and we’d both train together.
We competed as juniors at a regional level and travelled all over with the team to athletics meetings. There was a great feeling of camaraderie and also nerves as we all set off in a coach for a day of competitive events. The coach journey home was far more relaxed, and we’d always have a laugh and a sing-song.
My event was the 100m and 200m sprint, but I would regularly fill in for other events when an extra team member was needed to make up the numbers. I did pretty much everything; high jump, hurdles, long jump, discus, shot-put and javelin. It’s fair to say that I didn’t win any medals at these disciplines, but I did get the appreciation of the team, and I learned that it’s not the winning but the taking part that really counts. I feel that I really gained a lot from this experience, and it’s stayed with me throughout life; the confidence to have a go, to do something even though you might not be the best (yet).
I must admit, sometimes I really didn’t like training; I didn’t like it when it was bitterly cold in the winter, or on a Saturday morning when my weekend lie-in was cut short. I didn’t like it when I was feeling almost sick with nerves before a race, waiting for the starting gun to fire, or when my best friend gave up athletics. It took every ounce of commitment to keep at it for as long as I did.
I finally stopped training when I was about 14 and life took me in a very different direction but the things I learned during those training years have stuck with me and I can recommend it to any young person wanting to get active, make friends and develop skills for life.