Tony writes to his two twins a beautifully honest and open letter about why, sport is so integral to them at their tender age. Tony is the womens super league Academy Manager for the FA.
Dear Oscar and Isaac,
As I write this, you are 4 years old, nearly 5. You are both noisy and exceptionally boisterous! Well I’ll be honest, you’re bonkers! You’re doing really well in primary school. Reception year has been brilliant for you and you’ve really settled. We’re really proud. Out of school, you’re super busy!
Monday is Gymnastics
Tuesday is Karate
Wednesday is Swimming
Thursday is Tennis
Friday is Cricket
Saturday is Rugby
Sunday is Football Plus you do PE and play and ride your bikes. You seem to love the activities and enjoy them, but you do often want to watch tv instead! You love YouTube! So I wanted to tell you why we keep you so busy…….
1. You sleep better and eat better. When you have a “lazy” day you don’t eat as much, want more sweets and can be cranky as you’re tired! Sports and PE keep you hungry and have good sleep patterns, because it’s good for you.
2. You have a lot of friends. Every group is different, so you see lots of people. You will always need good people in your lives. These people will look after you when you’re sad. We will too, but you can’t know enough good people.
3. Its amazing to see you achieve. Scoring a goal, doing a rolly polly, jumping in the pool… Every time you do something, you build confidence. Being brave and confident is the key to being successful. Being confident will make you better at reading, writing, solving problems and thinking.
4. You smile a lot when you do these things. Every day in your lives you must do things you enjoy. If not, then you’re wasting your time. Do the things you enjoy. Later, you can choose which you do so you spend more time doing what you love.
5. It helps your bodies. The more sports and PE you do, you become stronger, leaner, better at balance and healthier. We love you so very much, we don’t want you to be ill. The stronger and healthier you are the better.
6. You are learning to overcome things. Every time you do something new, you can’t do it. Then you learn, then you get better. This shows you how to be as you grow up. Never think you can’t do something. You just haven’t learned to do it yet. You can do anything!
7. We take you to watch football, rugby and cricket too. Sport isn’t just about playing. You can have fun watching, reading about it and being a fan. You can collect stickers, draw pictures and wear t shirts. It’s a really positive way to spend your time. There’s things that can attract you that aren’t good, so doing these is really important.
All these activities are expensive, so we work hard to earn pennies to pay for it. But we love you more than anything in the world and want you to realise the world and everything in it is there for you. You make us proud every day, no matter what you do, play, watch or want.
Love Mummy and Daddy xx
Tony Fretwell an FA WSL Academy Manager, formerly of England Rugby League and former PE teacher.
Social Media: @tonyfretwell
