Dear Editor – The DCCG reportedly paid some $80,000 to facilitate the 20 young Futsal players to travel to Australia and participate in the Australian National Futsal Championships.
The young players did extremely well in the Championship games and have returned home to a heroes’ welcome and a reward of $1,500 each in recognition of their achievements on the field of sport and as representatives of the Solomon Islands.
The Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare told the players, “You have made your government, parents, friends and the country as a whole, very proud with your outstanding results. You have shown our friends in Australia that you too can do it. Your winning the games has once again put Solomon Islands in the Futsal World.”
The recognition of the youth accomplishments is well deserved and I trust that the Solomon Islands Government will continue to support youth sports, including those that have some degree of disability but capable of physical activity.
Apart from enjoying physical exercise when playing sport and having fun there are several life time lessons and skills to be learned from participation in sport, apart from the importance of keeping fit.
Gaining self-esteem comes with getting better at sport and this gives one a real sense of accomplishment.
Praise from friends, parents and, in this case the DCCG, can only work to positively add self-confidence.
Success and goal setting go hand in hand and therefore participation in sport offers a practical way to setting goals in life and works to give a
better chance at succeeding in life.
Participation in sport also encourages team spirit and team playing.
Sport, therefore, teaches young people important lessons about working together, putting differences aside and getting a job done.
Adding extra curricular activities to a youth’s schedule encourages development of and time management and prioritization skills.
A youth formulates a plan which enables him or her to efficiently handle their responsibilities while still leaving time for sports practices and competitions.
Participation in sport also helps youths deal with adversity when it comes.
We all make mistakes.
Everyone has problems. How well you handle those mistakes and problems directly affects happiness and quality of life.
If a youth learns how to deal with adversity, errors, and challenges in sports, chances are, they’ll be able to translate that skill to real life and effectively minimize mistakes and/or bad decisions as well as competently recover from set-backs.
Congratulations, again, young Futsal champions.
Frank Short
Bangkok, Thailand
