The tough job of parents

One thing that makes me very happy as a parent is when my son takes part in sports. As a former athlete, I found out that being a sporting parent gives you a different kind of high.

In the course of following my son's participation in sports I have also met many parents, who never fail to find time to be with their kids during practices and competitions as a means to show how much they love and care for their kids.

I've seen the parents at their best and also at their worst. 

I've seen how some parents go out of their way to help other kids who are not as privileged as their children and I have seen some show their ugly side when their child accidentally gets hit during games.

I've seen parents scold other children and I've seen those that remind their own to practice sportsmanship.

When I got news about the incident in Dumaguete City about the parents of a team from a Cebu school, alleged to have complained about poor officiating that led to the crowd booing them, I felt very bad.

While I do not condone cheating and poor officiating, as parents we must also know that this is expected when we take part in events and must know how to deal with the frustrations of our children after the game.

Yes, it really hurts to see how referees sometimes can't see the obvious but are quick to call a foul on your son's team for a very minor contact, but we should not do anything else ugly to worsen the situation.

The incident in Dumaguete is definitely a black eye for sporting parents, but must also serve as a lesson that we all can learn.

One more thing that I learned from years of following my son around when he competed in football is that if you can't stand the pressure, get out. Watching from the sidelines can be dangerous to your health.

Also, before you do anything drastic, think about the implications of the action on your child. Will he or she get something good from it? Is it in consonance with what you are teaching them? Is it the right thing to do?

As sporting parents, we must be aware of that invisible line that we should not overstep.

It is good to be very supportive of our children and to make sure that they get the best. We must however bear in mind that we also need to prepare them to face defeat and react properly when they are cheated.

It's tough to just sit back when you see your child's team on the losing end, but that is part and parcel of parenthood. Our job as parents is never easy.

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I was at the launching of the newest book of Supreme Grandmaster Ciriaco 'Noy Cacoy' Cañete yesterday at Cebu Parklane International Hotel.

I'll write about that in tomorrow's column more extensively as there are very valuable lessons that Noy Cacoy shared with us sportwriters.

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MILESTONES: Belated birthday greetings to a few friends, who turned a year older the past few days.

First on the list is a man, who I've called brother since high school, Bienvenido Deogracias Fantonial Nacua, who turned a year older last Monday along with Niño Roberto Gonzales.

Belated greetings also go to Johann Chiongbian Young, who celebrated his birthday yesterday. The same greetings go to sportwriter Marian Gladys Baring.

More power! -  THE FREEMAN