"One Thing/Fun Thing" for Fri. Mar.7

I had the privilege to attend a fundraiser for KidSport last night and it was fantastic. All sorts of Richmond athletes were there including Angus Reid and Bobby Singh (BC Lions), former BC Lion Geroy Simon, Olympic rower Darcy Marquardt (who visited Diefenbaker earlier this year as part of the ESTEEM Team), Pasha Bains (Canadian basketball player) and others. The purpose of the night was to raise money for kids to be able to participate in sports when they are young. There were also several young athletes there and this was good to see. The purpose of the organization is not to develop elite athletes (like those mentioned above) but several of them got their starts when they were young.

They showed a couple of videos/ads about sport skills being "Life Skills" and I couldn't agree more. Kids need these skills and there are so many great life lessons that one gets by being part of a team or doing an individual sport, even if it's just at a recreational level. I have loved playing sports since I was young and many of my friends today are those that I have met through playing on teams together. After just finishing coaching basketball at the Hugh Boyd tournament with a group of grade 7 boys that made a lot of progress this season(many couldn't make a lay-up at the beginning) I feel that sport continues to be an important part of our lives and one that should be available to all kids growing up.

This one is my favourite: 

 

Way to go, buddy!

also pretty good: