andrew mashiter

"If you give a child a ball" If you give a child a ball, they will want goalposts to go with it. Then, they will probably spend hours begging you to go out in the garden to play with them, even though you may want to sit on the sofa and watch tv. They will insist. And their insistence will win. And when a child gets a kit, they will need shin pads and boots to go with it. And a TEAM….. And then life as you know it will end. There will be no more lazy weekends watching tv. You will see more sunrises than you ever thought possible. Every spare minute of your time will be spent taking your child to training and games. And your house will be a mess. And your car will be dirty. All because you gave a kid who has a ball. Your weekends will be spent freezing or burning to death or getting soaked on a sideline. And their weekends will be spent gaining confidence and friends, and learning new skills and having fun. And you will be there the day they score their first pass, first goal, or save and also their first foul . And they will make you SO proud. And right before your eyes, your little child will be transformed from the baby who kicked or bounced the ball and fell in love with the sport. When you give a child a ball, you give them more than just a ball. You give them a sport, and talent, and hope, and dreams, and friends, a new family, a place to learn about life, room to grow as a person where they can push their limits, and bravery, and courage and LIFE, and memories. And they will have ALL of these things, simply because you gave a child a ball. Because you gave a child a ball, you too will develop new/lifelong friendships, developed solely from the same passion for the game and love of your team. You will cheer together. Because you gave a child a ball. Then one day, many years from today….they will be in their room and a ball will roll out from an old dusty bag underneath their bed. And they will pick it up and realise instantly that when you gave that child a ball, you also gave them a childhood that they would never forget. And then they will hug you, and your eyes may leak – because you realise that everything YOU gave up along the way…..was worth it!