Parents of sports stars cherish the golden moments

Light flyweight boxer Kaew Pongprayoon, as an endearing winner reaching the semi-finals at the Olympics, said his first priority was to tell his #1 fan, his mother: “I want to say to my mum, I am going to bring back a medal; this is my first Olympics and I am not going home empty-handed.” 

 With an enthusiastic TV fan-base following, his mother is an inspiring role model, wearing red boxing gloves, matching her favourite son’s every move in front of a big-screen TV, cheered on by a crowd of hometown family and friends, including Kaew’s wife and daughter. Her spontaneous exuberance demonstrates that a parent’s greatest strength is their constant encouragement and unwavering emotional, moral and spiritual support. In a controversial decision for the gold medal, the crowd recognised Kaew’s superiority and he rose above the referees’ questionable decision, but he did so with, as always, gracious good sportsmanship, never losing his winning smile pride.

Successful athletes realise that sacrifice is part of competitive sport, giving up alternative options to focus on excelling in one particular area of sports. Fantasies of success, fame and fortune are accompanied by a family’s willingness to make tremendous sacrifices in time, energy and monetary investment to maximise potential by enabling their specially gifted child to grow, develop and advance their talents, be it in gymnastics, music, dance, dramatics or academic achievements. With special recognition to the nurturing mothers of the in-training super-abled athletes preparing to depart for the 2012 London Paralympics from August 29th to September 9th, we offer best wishes to exhibit boundless energy, buoyant resilience and mindful determination while graciously improving upon personal bests, making themselves, their families and their nation proud. 

Let’s salute the parents of each and every wannabe, honouring their commitment and dedication to helping make their offspring’s dreams become realities. By instilling good sports fundamentals and creating a safe and secure youth-friendly environment, children can develop a natural lifelong interest in healthy exercise and physical activity while developing positive energy mindset attitudes – in sports and throughout life. What every child needs most is heart and hugs!

Charles Frederickson

Bangkok