Ads had his first tennis tournament last week. It was held in our apartment complex and among the 25 odd boys and girls between ages 4 and 8 who attend the tennis coaching. A couple of the older kids have just won a tournament in Delhi and covered themselves in glory so there's a lot of interest among the other kids to do as well as the local heroes :) All except Ads, that is, who is as non-competitive as his father and couldn't care less about winning or losing any matches.
Now, I've said this before -- there's a reason we put him in tennis lessons, which is to improve his motor skills, which trust me still need drastic improvement. So it was actually a surprise to me when he won one match out of the three that he played. Ads' issue is a) he doesn't care b) he is endlessly distracted during class and I know for a fact he's thinking of Superman or Hanu-man when he should be focusing on the coach and his shots.
He came back smiling from the tournament. I'd watched the first two matches (which he lost) but had to go back home with Y before the third match. We talked about his performance during his evening bath and even as I was giving my spiel about learning from our failures and trying to do better next time blah blah, he interrupted me with "Amma, you told me winning or losing doesn't matter, but I should enjoy what I am doing. I enjoyed the match. So that's enough."
Enough said :) I shut up!
Amy Chua working on your mind, Aparna?
ReplyDelete'Amma, you told me winning or losing doesn't matter, but I should enjoy what I am doing. I enjoyed the match. So that's enough.' - He has a point you know :)
ReplyDeleteOf course! Don't they always? :)
DeleteYeah seriously! :) It is a good thing if he is able to really enjoy the game and not worry about winning. Those are the kinds who finally succeed in life.
ReplyDeleteYou think so? :) Oh well, am sure he'll be ok!
DeleteGuess he knows the true meaning of sports :)
ReplyDeleteAt this age.. its good that he enjoys it first..
True, geeth. As long as he enjoys it and doesn't crib abt having to learn, that's all I ask for.
Deletehehehee..good thing he enjoys it..eventually he may want to leverage his interest with winning the game too..:-)
ReplyDeleteI sure hope so, uma!! As long as he gives it his best shot, I am fine whether winning or losing.
DeleteToo cute.. and so logical :). Great that he enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteWent through something a bit similar with D when she was preparing for the Spelling Bee first round - she said "But winning is not so important no amma!", and I was taken aback thinking about what all these children take in :).
Well -- the very next day, there was another event in the court and our man refused to go (it wasn't compulsory). That's our Master A - will only do the bare minimum :))
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