The
advantages of sport on your CV....of course a blog with an Olympic
theme-
Sport
has never really been my forte....although in principle I have the
utmost respect for the benefits it gives to our lives and character.
Wrongly
I believe, I was kept away from sports by my mother, although the
reasons for this are understandable . At the age of three I had been
diagnosed with Retinoblastoma, a malignant tumour of my right eye
and consequently lost the eye, having it replaced with a glass
prosthesis which had to be regularly replaced as I grew. My
understandably terrified mother, of a nervous disposition even before
this, convinced herself, with no given facts I am sure, that any bump
on my head would result in a further tumour. Of even greater anxiety
I suspect was the possibly more likely scenario of my falling over
and the glass eye being broken..which happened once at nursery, but
once in almost 50 years is pretty good odds....
And
so denied a bike, and so made the laughing stock of the
street,limited as to what PE activity I was allowed to take part in
at school and kept out of swimming lessons as my mother was convinced
that for some reason I must not put my head under water, by the time
I was seven I was shaped like a telly tubby..any one who found
themselves minding me in my mothers absence , the nursery owner, and
my very elderly Godmother who was our landlady, was so terrified of
the responsibility and so limited by what activity I could take part
in that I was sat in a chair and fed on biscuits and
chocolates....child abuse actually. As for the swimming, my father
who sensibly thought all this a load of nonsense and way over the top
who was a keen swimmer did take me swimming....and I did have a few
of the school lessons, but was unable to overcome my mothers
infectious terror, when she found me in the swimming pool at a
holiday camp with my father and he threw me to the deep end while she
stood on the side screaming....out of water I waddled rather than
walked and my mother made me crimpline dresses..which did wonders for
her ego as she was a skilled dressmaker, but better by far had I been
able to fit into what was available in the local shops....No child
likes looking different...
This
state of affairs went on until I was about ten, with secondary school
looming and the school nurse decided I must go to 'The Clinic' for my
flat feet and weight, the weight probably being a contributory
factor. To the flat feet...This involved a fortnightly trek up one of
the steepest hills in the Wandsworth area of South west London. My
mother , who now blamed me for being fat and flat footed since it had
proved to be such an inconvenience, had to take me from East Hill in
Wandsworth where I grew up, as far as the bus went through Wandsworth
High street and up West Hill...the rest of the way we had to walk
...with my mother clutching her chest and threatening to die on the
spot with her palpitations. Actually much of my childhood from the
age of seven , when my mother then aged 39, entered as she put it 'an
early change', my fault of course due to the worry I had given
her...with a contribution from my father, had been dominated by my
mothers palpitations and me terrified that my mother was indeed going
to drop dead as she several times a day insisted was imminent. This
was before the days of HRT, which would have denied my mother a great
deal of pleasure,since once she knew that she could possibly be
entering the menopause ( although she had in fact it could be said,
been in menopause since my birth as my father had not been allowed to
touch her since then..which I remember telling her was too much
information ) she had got out her medical book, which I gather was
the first book she had brought in readiness for grown up independence
( No DIY book for my mother) and read up on the menopause, making her
mind up to have every symptom in the book, to the worst of its
potential. And so my childhood was largely dominated by the Modern
Woman’s Medical guide of approximately 1944....and every other
Thursday for some time was dominated by Mrs Mackavinchie at the
clinic where I got weighed and walked along balancing beams for my
flat feet....and for the time in between until the next visit I
lived on Ryvita and slimming biscuits.... As for books, my father
took a keen interest in what girls should be reading and so I did
not miss out on such girlish reads as Little Women, What
Katy Did and what she did next....and Little House On the
Prairie being favourites, along
with the school series books by Enid Blyton.....St.
Claire's, Mallory Towers and the
adventures of The Famous Five...
Reader..it
worked !!!..at least to some degree, I went to secondary school a
size twelve, but not before my primary school leaving report had
stated 'Further work on the physical side of her education would be
helpful....'
Secondary
school provided a wealth of sporty activities, with at least
something which surely should be within the capabilities of a young
girl..there was the opportunity to at least hold your own in
something....sadly my greatest love in sport, something in which I
would have loved to be good rather than just do it..was tennis.
However, I am right handed, and having no sight in my right eye, the
ball had often passed me down the court before I worked out where it
was going to land....Rounders was OK, I had long legs and as I was no
longer as wide as I was long I could run.... Netball,
volleyball....both OK,... Hockey I loved.....
Sports,
especially team sports, teaches rules,discipline and team work, team
spirit....it teaches you to win and lose graciously, how to
be competitive, make and reach a goal..both personal and team goals
and it teaches you to cooperate with your team ..all good lessons for
the world of work....
Realistically,
the averages are against most people becoming professional
athletes..it isn’t the first or most suitable career choice for
everyone, ..even if they do wish differently and have dreams of
Olympic gold, most people will end up with a 'job'....but many of the
characteristics of good sportsmanship are relevant to the workforce
too, such as being dedicated, turning up on time and communicating
well, listening and being a quick learner. It looks very good on your
CV or at an interview if you can say that you played in a
team....were perhaps team captain.... which shows leadership skills
and perhaps ability in conflict management.
If
you have an active involvement in sports, you can find ways to use it
to illustrate your time management skills e.g. if you had to fit in
practice and matches along with academic study at Uni. You can use
your sports experience to show that you can learn things. A sporty
activity on your CV can make you look a good well rounded
employee....
Sports
teaches confidence and as we know from the wonderful example of the
Para Olympians everyone can take part and find something they can do.
Sports , even if you do have a disability can help you to maintain as
much fitness as you can for as long as possible and I agree
wholeheartedly with Mr. Grayson who wrote on my primary school
leaving report...'More work on the physical side of her education
would be helpful....'
Valerie
Hedges
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