Sport is about building personal connections

“To participate in sports and not make friends is a failure to take advantage of all the opportunities that sport has to offer.”

That was the assessment of the featured speaker at last Saturday’s National Sports Awards, Geshell Peters.{{more}}

Asked to speak on the theme of the ceremony: “Fostering Lasting Friendship Through Sports,” Peters advanced: “While it is the general conception that sporting competitions are about winning, it is arguable that sport is really about building personal connections or friendships, which help to shape the development of the lives of young people… Building friendships and relationships, which are significant human values, should be one of the main reasons for pursuing sports.”

In extolling the benefits which sports provide, Peters commented: “… As sportsmen and sportswomen, we will always be grateful for how sports have affected our lives, what we have learned, and the relationships we have formed will stay with us. For most of us, sports is just what we do… It is what we are good at, it is what we are known for, for many of us we would be lost without sports.

“We can all agree that based on our interactions through sports, as sportsmen and sportswomen, we have learned how to take the spotlight without arrogance when we win, and we have also learned to handle losses with humility… This ability is developed gradually overtime in our interactions with teammates, coaches and competitors, with whom we have developed invaluable relationships,” the featured speaker added.

Peters, therefore, encouraged coaches, managers and other sports facilitators to seek to create an atmosphere of camaraderie, which facilitates positive socialization among players both on and off the court or field.

“I would like to encourage all sportsmen and sportswomen to continue to strive for your goals, using your talents, discipline and a good work ethic,” she advised.

Peters, a netballer, was the recipient of a university scholarship from the Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines in 2005.(RT)