Part of Tommy Manotoc's column last April 24 in the Inquirer...
A really good read.
HEART, SOUL, SPORTS
One step backward, two steps forward
By Tommy Manotoc
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:35:00 04/24/2009
I’ve spent the last four weeks on different golf courses, but I’ve only gone as far as the cart paths with my wife Yvette.
We have been watching our 11-year-old son Gabriel play in his first series of tournaments, marking my second time to be a jungolf father and the first time for Yvette.
I also tugged along with two of my elder sons, when they played the summer circuit and we made our yearly trip to San Diego to represent the Philippines in the Junior World Championships.
But the scenario has changed. Today’s jungolfers are much better than before with the equipment playing a major role and the kids starting to compete at an even younger age.
The parents seem to be more involved and concerned with the performance of their child.
But this is what may have driven some of the potentially good players in the past to quit playing altogether, and these include my elder two sons.
In hindsight, perhaps our role as parents is not so much to be concerned about our child’s performance and the results of the tournament, but rather to see this summer circuit as an opportunity to bond and communicate with our children.
Being sensitive to whether our child is really enjoying the game or if he is just doing it to please us is a major question we should ask ourselves.
I, like many of the parents today, also dreamt of producing a Tiger Woods. But there will be only one Tiger.
As Tilda Woods said: “We kept in mind that we were raising a son and not a golfer.”
As parents, we should constantly take one step back and reassess our motivations for having our children play the game so that we can take our relationships with them two steps forward. The times you share with your child on the golf course are priceless, tender moments.
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