Sport for Development & Peace
April 6 is International Day for Sport Development and Peace. What does that mean?
I had the opportunity to get to experience what this all meant last year at the United Nations Office for Sport Development and Peace Leadership Conference in Bradenton, FL. In one short sentence I could say that: There is no real definition.
This day means so much to so many people in many different ways, just like all of us who gathered for that conference. We were all from different walks of life; some of us were paid to coach and considered it a routine thing. Others fought to play sports and considered it an honor and privilege. Upon returning home I had a serious check back into why I coached and what I believed in. Those moments when you meet game-changers or people who have embraced struggle? They change you. More so, you change when people call you a game-changer.
As coaches we have a responsibility to build people before we build athletes. I considered this conference a platform for everything I would do because the conference itself had the word, “Development” in it and I am a Development coach. So what does this mean for us? Just like youth are people before they are athletes, we are role models before we are coaches. Often times we are ambitious but may feel watered down, or maybe we are stubborn but may feel stretched too thin.
Whatever it is that we are or choose to be we need to be authentic. We need to be the role models that we would have wanted to have when we were younger. One thing I learned is that sport has the power to change the world because it is the only thing that can be universal to children; it speaks to them in a way that all kids understand. The sacrifice, the pain, the fun, the glory and satisfaction are all universal feelings in sport.
As coaches we need to provide a platform for all of these feelings (and more) and continue to provide steps to cope with each of these. As women we need to address our own feelings about sport and what it means to be a part of it. We are not necessarily special because we are women in sport. We are special because we have the opportunity to represent the best of ourselves to other young girls and make them see the strength in authenticity. We have the opportunity to show courage in a way that is not necessarily done by fighting but by flying high and reaching our goals.
Developing athletes through understanding the power of the things they do will teach them humility; giving them responsibility to make decisions about their athletic choices will give them accountability; offering help and encouraging them to encourage others will give them the chance to be the change in something they care about; most importantly teaching them to believe in their strength will give them the courage to push past any challenges and build their own athlete philosophies.
These characteristics may seem daunting for youth but time and time again, people like those I met at the conference prove otherwise. April 6 is a day to celebrate courage, ingenuity and the love for sport worldwide. For us coaches it is a day to celebrate the things we can do for those around us with sport, helping the world develop into a peaceful place. Whether we are seeking Olympic times or the ability to learn a new skill, sport is a worldwide thing and not one of us can trump over another on how it is supposed to be pursued.
Bio: Ornmadee has a huge passion canoe/kayaking. She is a Youth Development and Masters coach in Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada. She loves being in the sun and sitting in the coach boat, watching her athletes paddle by with gritted teeth and glistening skin. Ornmadee’s tough days are spent in the pouring rain with two different types of coats on, while her athletes steam up with frigid water with their energy and heat and she would not trade it for anything else.
