Abhay for tennis!!

Staying on the subject of physical activity for growing kids, I read that it is important for kids to take up at least one sport seriously during their growing years, not just for fitness sake but to imbibe essential  life skills that come with playing a sport, be it individual or a team sport. While there is some team sport like basket ball or cricket organised at school, Abhay being kinesthetically slow (Sorry about the labeling Abhay!) I doubt if he'll ever get chosen to play in his school team!:(  Similarly, while it will always be incumbent on us parents to involve him in extra-curricular activities, I do wish his school lets their students choose a certain sport as a regular physical activity as opposed to general games during their weekly PT session.  Anyway, we did rounds of some of the sports coaching camps in our area and were to zero in on the perfect sports camp for our boy - one that is physically engaging and yet not too strenuous, professionally organized yet has a flexible schedule, housed in a great location yet easy on the logistics, a weekday schedule with options for the weekend too …..Phew!  Getting your kid play a sport is a big time commitment ……and you got to be a sport to let him play a sport!!!!! J

So what was our final pick?? “Anyone for tennis?” by Shane McG is the book I picked on the occasion of enrolling our seven year old into Bangalore Tennis Academy!  A nice little picture book that highlights the excited amusement of a kid when introduced to a new sport only to enjoy it so much as to later drag his father into  play! (Abhay loves the last page!) Tom Foley just celebrated his seventh birthday and amongst other birthday gifts, there was one gift that didn’t beep, crash or whirr and that is a tennis racket. Tom then wonders who plays Tennis? Well, neither his older sister who according to Tom leads a boring life sitting in her bedroom all day and talking to her friend on the phone; Nor his mom who looks dumb standing on one leg doing her yogurt (err…yoga!); Nor his best friend Kevin who rides his lovely new green bike that he never shares thereby likely to be demoted to being Tom’s sixth best friend; Nor his cat Smudgy or dog Spike; Finally Tom is shown following his dad onto the tennis court as he repeatedly asks him the same question again and again, to which dad appears to have turned a deaf ear (Just like Abhay’s dad sometimes….as Abhay points out !). We soon know the answer as dad serves and hits the ball across the court. Tom ducks for cover and falls over. Dad then asks him not worry as playing tennis requires a lot of practice and practice is what Tom does. As they drive back home after his first practice…it’s dad’s turn to ask “Who plays tennis?” Well, that’s easy-peasy …isn’t it Abhay? Abhay Karanth plays tennis….for now! J