Giving Something Back

I am one of those people who has to be busy. Sure, it can be overwhelming at times, but I most certainly prefer it over the alternative of being idle or not having enough to do. Now, don't get me wrong, I love a good holiday as much as the next person and I will happily spend hours down at the pool, but I'll be having a couple of drinks, or jumping and diving into the pool with the kids or reading a book or doing a crossword. As I say, I just like to be busy. There is probably something in that if you were to dig into it, but I'm not going to dig into that right now, rather I want to talk about something else, and that is giving something back to the community.

What do I mean by that? Well I mean putting your hand up and volunteering for something without expecting anything back in return - Altruism. I have an Auntie who is a nun, and for me she personifies this Altruism. She became a nun as a teenager and will soon celebrate her eightieth year, so suffice to say she has had long and rewarding life, but her reward is helping those who need it and she is without doubt the most selfless person that I know. Early in her life as a nun, she volunteered to move to America to work with the Native American Indians in South Dakota and she spent almost fifty years in America helping others.

She returned to Ireland around fifteen or twenty years ago to "retire" and I put that in inverted commas, because she spends her days cooking, tidying and minding all of the older sisters in the convent she lives in here in Galway. She is a fantastic human being and always remembers my three sons birthdays with a beautiful card and Easter and Christmas never come, without some chocolate bunnies or selection boxes for the kids. She is forever putting people before herself.

It inspires me and whenever the day comes when I retire, I hope I too will be in a position to give something back myself too. I like to think that I will volunteer to do some charity work a few days a week and I would also like to visit some less well off countries later in life to help in some way for a few weeks.

Sports Volunteering

For now my volunteering is limited to the Sports that my children play and I currently volunteer for three different teams. Under tens soccer which means three days a week, Monday 75 minutes, Friday 75 minutes, Saturday 90 minutes. Under sevens soccer which for now is just one day a week, 60 mins on a Saturday, and also U5 Hurling which is 60 minutes one day a week. I volunteer for one team each for my boys so that I can show an interest in their development and it is a good way to get to know their friends as well.

One thing I do find is that it can be a bit of a thankless job sometimes, as parents drop their kids and then wheel off for over an hour. Often it can just be one of us coaches trying to do an U10s training session with 15 or 16 kids, who have just had a long and tiring day at school, so that can certainly be challenging and it would be great if more parents would volunteer and step up to the plate to help out us coaches. You don't need any playing experience an invariably the children love to see a parent taking an active interest in their sporting pursuits.

Feel Good Factor

I always feel good after helping out with any of the teams and I have a certain spring in my step. It is good to help mold these young boys in to future footballers, and whether they go on to play at a high level or simply enjoy 5 a sides with their friends when they get older, it is still positive and hopefully us coaches can help to influence the players and people they grow up to become.

The same is likely true for charity volunteering and I imagine that you get a good feeling in your heart and soul when helping others.

Well that's all for today's reflection, I hope you are keeping well wherever you are and if you have something to reflect on, why not use the tag #reflections yourself.