Football or Padel? The Team We Build Around Our Children
The other day, my father-in-law was sitting at our home in Mumbai when he casually asked me, “So, what sport do you want Leela to play football or padel?” I assume he chose those two particular sports because football has been my passion, and profession, for more than 30 years, while padel has become my latest sporting obsession. As I tend to do with almost every question asked of me, including the ones that are clearly rhetorical, I thought about it for a few seconds and then gave him an unnecessarily long answer. My initial response was football. I had plenty of reasons. First, I think football is one of the most complete sports a child can play. It builds strength, stamina, coordination and fitness, but also demands awareness, decision-making, resilience and the ability to keep going when things aren't going your way. Second, I think training and playing football can be equally fun which, in my experience, isn't necessarily true of every sport, although I won't name name...