Jianzi - Featherball or Chinese Hacky Sack

On our recent trip to Asia we found these 'shuttlecocks' in Vietnam, where they are used to play a version of Hacky Sack. We saw people using them playing in the streets, but also discovered that there is an official game played with them. The game is called "da cau" and means "kick shuttlecock". The game is similar to Badminton, played on a rectangular court divided by a net, and is in fact the national sport of Vietnam!

The game is believed to have originated in Vietnam in the 5th century BC, when it was used as a military training exercise. 

(Source - Wikipedia)

We saw many people playing this game in the streets in Hanoi - like this:

We have been trying to play it with the featherball we bought in Vietnam, but we aren't quite this skilled yet.
It's a great way to practice and improve hand-eye and foot-eye co-ordination. It's good for your eye-muscles, agility, body control and balance.  Practising this is a great fun way to improve all sorts of physical skills that can be transferred to other sports.  Our girls both play hockey - so any practice watching and reacting to a ball of any kind should help them in that. Euan and I both do a lot of trail running where agility is really important as you run over plenty of roots and rocks, so it should prove beneficial to us too.
Looks like we've found a new family game to play in the garden!
Have you ever played any kind of 'hacky sack'? or even the Vietnamese version?

Hockey

This year, both our girls took up hockey as one of their after school activities.

They had both tried it out and really enjoyed it at a boot camp they attended at the beginning of the year.

Although they are 2 years apart in age, and are on different teams, they have both ended up training and joining in with the other's team in some way. Our youngest 'plays up' with the older team, and our eldest joins in the younger kids training sessions, then helps the manager organise the substitutes and practises with the players off the turf during the younger team's matches.  So we now have 4 days a week of hockey (2 training sessions, and 2 matches). Plus, every spare moment the girls get at home they are out in the garden with their sticks and balls practising! 

Why Hockey is a good sport to be involved in.

 Both girls have been swimming for a long time now, training and racing but hockey is the first 'team' sport our girls have become involved in. This is something we, as parents wanted to encourage to help build those skills of working with, and relying on others. 

It's great that they have found a sport that they are enjoying so much and it has the added bonus that several of their friends play it too! Hockey is a very well organised sport here in Cairns, with a great network of coaches and players of all ages and levels, so if they choose to continue after this, their first season, there is a well great community for them to join, with structured training and well marked pathways to move forward in the sport.

The down side

For all the positives about hockey, I do have to admit that the risk of injury worries me. The experience of buying and moulding mouth guards with the girls was a new one!  And helping them get padded up to play goalie too.  They've never needed any protective clothing for swimming!!

Learning

For me watching and supporting the girls in hockey is a learning curve. As I've helped out managing the younger team occasionally, I've had to learn the positions and try to understand the game a little!  I did play hockey as part of my school sports as a kid, but never enjoyed it. (I used to run up and down the side of the field avoiding the ball! I preferred netball and volleyball.)

As the girls learn the positions and rules of hockey, we can see their understanding of other team sports we watch has improved too.  

Since this is their first season, they are learning something new every week, so this is helping to keep them interested and keen. That, together with the fact that they are playing with their friends means that it's a sport they are going to continue with for a while I'm sure.

I'd better keep watching and learning myself, so I can share in and enjoy their post match discussions over dinner!

What team sports do your kids play?  Did you play the same sport as a kid?

Triathlons for kids

This year our girls took part in the local Ironkids triathlon for the second time.  

Here in Cairns each year we have an adventure festival which features an international Ironman competition. There are also lots of smaller events for all ages and levels to join in - one of which is this kids triathlon.

Kids aged 7 to 13 can join in and do a short swim, bike and run - finishing by running down the official Ironman finishers chute and receiving an impressive looking medal.

Our girls were in the younger age group, so swam 50m - in the lagoon, which is very shallow and the kids could have almost walked the whole way, and there were also lifeguards there to assist if need be. Then they biked 1km up and down the esplanade, and finally ran 500m.

It was set up like a proper triathlon, with their bikes 'racked' in transition with helmets, trainers and shorts set up ready to put on after the swim, and plenty of officials all along the route to help the kids if need be.

Our girls loved this event last year and again just as much this year. It's non competitive, they set the kids off in groups of about 7, it's not timed and you can see on the faces of every kid that does it how much fun they have.  

Some parents and kids were nervous before their first time, thinking maybe it would be too hard or far for the kids to manage, but afterwards nobody had any such reservations.

If you think back to what you were doing yourself at that age, when just playing.  I know my friends and I were biking and running around the local area - far more than those distances. We also used to go swimming lots at the local pool and in lakes or the sea on holidays. So this triathlon is certainly not too much to expect from kids this age.

I think it's a great opportunity for kids to try out a sport in a fun environment - and the atmosphere makes for a very exciting day for all!

Have your kids ever participated in a large sporting event like this - perhaps a short fun run?  Do you think it's a good thing for young kids to do?

Swimming with an Olympian

Tonight at our girls swimming club we had our club fun races night with the fabulous addition of Australian Olympic Gold Medallist Brittany Elmslie.

She brought her Olympic medals and let all the kids hold them, try them on and have their photos taken with them. The medals are large and very heavy - so impressive!

Brittany herself was brilliant with the kids - she chatted to them about swimming, got in the pool and raced against with them, and told her story of how she went from a young kid in a swimming club to being an Olympic Gold Medallist.

What an inspiring evening for the kids!

A couple of months ago, our girls had another opportunity to meet Olympic Swimmers, and to compete in special handicapped races against them.

Once again, it was an amazing experience for them. The Olympians themselves were great with the kids; taking the time to talk to them, pose for photos and sign autographs.

Then on top of just a great experience - our youngest daughter won the 50m backstroke  (handicapped) race against Gregor Tait.  For that, she received the trophy below and was awarded it by Gregor himself.  Such an amazing moment for her and one she will treasure and remember - the day she beat an Olympic swimmer - when she was just 7 years old!

It was a really special swim meet - where it was all about the younger kids and encouraging them in their sporting endeavours.

It's great that top sports people do take the time to encourage young kids in their sports.  To provide a strong role model and something for the kids to aspire to.

Kids need encouragement and support in their endeavours - and most of all rewards for their achievements, and acknowledgement for their efforts. To get that kind of encouragement and acknowledgement from their own heros and idols is perfect!

Have your kids ever had the chance to meet top sports people in their favourite sports? What impact has it had on them?