PARENTS play an important role in the development of their children.
Unfortunately, not many are playing that role now.
When I say children’s development, I mean giving children space and time to figure out their passion while remaining as their support system.
Once children know they have the full backing of their parents, they will be brave enough to go the extra mile.
I was fortunate to have my parents as my support system because they were always there, encouraging me in my endeavours.
Their support helped me find a balance between my education and my love for sports, and to be the person I am now.
My father, Datuk Nawawi Reduan, and my late mother Katemi Jemangin gave me all the support, encouragement and guidance in order for me to succeed in the many sports I participated in.
I was only five-years-old when I started learning how to swim at the Majlis Perbandaran Melaka Tengah (MPMT) aquatics centre.
I would wake up at 5.30am and go for my swim. Many at that age would still be in bed, but I just enjoyed swimming at that hour.
My father encouraged me to train twice a day – morning and evening.
My father was an ex-Singapore British Army personnel and later worked as a civil servant at the MPMT. He is also the current Malacca Swimming Association president and the vice-president of Malaysia Swimming Association (Asum).
So, now you know why I was into swimming!
But I loved hockey and how that happened, I will leave it for another day to tell you. It is an interesting story.
I grew up in Kampung Banda Kaba, which produced 13 national hockey players, which included superstars like Ariffin Ghani, the Tam brothers - Chiew Seng and Kam Seng, and Jack Johnson, among them.
But this was not why I loved hockey. I am just saying that my neighbourhood produced many national players.
I began schooling at Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Bandar Hilir, Melaka.
I was fortunate to get into the school because of its facilities, and the Melaka Club field was nearby, where I would always train. When I was in Standard Five, I represented the school in hockey, swimming (100m and 200m) and football, where I played as a striker. I represented the Under-12 Melaka state team for all three sports.
At the same time, I also represented other sports such as badminton, table tennis and sepak takraw for my school. Yes… I was very active in sports from my primary schooling days.
My folks were cool because they knew how to help me find the balance between my education and sports. They believed that sports and education go hand in hand.
They never stopped me from participating in sports but at the same time, they would also tell me not to neglect my education.
These days, parents are too fearful of sports disrupting their children’s education.
That is not the case; you have to help them find the right balance like how my parents helped me.
There is always a way, and to everyone’s surprise, I managed to score 5As for my Standard 5 Assessment.
My parents were delighted and encouraged me more to take part in sports.
They were there lending support to me in whichever tournament I was participating in.
I would say to kids or people out there, “do whatever you like, but not at the expense of your education”.
I am who I am today thanks to my parent and I hope all parents will support whatever endeavour their kids undertake. – The Vibes, October 9, 2020
Next week, Datuk Mirnawan Nawawi will speak about his adventure at the Royal Military College (RMC) in Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur. RMC is a school that was established to train young Malaysians for service in the Malaysian Armed Forces.
