Sir, – Thanks to Dave Hannigan, for a pithy paean to all that is good in sport, as his son takes his first soaring steps to the basket (SportsThursday, August 10th).
He is right that so many ego-mad coaches drive talented boys and girls away so that they can preen and prosper. Parents are far from blameless either.
Meanwhile, his description of the sacred bond of sport between his son and that son’s grandfather was most touching.
For there is still a beauty, an innocence, and an ongoing sense of joy and wonder in sport it its purest form. It is a sacred journey taken with hopeful hearts, and nothing beats the joy of the challenge, as successive peaks are climbed. These hearts are special, because they tend to stay forever young. – Yours, etc,
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GERRY McLAUGHLIN,
Belleek,
Co Fermanagh.