More Than a Game
How Sport Becomes a Lifelong Bond
Sport is often seen as competition. A match. A score to settle. But those of us who’ve lived and breathed it know it’s so much more than that. It’s a lifetime of connection—of fun, health, laughter, and lessons that shape who we are and who our children become.
For me, it all began before I could even spell the word “tennis.” Around the age of two, I picked up my first racket. But the seed was planted well before that, thanks to a group of wonderful, witty, slightly competitive people we’ve always called The Squash Group.
It started small
handful of friends who worked together at the Sydney Water Board. Each Friday night, they played squash together. Afterwards, they’d gather at someone’s home for dinner. Week in, week out, rackets clashed, jokes flew, and stories were shared over the clatter of cutlery and glasses of wine. What started as a weekly game quickly grew into something bigger—a tradition, a bond, a chosen family.
As time went on, the Squash Group got married, started families, and traded squash courts for tennis courts (and eventually, more leisurely dinners and BBQs). Between them, they created 13 kids—myself included. A few brave souls married in. Those kids grew up and created another 22 grandkids. Now, we number almost 60 strong.
The glue
What holds us together isn’t just the history or the shared memories—it’s the values we learned on and off the court. Respect. Friendship. Resilience. Loyalty. The importance of turning up for each other, even when life throws a curveball (or a dodgy second serve).
We’ve celebrated wins—birthdays, weddings, graduations, triumphs on and off the court. And we’ve stood together in loss—saying goodbye to loved ones, rallying around in hard times. In so many ways, we’ve become like a sports team. We train hard for life, we cheer each other on, and no matter the scoreboard, we always have each other’s backs.
Sport = Family
These days, we’re more spread out. Friday Squash is a treasured memory, not a weekly event. And tennis is more stop-start (thanks to knees, hips and backs that don’t quite bounce back like they used to). But the spirit is still there. The catch-ups still happen. The values still guide us. And the legacy of what sport gave us—community, character, and connection—lives on in each new generation.
So when people ask me why I coach, the answer is simple: because sport gave me a family. And if I can pass on even a fraction of that joy, belonging and life learning to the next generation, then I know I’m doing something right.
Because at the end of the day, sport isn’t just about playing the game. It’s about how the game plays a part in your life.
