It takes a village to raise a child

There is a group of guys that I know pretty well who have decided to raise a child, but not in the typical way of raising a child and mostly because it is not a normal child. The one thing that they all agree on is how the child is going to grow and that they will work together as a village to make sure the child is nurtured, cared for and given the best opportunities to succeed.

To just add a quick disclaimer I am one of those guys and the child, well it is a rugby club, the Cary Claymores - sponsorship opportunities available :)

A quick history of the Claymores from my personal experience with them. Back a couple of years ago I heard of a rugby training clinic being held at the NC State rugby field. I thought I would pop over to have a look as rugby attracts kiwis a bit like blondes to Benjamins :) I met up with a guy we will call Matt (mainly because that is his name) who had recently started the Cary Claymores and had maybe 10-15 kids showing up to play touch rugby and work some drills. I offered to help out because quite simply, Rugby. Jump forward a couple of years and we have over 50 kids this season, are coaching tackle now and have plans for the future including an international tour. We have a board, 4 certified tackle coaches, have filed for tax exempt status, good looking kit, great parents, incredible kids and the baby is growing.

So let's get back to that village

This week we had a board/village meeting. It is a pretty interesting village consisting of a Canuck who sprays chemtrails out of the back of the commercial jet he pilots (if you believe in that sort of bs), a Pomme who is not bad for a Pomme but looks silly in a Red Hat, Blue Steel who was not a professional model in Argentina but should have been, an international HR director (so someone with actual class), an ex-grunt (thank you again for your service), a kiwi, a Geoff (it's a bit like having a Donk of you remember Crocodile Dundee 2) and el Presidente Matt. You might think that with such an interesting crowd there might be some issues but the only real one is trying to understand what I say after a couple of Bond Brothers pints.

The village has a child and the village is raising that child together

Now, funnily enough I have not been on many boards before but I am pretty sure that most don't work as well as our does as ours has foundations in the game they play in heaven and we don't look at ourselves as a board, more a team. Yes, we all have positions on the board, there are a couple of important titles (Secretary, Treasurer and Chairman) that have more specific roles but when we get together to talk about our baby everyone has ideas that contribute to the baby's wellbeing. We not only want the kids to learn the mechanical skills to play the game but more importantly we want them to have fun and learn the skills that we learnt from the game, teamwork, teamwork, teamwork working towards a common goal (which of course is another way of saying teamwork) and the decision making skills that rugby teaches. Oh, and to run straight.

Rugby is all about leaving your ego at the door. The All Blacks tidy up their own dressing rooms after a game and no matter how good a player you are if you are not good in the team then you aren't in the team. As a village/board we have no individual egos, we just have a child to raise and we are going to do it together. We want to instill in the child the love that we all have for the game, we want the child to grow and learn and be the best it can be based on the principals that we all believe in. We will win as a team as much that we would lose as a team - not that we are going to lose :)


Yes I know, not the normal type of Poets Day post but then again these posts are all about me and I maybe wanted to say something nice about the village that I am privileged enough to be in :) Also midway though it I read something on the book of faces that knocked me around a bit - so to steal a line or two from my buddy. Hug your kids and tell them that they are loved and that you will always protect them. Love and be kind as you never know how it may impact another's life. In our village there will be no bullying and no bad sportsmanship - our child is going to be a great citizen and you are going to want to know him/her.

In honor of the Irish I will now bugger off and have a green beer (well it is in a green bottle)

Work hard, play hard and earn your inspiration

Happy Poets Day and St Patricks Day