Nurturing talent

How do we recognise and nurture talent and potential?

Sporting opportunity

As a Prep School boy in Scotland, I was a keen sportsman but not especially talented. I can remember one of my Schoolmasters, looking at a rather gangly 12 year old, tall for his age but somewhat uncoordinated, and saying: ‘Reid. Keep working hard at your rugby and you’ll get in the 1st XV and get your ‘colours’. He was right on both counts although my ‘colours’ were only awarded after the final match of the season!

The following term, this same Master spotted that I have a little talent at cross-country running (a sport I went on to develop significantly at my secondary school). Once again he encouraged me by setting a target of getting into the top three when the end of term school event took place. Again he was right to set the goal. I may, of course, have managed this without his interest and challenge – but I doubt it.

Professional sport scouts

Scouts for professional football spend less time these days on the side of muddy pitches looking for talent and much more in front of screens analysing data. Nonetheless, they still have to spot potential. In a course run by the Professional Football Scouts Association, they start with the photo seen above of a team of young kids in red and white shirts. It’s from the 1990s and they are on a dirt pitch in less than salubrious surroundings. ‘If you were a scout, which of these ten players would you most be interested in?’ You might pick the lad in the front row with the wide smile as he looks like he’s enjoying himself and so could have a good mentality. What about the boy standing taller than the others: he is presenting himself with confidence? How many would be drawn to the lad on the back row, far left, with his shirt hanging off his shoulders? He’s smaller than the others and has a shy smile. This young man is the future football megastar – Lionel Messi!

Nurture well

Let’s nurture well all those in front of us – at home, in school, at work, in a hobby setting, at church – and be prepared to be at pleasantly surprised by the outcome!

A journey justified

As the Omicron virus variant begins to bite, again the question lurks in our minds in this merry month of December: ‘Will journeys be curtailed to keep Christmas alive?’ As travel cancellations escalate and holidays are again delayed, there’s a growing fear that visiting relations and friends may be reduced to avoid the ‘Déjà voodoo’ of a hapless lockdown.

Journeys, however, feature strongly in that first Christmas story, and risks were taken – well beyond the realm of the sensible, sanitised, modern mind-set of the West. Firstly, through the demands of a Roman census, a heavily pregnant mother was forced to travel seventy miles by donkey through the dangerous Samarian countryside which would have taken four days at its smoothest – not quite the 1 hour 50 minutes that it takes today by car from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Joseph, who would naturally have wanted to protect his wife, might therefore have opted for a safer route, but this could have extended the journey to a week, despite knowing that she was ‘great with child.’

Then there was the epic journey of the Parthian magi from the borders of Afghanistan and Syria guided not by sat-nav but by the stars, or rather, one in particular. It had been their conviction after much soul and sky searching that a regal birth had been ushered in, and a sense of mystery and divine curiosity goaded them on to cover the 500 miles, taking them eighteen months or more.

For the shepherds out on the Judean hills, the journey was not nearly so long – but they were ‘under the influence’ of angels and bright lights, and this caused them irrationally to abandon their flocks, potentially to the ravages of wild animals.

For all the central figures that first Christmas journey was fraught with risk and danger, but they were put aside for greater purposes: the celebration of a new-born king who would ‘reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and for ever,’ as the prophet, Isaiah puts it.

It is a similar sense of daring and abandonment that the Christian message calls us all to make: to go with haste and inquire into what this story could mean for us in our hearts. Of course, it might mean disposing some of the excess baggage that we’re so tempted to carry at this festive time – an over-emphasis on self-indulgence, a preoccupation with consumerism and ‘stuff,’ and a scant regard for how the poor and marginalised might be coping as they languish in Yuletide shadows. Our travelling to meet the Saviour face to face, like the crib figures, is down to will power and a heart-felt conviction. Do we want to make that journey? For those who are making it now and have done for centuries it needs no justification. As Ralph Washington Sockman once said: ‘The hinge of history is on the door of a Bethlehem stable.’ History was changed by that journey, and ‘his-story’ for each one of us can begin there too… and transform us.

May each of us consider making that personal journey this year and keep Christmas alive– a very happy and joy-filled season to you all!

(With thanks to Revd Alex Aldous, chaplain of Prestfelde Prep School, Shrewsbury)

Dealing in Hope

Napoleon once said that ‘a leader is a dealer in hope’. During the Tokyo 2020 Olympics I have been following the progress of the Indian women’s field hockey team. (I served in India for nine years and all three of my children played representative hockey there.) I have been inspired by the incredible story of hope from Rani Rampal, the Indian ladies’ hockey captain. In her own words…

“I wanted an escape from my life; from the electricity shortages to the mosquitoes buzzing in our ear when we slept, from barely having two square meals to seeing our home getting flooded when it rained. My parents tried their best, but there was only so much they could do – Papa was a cart puller and Maa worked as a maid.

There was a hockey academy near my home, so I’d spend hours watching players practise – I really wanted to play. Papa would earn Rs 80 a day (under 80 pence) and couldn’t afford to buy me a stick. Every day, I’d ask the coach to teach me too. He’d reject me because I was malnourished. He’d say, “You aren’t strong enough to pull through a practice session.”

So, I found a broken hockey stick on the field and began practising with that – I didn’t have training clothes, so I was running around in a salwar kameez. But I was determined to prove myself. I begged the coach for a chance.

But when I told my family, they said, ‘Girls are supposed to do household work – and we won’t let you play in a short skirt.’ I’d plead with them saying, ‘Please mujhe jaane do. If I fail, I’ll do whatever you want.’ My family reluctantly gave in.

Training would start early in the morning. We didn’t even have a clock, so mom would stay up and look at the sky to check if it was the right time to wake me.

At the academy, it was mandatory for each player to bring 500 ml of milk. My family could afford only 200 ml; without telling anyone, I’d mix the milk with water and drink it because I wanted to play.

My coach supported me through thick and thin; he’d buy me hockey kits and shoes. He even allowed me to live with his family and took care of my dietary needs. I’d train hard and wouldn’t miss a single day of practice.

I remember earning my first salary; I received Rs 500 (under £5) after winning a tournament and gave the money to Papa. He hadn’t ever held so much money in his hands before. I promised my family, “One day, we’re going to have our own home,” I did everything in my power to work towards that.

After representing my state and playing in several championships, I finally got a national call up at the age of 15! Still, my relatives would only ask me when I was going to get married. But Papa told me, “Play to your heart’s content.” With my family’s support, I focused on doing my best for India and eventually, I became the captain of the Indian hockey team!

Soon after, while I was at home, a friend papa used to work with visited us. He brought along his granddaughter and told me, ‘She’s inspired by you and wants to become a hockey player!’ I was so happy; I just started crying.

And then in 2017, I finally fulfilled the promise I made to my family and bought them a proper house. We cried together and held each other tightly!

And I’m not done yet; this year, I’m determined to repay them and Coach with something they’ve always dreamed of — a gold medal from Tokyo.”

They didn’t win Gold this year (GB won the bronze medal match against the Indian ladies) but I wouldn’t be surprised if they do in 2024 in Paris if they all demonstrate such determination and passion as Rani Rampal. She is truly ‘a dealer in hope’ and has now inspired many to dream their dreams into reality.

You’re on mute! Or…

It is the fate of lockdown. We cannot sing, play or make music together, but if ever there was a chorus that has rung out like a clarion call on Zoom’s sound waves over these COVID times, it has been the unequivocal mantra: ‘You’re on mute.’ We’ve all done it; we’ve all been there – we chat into the void and wonder why there is no sympathy for what we’re saying, but it’s because we’re not using our voice in the right way: to borrow the axiom of yesteryear’s technology, we’ve not ‘adjusted our set.’

Amidst the maelstrom of 2020, now leaking inexorably into ’21, there have been many voices which have vied for attention and a multiplicity of issues, personal and social, have screamed to be heard. But as individuals and communities representing the voiceless in our nation and world, there are times when we might look in the mirror and lament: ‘you’re on mute.’ It is easy to accuse others of being on mute: the government, the councils, the powers that be – we claw for answers to this crisis and claim that ‘they should have spoken earlier.’ And for some of us, maybe as we turn our faces heavenward, our cry might be: ‘Lord, why are you on mute; why don’t you answer? Why are you causing us so much pain?’ At times, the psalmist echoes such sentiments, as in Psalm 28: ‘To you I call, O Lord my Rock, do not turn a deaf ear to me, for if you remain silent I shall be like those who have gone down to the pit. Hear my cry for mercy as I call for help.’

Pete Greig, author of ‘God on mute’, provided this powerful reflection as he wrestled with this issue: ‘I asked for strength that I might achieve; He made me weak so that I might obey. I asked for health that I might do greater things; I was given grace that I might do better things. I asked for riches that I might be happy; I was given poverty that I might be wise. I asked for power that I might have the praise of men; I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life; I was given life that I might enjoy all things. I received nothing that I asked for, all that I hoped for. My prayer was answered, I was most blessed.’

To hear, as God hears and to see as God sees, is indeed an ‘adjustment of our set’ – our mindset, our perspective and the way we view the world and ourselves. It could just be that we’re being called to listen in new ways – first to hear the pain within His heart; and then the overflow from this eustachian canal will be to hear the needs on our doorsteps and give them our voice.

Carpe Diem – ‘seize the day’

My Latin teacher, Charles Whittle, was delightfully eccentric. He was also my Housemaster and thus had a significant impact on my teenage life. One of his favourite sayings was ‘Carpe Diem’ – seize the day – and he took great delight in awarding us Polo mints for correct answers in lessons, clean shoes on parade and if we could correctly guess what the front page illustration on ‘Field’ magazine was to be in a particular month. He was unfailing in encouraging pupils to take up every possible opportunity. It was his encouragement which led me to learn croquet, to compete hard in cross-country running and to develop an interest in diary writing – as well as to like green ink! ‘Carpe diem, Reid. You never know what a new day might bring.’

Now normal

And so we have arrived, after something akin to a ‘Big Dipper’ ride over the past six months, to a new academic year. My general school emails (part of an online forum) are full of queries about ‘bubbles’, how best to hold socially-distanced staff meetings, whether or not Carol Services can happen with no congregational singing and how assemblies / chapels can take place in any reasonable form. As one Head has said to me, ‘It’s not a new normal in view of COVID-19, but a now normal. I don’t want this current situation to be normal at all!’

A massive opportunity

Despite it all, I remain amazed and encouraged by all those associated with schools who are embracing the challenges and coming up with exciting ways to ‘seize the day’. One of our overseas’ boarding school Heads is coping with online learning across four time zones but still managing to consider a whole-school Zoom scavenger hunt as part of developing community away from school. Some Heads are making yet more of learning outdoors (where masks are required less often) and one Chaplain we spoke to recently is relishing continuing with online chapel where he is able to reach into homes and not just school. As he said, ‘This is a massive opportunity for the gospel but it will also bring greater pressure and scrutiny on chapel and what we say.’ TISCA has also decided to move our prefects’ training online which removes geographical borders and this has allowed at least one international school (based in India) to participate!

Be strong and courageous

The story is told of two UK rival shoe manufacturers in the early 1900s who sent representatives to the Caribbean islands to check out sale prospects. After several weeks of market research, one rep sent a telegram home: ‘They don’t wear shoes here. Coming home next boat’. The other also messaged his boss: ‘They don’t wear shoes here. Send 10,000 pairs next boat’.

I wonder how we might best ‘Carpe Diem’ even when we find ourselves in times we don’t like and even fear? Just as we were preparing for the start of the new academic year, a TISCA chaplain told me about the Scripture verse a colleague had given him to put on his desk – and it’s one we would do well to be reminded of daily, too:

‘Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go’ (Joshua 1:9)