I remember when I was young; I loved to play games with my friends. The most popular game by then was "Hide and Seek”, it was when a group of people would go and hide somewhere, and then there was this one person who remained behind to search for everyone.

The first one to be caught would play the searching role the next round and the last one to be caught won the game. It kept going on and on till everyone became exhausted and started splitting up one by one.

There were all these different games we played and that are what basically brought all the kids around the neighborhoods together.

When I think of the games we played when I was little, and all the fun we had together, somewhat they impacted my life in one way of the other.

Today, I have brought the love of "Hide and Seek” to other sports.  Before I joined my current school, I hated sports, since they are mandatory, I didn’t look forward to the end of classes when I needed to change and get on the field to play soccer or basketball.

I remember telling my coach "I am not feeling well” more than four times in a week. But since I had no way to get out of it, I had to get into it.

Soccer season ended and for the first time, I got the feeling of how much I didn’t want the season to end. It was the first team I had been part of the girls in my team. We had become so close and we met each day to practice.

Their attitudes had pushed me to love the sport.
When soccer season ended, I had to play basketball, it was another struggle, I rarely made baskets and I hated sprinting.

But then for the second time, I experienced the joy of being part of the team and learning the basics. Since I have had to do the same sports over and over again, there was a huge change in me on the field; I developed a great passion in soccer and basketball.

My attitude changed from, "I cannot do this” to "I love to play.”

Being part of a team is one of the greatest things I have experienced in my life. It is a group of individuals who have something in common. I have grown up believing that when alone in life, little can be accomplished but in a group of people, so much can be done and that’s the same spirit a team holds.

In our country Rwanda, the majority of the population are great fans of a certain sport or team.. Some professional athletes have been great inspirations for very many youths in the country.

The country should support and encourage youth teams of committed and dedicated teenagers who love to play a certain sport.

Parents should play as key roles to inspire teenagers to do sports so that they can become more active from a long day’s school work and also keep teenagers occupied and on track.

All my fellow teenagers, I encourage you to keep the passion for sports higher and let’s look at the positive side of how sports can be important in our day to day lives.

Ends