Keep Practising

You know, I bet you practise lots of things. Do you play footy or a musical instrument? Do you go to gymnastics classes or ride a horse? You could be into athletics. If it means something to you, keep practising.

Even sports people in wheelchairs practise. If you can name the sport, they do it. Some of them play sports at an extremely high level. (If you thought “high level” meant they climb mountains, wheelchair people also do that.)

The 2022 Australian of the Year is a wheelchair athlete. He’s a tennis player who has won the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.

He’s won each of them at least twice and has been ranked number one in the world. He also played basketball for Australia.

Not bad for a guy who’s in a wheelchair. How did he do it? Did he wake up one morning and decide to win the Australian Open? Well, he might have. But he would have had to do something else first.

He had to practice. He spent hours and hours hitting a tennis ball.

Did he have days when he wondered if it was all worth it? He might have, but we know he didn’t quit. He’s got the trophies to prove he didn’t. Practice played a big part in helping him win.

Okay, practice isn’t only about winning a tennis match. Many of us might not want to do that. But what about something that’s important to you?

(You probably noticed that practise was sometimes spelled practice. The reason is I’m in Australia. Practise is a verb; practice is a noun. I had to keep practising to get the right one in the right place.)