THE term "soccer mums" brings to mind kiasu housewives who devote their lives to ferrying their kids to myriad extra- curriculum activities.

But two real-life soccer mums The New Paper on Sunday spoke to debunk the myth.
These women simply want to nurture their children's passion for sports.

Housewife Gaye Chan's life revolves around her three children's activities, but she is focused mainly on her second daughter's gymnastics training sessions.

Mrs Chan, 40, has been taking Kelly, nine, to gymnastics classes since the latter was three years old.

"We were looking for a sport for her. We introduced swimming, but she wouldn't follow the coach's instructions," said Mrs Chan.

As Kelly showed an interest in tumbling and doing handstands, they thought of gymnastics - and Kelly loved it.

"We were surprised that she could follow whatever the coach said, and she displayed a natural affinity for the sport," said Mrs Chan.

Now Kelly spends 15 hours a week training at Prime Gymnastics Club because she has taken up the sport competitively.

And that means Mrs Chan ferries Kelly to the club four times a week. The family has moved from Woodlands to Yio Chu Kang to be nearer to the club, which is in Toa Payoh.
"Gymnastics is her passion, so we are encouraging her in all ways possible," said Mrs Chan.

Kelly participates in three or four national competitions a year.

She also represented St Margaret's Primary School in an inter-school competition in April.
Mrs Chan said Kelly had considered pursuing sports on a full-time basis, though "her ambition now is to collect as many medals as possible".

"We can consider sending her to the Singapore Sports School if that's where her passion lies," said Mrs Chan, adding that all she asks is that Kelly do decently well in school.

Her other two daughters, Kim, 12, and Katie, five, are also doing gymnastics, though not competitively.

Mrs Chan said she met several full-time working mothers at Kelly's gym who are equally supportive of their children's interest in the sport.

"These mothers have help and support from other family members and that's great for cultivating the young ones' interests," she said.

That's in line with the Singapore Sports Council's Let's Play movement, which aims to inspire every Singaporean to embrace sports as a lifestyle choice.

For Mrs Shamini Flint, sports has always been part of her family's lifestyle.

The busy 40-year-old author does not have the luxury of time, so that's where weekends come in.

Love football
Her children, Sasha, eight, and Spencer, five, love football and attend football classes on weekends.

Sasha plays football for Tanglin Trust School in the 10-and-under category.

Mrs Flint takes time to kick around with them and those precious moments inspired her to write two children's books, Ten and Diary Of A Soccer Star.

Mrs Flint joked about Sasha harbouring thoughts about going pro one day.

"All I want is for them to have fun, stay fit, learn teamwork and competitiveness. For the kids to be that good is very difficult. They need natural aptitude, and sadly their father and I didn't give them good genes!"

Mrs Flint is also probably one of the rare mothers in Singapore who likes her children to get muddy.

"It's very important to get out and play. They need to have fresh air and build strength. Sports is better than shopping or staying at home," said the Singapore-based Malaysian, who is working on her next book about another sport - cricket.


This article was first published in The New Paper.