Pedro García Aguado, water polo Olympian (1996) and World Champion (1998) as well as a television presenter and actor, addressed a workshop on sport as part of the Adeje Summer University today, July 21st. The workshop addressed the importance of values in sport, and the attitudes needed. Garcia Aguado spoke of the need for honesty, loyalty, confidence, believe, and authenticity as fundamental in learning sport and in how to transfer these values into other aspects of our daily lives.
“Sport, as a discipline, is fundamental for a balanced society and Spain is very strong in this regard, leading in female and male sports, in individual and team sports. A healthy society needs sports”.
He agreed that personal circumstances play a part too. “There was a time in my life when, even though it seemed I had everything, I felt as though I was a failure. Believing in yourself, embracing humility and the capacity to listen to others and learn from them only serves to improve us”.
He said things that affect us in the world should not be seen as positive or negative, as it depends on how we deal with what happens to us. “We have to learn that all things are relative, as much in life as in sport”, and concentrate less on navel-gazing.
García Aguado told the workshop that individual responsibility is hugely important, particularly at the moment, during this pandemic “where we have to deal with what we are all going through, respect the norms, and sport can influence that, as it helps us have discipline, respect routine, and above all show us the value of solidarity and working as a team”.
He said that young people have proven themselves to be very adaptable, during what has been a very tough time for them. In general too, healthy physical activity is fundamental on a day to day basis, creating healthy endorphins, and helping us manage successes and failures.
