Blog: “Being active has given me a more positive attitude on life”
Activity Alliance features a blog post every Friday. This year we have been sharing the experiences of disabled people involved in sport and exercise at all levels. Today, we continue this theme and hear from lawn bowls player, Kieran Rollings. He tell us the best feeling about taking part in lawn bowls is that it gives him a sense of achievement and pride, especially when he is competing for his country.
Hi I’m Kieran, I live in Kettering, I’m a lawn bowls player and I have Monoplegic Cerebral Palsy.
I play both indoors and outdoors at Kettering Lodge Bowls Club. I first started playing lawn bowls in 2011, at 12 years old. I generally play anywhere between three to five times a week.
I got into the sport because my granddad used to play. He firstly got my brother involved and then after a couple of months of him starting I wanted to have a go. Since I started six years ago I have never looked back! The most significant part in my bowls carer was in 2015, when I started playing at international level for the Disability Bowls England Para Squad.
I love playing bowls, it is a great sport as its different disciplines allows you to play as an individual but also in team events, such as pairs, triples and fours. However, the majority of bowls games are team based matches.
Keeping active is beneficial to me on a number of levels. It fills me with a lot of enjoyment but it also keeps me healthy too. The thing I enjoy most about playing bowls is the competitiveness of the game. Every time I win it gives me a sense of achievement, and if I lose it gives me a challenge to perform better and reach the goals I want to achieve.
I also enjoy the social benefits of game. I can easily go out and speak to people - it’s made me feel I don’t have to live a life where you are by yourself. As the years have gone by I have met more and more people and I now have a network of people around me. They all have and continue to help me throughout my life.
Not only has being active has helped me lead a healthier life, my day-to-day activities have been much easier to do too. The opportunity it has given me to interact with different people has helped me develop my social skills. Taking part in activities everyday has most importantly given me a more positive attitude on life - sport has definitely given me a sense of enjoyment. When I am competing for my country it gives me a sense of achievement and pride, which is the best feeling ever.
I find that support from family, friends and my team mates has been key for me to play at a high level. They have enabled me to adopt a more positive attitude before going into an event, and this in turn helps me perform better and achieve a goal I have set for myself. The support around me before going in to the Commonwealth Games this year was tremendous. The support definitely helped me perform at a top level.
I am looking forward to the rest of the year as I have a number of events coming up during our outdoor season. July 14th will see me take part in the National Disability Bowls England Pairs Finals at Royal Leamington Spa. Myself and Paul Brown are looking to defend the title after becoming the champions last year. I will also be taking part in Disability Bowls England North vs South challenge at Royal Leamington Spa on August 4th.
While these events are going ahead I will also be competing in other competitions during the outdoor season. This will be for a spot to compete at the Bowls England national finals at Leamington in August.
My advice to other disabled people who are thinking about being more active is - go out there, try out different sports, or join a club and become active. If you are more active and go out and meet people you will lead a healthier lifestyle. Bowls is a great sport to help people become active as you can compete at any level against other disabled and non-disabled people - it is a sport for all and you can play it on a level playing field.
I would also advise to set yourself realistic goals and when you achieve that goal set a new one. I’ve done this and I feel I can achieve anything because I’m always working towards something.
Cerebral Palsy Sport is the country’s leading national disability sports charity supporting people with cerebral palsy to reach their sporting potential.
If you want to be more active but aren't sure how to start, visit our dedicated webpages for advice.
Photography credit: @Gettysport @Metsphoto
