Simply Abu Dhabi XI

5 9 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I ‘I’d love to coach my daughter. I wouldn’t want anyone else telling her what to do’ Sometimes you need to be tough on children, says David Beckham. It’s what drove him to success. He tells Ed Smith It is a close, humid morning, the hottest of the summer, and there is no air- conditioning in a spare sports hall in Bedford. Just standing still is uncomfortable. David Beckham is joining a coaching session for a group of 19 teenagers, part of the Sky Sports Living for Sport scheme that aims to develop self-esteem through activity. They had no idea Beckham was turning up. They look gleefully excitable, running around like five-year-olds opening all their Christmas presents at once. Beckham, too, is feeding off the atmosphere that he has created. In the warm-up game of “British Bulldog”, he is spinning away from being tagged, sprinting, changing direction, arching his body away from hands grasping at his grey marl tracksuit. It would be easy to run into a “tackler” deliberately and retreat to the sidelines with an iced water. Instead, Beckham is doing what every son hopes his father would do in back yard football matches: he is trying. It’s hot work, and sweat is showing through the back of Beckham’s grey T-shirt, his swept-back hair momentarily flopping out of place. “I knew there was a reason I retired,” he jokes, after evading the tacklers once again and sprinting to safety. We meet after the coaching session. “For me, this is pleasure. Some people see these days as a chore. I love coming down here doing these kinds of days. The kids love it, and I’ve always enjoyed it, even from a young age. Being at Manchester United we were taught by the manager [Sir Alex Ferguson] to do things like this. I enjoy it so much now because I was brought up on that.” It is gracious to credit nurture not nature. But many top sportsmen, given the same encouragement to “give back”, never catch the bug. For four hours, Beckham has been posing for photos, signing autographs, shaking hands and answering questions. He was effortlessly at ease with being photographed, watched, touched and admired. There is a difference between the two Beckhams, one observed from a few yards away, the other seen from 2ft. From a distance, you see his openness and warmth. When he bumped into one of the kids during a practice drill, he softly laid his hands on both shoulders while he said sorry. But up close, alongside the celebrated handsomeness, there is a toughness, a steely glint in his eye. And yet the niceness and the toughness do not contradict each other; they naturally coexist, as though his personality depends on the balance of the two. If that doesn’t sound like much of an achievement, then you have a short memory. The 1980s, when Beckham was growing up, was the era of “nice guys finish last”. John McEnroe-style tantrums seemed the future, the inevitable evolution of a winner. Courtesy and niceness were deemed to be on the wrong side of history, tainted by hints of the gentlemanly amateur who could not cut it in the world of ruthless professionalism. So can you be tough and also very nice? “To be successful, there has to be a side of you that is tough. But if you treat people in the right way and respect them, then I think people respond to that. And that’s where the niceness comes in. These days more than ever it is so important for sportsmen to be mentors, to be role models.” It seems the most natural thing in the world for Beckham to be a hardened professional athlete, who has competed on the toughest stages in the world’s most unforgiving sport, and also to be just a decent guy. A few others have achieved something similar — the great rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal is defined by respect, even affection. But Beckhamhas helped to change the perception that niceness is a competitive disadvantage. Some critics have attacked Beckham for being lucky. He never misses an opportunity to acknowledge his good fortune. “It’s always the dedication and sacrifice side that are talked about. But you do need a certain amount of luck. Sometimes you make your own luck. Other times it just happens. I’ve been lucky throughout my career. I played for the best teams. And I played with the best players. Yes, I worked very hard, but I had that luck. And it’s important to tell kids that. Of course, you have to be dedicated, you have to make sacrifices, but there is also a certain amount of luck involved.” Beckham tells me a story about being at his son’s school sports day. “I was sitting with my son, and I overheard a conversation between a group of kids nearby. One of them said he was going to have a go at throwing the javelin. Another said, ‘Why would you do that? That’s embarrassing.’ I couldn’t help but go over and say, ‘If you want to do it, go and do it’. You’ve got to know your own mind. Be prepared to be different.” Some top athletes develop contempt for “civilian” sport, as though the amateur game has nothing in common with the big leagues. Not Beckham. “It’s not always about being the best. Maybe you want to be the best footballer in the world, maybe you want to be the best tennis player. It can be important to have those goals. But the majority of the time, that’s not going to happen. It’s not always about being No 1. You have to enjoy what you do. It doesn’t matter if you’re the best at it — if you enjoy it, do it.” Enjoyment is not just about pleasure. It can lead to confidence. Living for Sport is a partnership between Sky and the Youth Sport Trust. Free and open to all secondary schools, the scheme provided professional athletes to mentor and inspire 30,000 young people last year. Wayne Instrell, one of the pupils at Bedford Academy, was struggling to deal with chronic bullying and the death of his father. Learning to swim, encouraged by his PE teacher, Michael Cox, helpedWayne to turn the corner. Now determined to become a teacher himself, Wayne led the session with bubbly enthusiasm. “Some people find my career story inspiring,” Beckham says when he hears Wayne’s story. “I find Wayne’s inspiring.” Beckham has a go at cricket as well as football with the kids, happy to be trying new things. (Good stance, the bat face slightly open, so I suspect he would favour the off side — the stylist’s traditional preference.) “If you don’t enjoy it, there is literally no point in doing it. I’m involved in a game that I’ve always loved and enjoyed. Yes, it’s about sacrifice and endurance. But above all it’s about enjoyment. It’s got to be fun. You have to get that across to kids.” It’s one thing to enjoy sport as a pastime, but what about when millions of people are judging you? “That makes me think about my experience of playing with Brazilian players. It’s literally like they’re on the beach playing football. It could be one of the biggest games and it’s like they’re playing on the street. When I played with Brazilian players it made me happy watching them. I can’t imagine how it makes them feel!” Finding the balance between fun and discipline is a recurrent theme. “I had coaches who were mentors for me. I wouldn’t have been anywhere near as successful without those coaches. At Sunday league level, there was Stuart Underwood, 6ft 3in, deep voice, sergeant major. And my dad was one of the coaches, he was really strict. Then I moved up to Manchester United and I had Nobby Stiles, who had a tough man reputation. Then we had Eric Harrison who scared the hell out of me. Then we had Sir Alex Ferguson . . . ” A soft touch? “Yes, he was the softest out of all of them!” Beckham laughs. “It’s important to be exposed to that toughness. I’m like it with my boys. You have to say, ‘No! Daddy has been around for a lot longer than you and I’m right.’ Sometimes with children