Wanted...Olympic Torch Bearers

Seb Coe is asking for nominations for 'truly inspirational' people to be part of the relay that will carry the Olympic torch around the UK. He needs 8,000 of them.

Wow! 8,000 inspiring people.

If I was the English teacher of my son's Year 5 class, I would set this as a challenge for the kids.
'Who inspires you and why? 150 words by the end of the lesson, please.'

I wonder who they'd come up with.  Cheryl Cole? Wayne Rooney?...or 'that bloke that scored that amazing goal against Arsenal, then twirled his red shirt around his heed...but me mam says I'm not allowed to say his name...'

Kids always have heroes that are in the public eye. People who win a lot. People who are good looking. People who are just plain rich. They're blinded by the glitz, the sparkle and the fame.

So when kids are leading their ordinary little lives in an unglamorous and familiar setting, its hardly surprising that they might not even notice a truly inspiring person - right in front of their noses.

On Sunday, the 10 year old was playing cricket for his local team. I arrived towards the end of the match and caught the last couple of overs. I was told he'd had a stormer. He'd taken a few wickets and scored a few runs. I could tell - the way he was bouncing around like Tigger with his mates - full of himself.

The opposition were fielding, and out the corner of my eye, I noticed a young lad, dressed in full cricket whites like the others, on the boundary. But this little lad wasn't like the others - he only had one arm, and he was walking awkwardly. 'Prosthetic legs,' my friend said. 'He's amazing.'

Unfortunately, I didn't get to see this young lad play because the game ended at that moment, but Eddie, who had been umpiring the game, said that he had been outstanding. He had batted, bowled and fielded alongside his team mates, who had continually encouraged and applauded his efforts throughout the game.

I asked the 10 year old later about what he had thought of the young lad.

'Yeh, he was good,' he replied. And that was it. He was 'good.'

I suppose the young lad himself would have been delighted with this answer. Considered by the opposition as just plain 'good.' No mention of disability, just another cricketer on the away side who was a canny little player.

For me though, this little lad was a tad more than good - he was a 'truly inspiring person,' even though my son, his team and a load of other 10 year old kids might ask the question, 'why?'

Forget the twaddle on Twitter - we are surrounded by truly inspiring people that turn up when we least expect.

Only another 7,999 to find...