The Hings: A family that brings togetherness to sports

By Akeem Greene

Barbara Bush had once said, “At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict, or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child, a parent”.
If there is one family that embodies the concept of togetherness, that family is named Hing. Yes, there may be other families with better records in this respect, but the Hings — four in number — have an interesting way of balancing the rigours

and hassles of the professional world with one thing: sports.
The patriarch of this particular family, 48-year-old Nicholas Hing, has been a graphic artist for the past 30 years, and along with his wife Nathalie, has produced two multi-talented boys, Eric and Michael. In their own fields, the sons have impressed in their respective disciplines and have still managed to stay above par regarding academics.
Guyana Times Sport spoke to the joyful family during the festive season, to essentially understand how they do it all, and was much surprised to learn that they have been doing the balancing act for quite some time now.
“My family is involved in three different sports, which are karate, hockey and archery. It is that order because our eldest son, Eric, began karate at age 5, then my wife Nathalie started hockey after our second son, Michael, was born. Eric

began playing hockey around that time also. He was 12 year old. Michael started karate at age six, and started playing hockey at about 10 years old; while I started with archery three years ago”, Nicholas recalled.
He added, “It all just started as a way of getting exercise, but some of us came to love the sport we are currently competing in. We realized that sports was also a good balance for the boys, a balance regarding their school and life at home.”
Asked how they managed to perform the balancing act for all these years, Nicholas responded, “Ahah! We find ways to do it!”
On the other side, Nathalie, a former national hockey player, said she lends the supportive role. She stated, “We have one policy, which is to be open. If you [her sons] don’t talk, it would be hard for us to know what is wrong, and then find a way of remedying the situation”.
Questioned on how important is it for parents to be there to offer support for their children even when they are not winning, the father posited, “It is very important. Children need to be encouraged in whatever they want to do. They need to understand they may not always win, but can learn from their wins and losses”.
Big brother Eric, aged 24, works for a construction company and owns his own dojo. He has an illustrious past in the field of karate and hockey, according to his father.
“Eric wanted to learn karate since he was 3 or 4 years old, but had to wait. Eric represented Guyana at the ISKF [International Shotokan Karate Federation] World Cup Championships in 2008 (Canada), the ISKF Pan-American Championships in 2010 (Guyana), and the IKD World Cup in 2011 (Canada). He and Michael took part in the IKD[International Karate Daigaku] Caribbean Championships in 2013 (Barbados). They also were in the U-21 hockey teams, with Eric travelling to Trinidad & Tobago twice, and Michael to Canada.”
Their CVs (curriculum vitae) are already well documented; and with Michael, student of the Chase Academic Foundation, who is aspiring to be a physiotherapist, writing his Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examinations next May/June, the graphic artist was deeply appreciative of the support his wife has offered to date, and will continue in the same vein.
But being in sports for all these years, they must have seen where there is need for improvement, and Nicholas was not short of words in this regard.
“…developing our coaches through coaching courses, sports administration, more sports facilities for the different disciplines. Sports tourism, which the Government is promoting, along with more corporate sponsorship”, he contended.
In closing, the most enticing question was asked: How do you enjoy the festive season? The adventurous Nicholas was firm in declaring that comforting his taste buds was top priority.
“By spending time together… My wife also loves to cook, so there are lots of different types of food!!!” he explained.