Pursuing your passion in life might not always be the popular choice but it is the best choice. This is a belief that David Marnah has instilled in his three sons: Jesse, Francis, and Lord. Living in Ghana, most young boys their ages choose to join football if interested in sports. For these three teens, however, swimming is the best.
David, who earned a football coaching certificate from the Ghana Football Association, often gets asked why his boys didn’t choose to pursue his sport of choice. But for this loving father, this choice was an easy one to make – and it all stems from a genuine desire for his children to be themselves.
“The thing here is that I do not want my sons to one day tell me I chose their passion for them,” David said. “It is important for me to allow them to become who they want to be and if swimming is what they choose, my wife and I throw our support behind them completely.”
Having full support from their parents, these 14, 13, and 11-year-old boys have become quite impressive swimmers. The three of them train at the Burma Camp Sports Complex as part of the swimming club called GH Dolphins.
While they each love the sport itself, they also have their own reasons for being as passionate as they are about it. For Jesse, the oldest, he is motivated by the idea of making swimming a more popular option for others in Ghana.
Francis, the middle child, dreams of one day traveling to compete with athletes in other countries. For the youngest child, Lord, his love stems from watching own brothers fall in love with the sport.
“I train with [the] boys every time, and you should see how determined they are,” Bernard Morrison, their GH Dolphins swim coach said. “So focused and well supervised by their father who has taken great interest in their talent. The boys are talented and have unique individual strengths which distinguishes them from each other. They have it in them to succeed, and I am excited to be part of their beginning.”
The three of them have a ways to go before they’re ready to become Olympic swimmers, but David is more than happy to cheer them on every step of the way. In fact, he doesn’t hesitate to change his plans in order to make sure he never misses any of their national competitions or training sessions.
“These are my sons and I want them to know I am their biggest fan and motivator,” David said. “I think it is important I do this because they are also children and if they see my presence and know I am supporting them – I believe that helps that greatly to beat the odds and come up on top.”
The dedication David has to supporting his sons is something that hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“I’ll say that we are very lucky to have a father like this,” Francis said. “He always motivates us in swimming. He shows us what to do and it helps us a lot.”
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