Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Confession Wednesday: Sports Confessions
I'm still trying to get through over 100 missed blog posts! Holy cow, y'all are word-y!
Anyways, it's Confession Wednesday! And since I have so obviously had sports on the brain, I thought that'd be a great topic for this week's confessions.
Do you secretly LOVE when your significant other makes you watch golf? Do you watch the Superbowl just for the commercials? Are you a former ski team cheerleader?
I'm not very athletic. I'm not particularly coordinated and I also am a perfectionist, which means I tend to not stick with things that I'm not immediately great at.
But I really think I could have been more sporty if I'd been encouraged. My mom was a single, working mom for a lot of my school years, and by the time I got to high school I was involved in Job's Daughters, which took too much free time for me to really develop any sort of sports skills.
It didn't have to be that way.
When I was 9, I begged my mom to sign me up for Li'l Miss Softball. Some of my friends played and I wanted to know what all the fuss was about. My mom did sign me up with very little convincing. She knew it would be good for me. The only trouble was finding a way to get to practices, since they were at a school downtown starting at 5 and my mom didn't get home until 6.
The perfect solution was a neighbor down the street, who happened to be a pitcher for my team. Problem solved. Until the neighbor, Shelby, injured her shoulder and had to miss a couple of practices.
It was no secret that I wasn't as good as my teammates. I couldn't throw as far. My ability to hit the ball was always in question. And I wasn't the fastest of runners. Most of them had already been playing for a couple of years by the time I had the misfortune of being assigned to them. When Shelby injured her shoulder, my coach, Linda, decided it was the perfect opportunity to cut me from her team. She told the other girls they weren't allowed to give me a ride to practice.
(Yes. I am totally serious.)
After a week of fruitless begging for rides, Linda called my mom and said I was out for missing too many practices.
(Did I mention I was only NINE?)
That was my foray into organized sports. After that, I decided I was never going to make it. I mean, by that age, what coach was going to be willing to spend time helping me get anywhere near the level of the other kids?
I held a grudge, though. I'm going to confess today that I held a very long grudge.
One that lasted until ninth grade.
In ninth grade, I signed up to be on the yearbook staff. By total coincidence, I was assigned to cover the JV Girls' Soccer team. And I was surprised to learn that my old softball coach, Linda, was coaching our JV Girls' Soccer team. As I poured through countless photographs to put together my layout, I found it. The perfect revenge.
If you happen across the 1991 Ayala Bulldogs yearbook and find the page for the JV Girls' Soccer team, you'll see the absolutely most horrible photograph ever printed of any coach in the history of high school yearbooks.
I may not have a long throw, but my memory makes elephants jealous.
So? What about you? I know you've got a sports confession in there somewhere. Let's hear it!
And be sure to link up below. Just enter the link to your Confession so we can all join in the fun!
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I LOVE LOVE LOVE your story! I would have definitely done the same thing. At least she didn't kill your love of watching ball games. :) My only sports confessions are 1) I did not understand football until I had Matt explain it to me when we were dating and 2) I think it is so funny and weird that ball players pat each others' butts. We girls don't do that! We do pinch though...
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome. I will be thinking about this today. I am sure I have a sports confession...
ReplyDeleteI love it! I'd really like to see that picture. I was never into sports, but my kids live for them. My boys play baseball, football, and basketaball, and my daughter is on the high school drill team. I've come across many coaches like your Linda. I don't know what it is about little league sports that brings out that kind of competitive nature in people. Personally, I think they are trying to live out some lost childhood fantasy of their own.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYou need to scan a copy of that picture and post it! I'm dying to see it!
ReplyDeleteYou Rock! That's awesome
I do like sports.
ReplyDeleteI was more athletic when I was younger. When I was in 9th grade, I broke my wrist. We played volleyball in YM/YW, and my serve with that cast on was killer!
I also tried out for the softball team in highschool and popped my shoulder out of it's socket. I was nowhere near team material. I don't know what I was thinking.
The Killers???!!!?! What kind of concerts are you going to? DO I need to be worried?
ReplyDeleteThe Killers???!!!?! What kind of concerts are you going to? DO I need to be worried?
ReplyDeletesweet revenge...and you need to post that photo! I am still thinking about a sports confession...
ReplyDeleteThat is HILARIOUS! What awesome revenge! You MUST scan in that yearbook photo so we can all see it! Please?
ReplyDeleteNope. I hate sports altogether. My boyfriend's daughter is a young cheerleader and it's great because that's all I watch when I go to games anyway!
ReplyDeleteThat woman should totally have been fired. What sweet revenge! I have never liked sports or been good at them.
ReplyDeleteYou really must pull out your yearbook and scan that pic for us all to see!
ReplyDeleteI'm not particularly athletic either. The only sports I participated in during HS were vollyball and badminton. This was LONG before V-Ball became an Olympic event so it wasn't very exciting.
ReplyDeleteStopping by from SITS! You're funny.
Wow! I can't believe any coach would do that to a nine year old! How calloused! What's more important at that age, winning or building character? That's hilariouis though about the yearbook picture!
ReplyDeleteI love sports, but prefer college over professional.
ReplyDeleteWhat a mean coach! I'm glad you were able to get her back.
In keeping with the theme of confessions, I must confess that I'm so excited you got a bit of revenge. Oh how I would love to see that pic!
ReplyDeleteWhat a jerky coach! Ugh. That's ridiculous!
ReplyDeleteHappy SITS Saturday Sharefest!