School and college sports

[Ticklishchap]

Yes indeed, cross country anyone????

Or the scrum? ...

I often did cross-country in the rain. And Rugger games were rarely rained off. Part of character building, we were told. It was cricket matches that were most often cancelled or suspended because of rain.

Ah, the joys of Rugger on rainy Saturday afternoons (he says, seated comfortably at his desk)!

 

[ton312]

I was a springboard and platform diver for the majority of my life. From a very early age past my college years. It gave me everything, and it was fun! I learned to face and conquer my fears. I learned how to forget about winning and focus on doing. Diving taught me to be mindful, patient and precise in my movement and thought.
I would practice for 5-6 hours a day, 6 days a week during my college career. I lost some of the free time and social life my friends enjoyed but I wouldn't trade it. I left the sport for only 3 years before returning as a coach. I can't imagine not having diving in my life!

 

[2jakes]

I admire your dedication to the sport.
I have the same feeling for tennis.

I had no idea of the importance that
it would helped me later in life to stay fit.

 

[Ticklishchap]

I admire your dedication to the sport.
I have the same feeling for tennis.
View attachment 81795
I had no idea of the importance that
it would helped me later in life to stay fit.

Very fit!
I could have sworn you mentioned cycling in an earlier version of this post. I never did that as a sport, but at university cycled daily from the dorms (as you would call them in the States) to class, between classes and to the sports fields during the time I played Rugger. I enjoyed that very much but do not cycle in London now, both because it's a danger sport in the city and because it attracts a special type of lycra-clad militant - unlike other European cities (notably Amsterdam) where cycling is still civilised and enjoyable, much as I remember it as a student.

 

[2jakes]

Very fit!
I could have sworn you mentioned cycling in an earlier version of this post. I never did that as a sport, but at university cycled daily from the dorms (as you would call them in the States) to class, between classes and to the sports fields during the time I played Rugger. I enjoyed that very much but do not cycle in London now, both because it's a danger sport in the city and because it attracts a special type of lycra-clad militant - unlike other European cities (notably Amsterdam) where cycling is still civilised and enjoyable, much as I remember it as a student.

I ride vintage single speed coaster brake bicycles.
I’m fortunate to have areas that are free of traffic.
For a good workout, I choose the hills. This helps me
give my legs a good workout needed for playing tennis.

 

[Ticklishchap]

I ride vintage single speed coaster brake bicycles.
I’m fortunate to have areas that are free of traffic.
For a good workout, I choose the hills. This helps my
tennis.

Similarly, for a good workout I enjoy hillwalking and long-distance hikes along the coast.

 

[2jakes]

Similarly, for a good workout I enjoy hillwalking and long-distance hikes along the coast.

Hikes by myself, barefoot along the coast is so pleasant and also reduces tension or
stress from work.

 

[HanauMan]

This thread has brought back some memories!

I enjoyed gym when I was in Junior High. We did track and I was pretty good at that. I was the fasted 8th grader in the 400 meter run. I enjoyed baseball, too, And, of course, we were taught Square dancing which, as a 13 / 14 year old teenager, I really enjoyed. Dancing with girls was fun, dancing so close you could feel their breath on you.

However, once I got to high school gym became more intense and the emphasize was more on winning than having fun. I started to hate team sports and all that crap such as 'there is no I in team'. I ended up hating all sports and that situation has lasted up to now. I love watching skiing on TV and I still hike the hills, but I have absolutely no interest in team sports otherwise.

 

[2jakes]

This thread has brought back some memories!

I enjoyed gym when I was in Junior High. We did track and I was pretty good at that. I was the fasted 8th grader in the 400 meter run. I enjoyed baseball, too, And, of course, we were taught Square dancing which, as a 13 / 14 year old teenager, I really enjoyed. Dancing with girls was fun, dancing so close you could feel their breath on you.

However, once I got to high school gym became more intense and the emphasize was more on winning than having fun. I started to hate team sports and all that crap such as 'there is no I in team'. I ended up hating all sports and that situation has lasted up to now. I love watching skiing on TV and I still hike the hills, but I have absolutely no interest in team sports otherwise.

I enjoyed "backlot" baseball as a kid.
But that changed when I entered high
school. Team sports was no longer fun.
I did keep up with cycling on my own.
Steve Reeves & the movie "Hercules"
got me interested in weight-lifting for
a while.
When I was in the military, I noticed
a pretty girl playing tennis at the base
tennis courts with her dad.

I went to the px and bought the
"Pancho Gonzales" Deluxe racquet.

By the time I was able to keep the ball
inside the court, I was sent overseas.
When I got out of the service, I continued with tennis and cycling.

 

[Fading Fast]

...However, once I got to high school gym became more intense and the emphasize was more on winning than having fun. I started to hate team sports and all that crap such as 'there is no I in team'. I ended up hating all sports and that situation has lasted up to now. I love watching skiing on TV and I still hike the hills, but I have absolutely no interest in team sports otherwise.

As with most things - it's about balance. I understand the "sports as a metaphor for life" thing so that by teaching kids winning is important you are teaching them that life requires a commitment - practice, focus, effort, passion - if you want to achieve your goals. All good and well up to a point - but (1) even in life, winning isn't everything (how you play the game and, for some, just the journey matters more) and (2) metaphor whatever, if "my team" of randomly selected kids won that afternoon really wasn't that important.

And the whole "there's no I in team" thing bugged me as a kid. So if I play well, fair and passionately while some teammate are sloppy and we lose, I should hang my head, but if I goof off but others on my team cover for me and we win, I should feel good? Of course there is a balance here as well - being a good teammate / passing when you should / focusing on the collective goal is important - but I never (even as a kid with a gym teacher yelling at me) believed in the "no I in team" thing and still don't today.

 

[Ticklishchap]

This thread has brought back some memories!

I enjoyed gym when I was in Junior High. We did track and I was pretty good at that. I was the fasted 8th grader in the 400 meter run. I enjoyed baseball, too, And, of course, we were taught Square dancing which, as a 13 / 14 year old teenager, I really enjoyed. Dancing with girls was fun, dancing so close you could feel their breath on you.

However, once I got to high school gym became more intense and the emphasize was more on winning than having fun. I started to hate team sports and all that crap such as 'there is no I in team'. I ended up hating all sports and that situation has lasted up to now. I love watching skiing on TV and I still hike the hills, but I have absolutely no interest in team sports otherwise.

Very interesting. Needless to say, we didn't have square dancing or anything like that because it was an all-boys school! My only real interest in athletics was cross-country, which did challenge and stretch me. I can see why team sports didn't appeal if they were presented in such a negative way. For me they enabled me to overcome natural laziness and also forced me to learn some collaborative skills which I can see were useful in a number of ways.

 

[HanauMan]

I don't know about my friends or I having a 'natural laziness'. We did all right in our grades, we were never grade A students, nor were we dunces. Our entire school, anyhow, had a esprit de corps; we were all 'army brats' living in foreign lands and going to DoDDS for our education.

My friends and I hung out at the base DYA, we played pinball in the snack bar, hiked the surrounding Bavarian woods and hills from morning until sunset, had fights with the civilian kids in the adjoining neighborhood. Our school had many field trips away and on top of that, we were in our transatlantic boy scout troop. Like 2jakes, we played backlot baseball or rode our bikes. I was in and out of the base library weekly. Gym was just another fun activity for us, running track or square dancing. In the evenings, after school, my friends and I practiced on the base running track, getting ready for the school track events. We played basketball in the army gym on base with the young soldiers. Sport is supposed to be fun.
As military families, we all learned collaborative skills from an early age. Teamwork came with the life, it didn't come from participation in school gym teamwork. Our MILCOM was all about team work; you had to be with the stupid NEO folder at home. Here teamwork meant survival! (Not that we ever trusted NEO to save us!!)

 

[Ticklishchap]

I don't know about my friends or I having a 'natural laziness'. We did all right in our grades, we were never grade A students, nor were we dunces. Our entire school, anyhow, had a esprit de corps; we were all 'army brats' living in foreign lands and going to DoDDS for our education.

You describe what sounds like a very idyllic boyhood! When I mentioned 'natural laziness' I did not mean academic work. I meant that without compulsion I would not have chosen to go out onto the Rugger field when it was cold or wet but could easily have sat around been lazy (or gone to the library) instead. Equally, I might not have bothered to go to practice or play matches on Saturday afternoons had I not been compelled to do so. In some ways there was too much emphasis - I was not allowed to give up playing in the House team in my final year when I had exams coming up, for example, because playing for the House was considered at least as important as working for the exams!

 

[HanauMan]

Yes, I did have a very idyllic boyhood. I was very lucky.

I guess that your gym teachers were very good at motivation; motivation to do better.

Alas, I was never motivated enough to do the extra mile and I never played for my school. By that stage I never even cared whether my school won or lost.

 

[2jakes]

Yes, I did have a very idyllic boyhood. I was very lucky.

I guess that your gym teachers were very good at motivation; motivation to do better.

Alas, I was never motivated enough to do the extra mile and I never played for my school. By that stage I never even cared whether my school won or lost.

Sounds familiar!
I did attend football games, but mostly to take my sisters (cheer-leaders) to the
stadium.
I did played sports but they were one on one (tennis singles) or cycling.
Favorite classes in my senior year was commercial art & 35mm photography.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

As I may have mentioned before, sports / gym / footer / rugger etc were forced upon us. In fcat although I loathed all of it, I was good at running, cross country etc and got picked for the school teams and there was no option/choice to say no.

 

[Ticklishchap]

Sounds familiar!
I did attend football games, but mostly to take my sisters (cheer-leaders) to the
stadium.
I did played sports but they were one on one (tennis singles) or cycling.
Favorite classes in my senior year was commercial art & 35mm photography.

This whole 'cheer-leader' thing is one of the most exotic aspects of American culture for me. Needless to say, there was nothing like that at my school: it was all-male, and so cheerleaders would have had to be in drag, an art form that was not greatly appreciated or valued in that environment. ... Matches were watched and cheered energetically by both masters and boys, however.

 

[Ticklishchap]

As I may have mentioned before, sports / gym / footer / rugger etc were forced upon us. In fcat although I loathed all of it, I was good at running, cross country etc and got picked for the school teams and there was no option/choice to say no.

I agree that there was no 'option to say no'. I contemplated giving up Rugger in my final year at school to concentrate on my exams but was told firmly 'no': I was in the House team and that was the end of the matter!

 

[Ticklishchap]

I hope that my farts have not contributed too much to climate change.

 

[belfastboy]

As with most things - it's about balance. I understand the "sports as a metaphor for life" thing so that by teaching kids winning is important you are teaching them that life requires a commitment - practice, focus, effort, passion - if you want to achieve your goals. All good and well up to a point - but (1) even in life, winning isn't everything (how you play the game and, for some, just the journey matters more) and (2) metaphor whatever, if "my team" of randomly selected kids won that afternoon really wasn't that important.

And the whole "there's no I in team" thing bugged me as a kid. So if I play well, fair and passionately while some teammate are sloppy and we lose, I should hang my head, but if I goof off but others on my team cover for me and we win, I should feel good? Of course there is a balance here as well - being a good teammate / passing when you should / focusing on the collective goal is important - but I never (even as a kid with a gym teacher yelling at me) believed in the "no I in team" thing and still don't today.

Very early in my coaching career i