Growing up, where you the kid picked last in sports?

[Anonymous]

I was. Naturally, I grew up to be pretty athletic. But in the rare times I think about it, it still rankles. Remember the humiliation and feeling the other kids only had me on a team because they had to.

Interested in other people's experiences.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Still not athletic although I took up running as an adult (which makes sense in a way, less coordination involved!). I’m glad my kids are more athletic than I was but my experience has definitely made me more inclined to get them involved in sports at an early age. My parents saw my clumsiness and non-athletic tendencies and did the opposite (that is, didn’t enroll me in anything except Girl Scouts).

[Anonymous]

Oh god, yes. I avoided all sports and team activities because I was so unathletic - no hand-eye coordination, clumsy, just all around awful at sports.

But I grew up to be very fit and active - I run and swim and hike - and married a natural athlete. Thankfully my kids inherited his genes. My oldest is one of those naturally super athletic kids who is always picked first and made a travel team months after picking up a sport. I am in awe.

[Anonymous]

I was picked close to last. But the things i'm good at wasn't available at my school. If they were I'm sure i would have been captain of the yoga and rock climbing teams

[Anonymous]

I was a terrible athlete and mostly sedentary/a little overweight through most of childhood. I grew up to be a very fit adult and dedicated runner.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Always picked last or close to last. I was small. Also most of the other kids were enrolled in little league and other youth sports and my parents did do any of that. So I lacked athletic skills but primarily because I had little opportunity to develop them.

I'm now very active and athletic. There was no reason I couldn't have been athletic as a kid. But I got labeled as weak and slow and that just became who I was.

This is why "picking teams" is a bad idea. It just re-enforces what the kids already believe about themselves and others. If they want to do that on their own, fine, but teachers and coaches who suggest it are just being lazy.

[Anonymous]

I think the process of choosing teams is awful for this very reason. Just have the teacher divide the kids into teams and move on. Why do we have to put kids through this???

I was amazing at dodge ball so I was always very high up on the list but I hated this practice even then.

[Anonymous]

I was a solid 3rd place athlete in varsity track and swimming. I was deep on my college D3 cross country team - like #7-9, rarely scoring. I was a solid midfield starter for field hockey on an ok team. I was good enough to make the varsity team, but never the star. I wasn’t holding the team back and I got to participate and feel included - but never had to worry about division / state meets conflicting with other commitments.

I am sad that sports specialization and travel sports and extra lessons / coaching from a young age seem so prevalent in this area because I doubt my kids will have that type of HS sports experience.

[Anonymous]

Yes. I was a dancer, so not uncoordinated, but I never played sports and that’s a whole other type of coordination and movement. Didn’t know the rules, didn’t care, just wanted balls to not fly at my face and gym to be over.

[Anonymous]

Early on, I was. Kindergarten, first grade, maybe into second. Maybe incorrectly, but I chalk it up to my father leaving our family when I was two. I think a lot of the other boys were playing catch and things with their fathers, and I wasn't. But, once I got into school recess and gym and whatnot, my hand eye coordination got better.

I was never an athletic standout, but after those early years, I turned into a solid middle of the pack kind of guy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the process of choosing teams is awful for this very reason. Just have the teacher divide the kids into teams and move on. Why do we have to put kids through this???

Plus 100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was a solid 3rd place athlete in varsity track and swimming. I was deep on my college D3 cross country team - like #7-9, rarely scoring. I was a solid midfield starter for field hockey on an ok team. I was good enough to make the varsity team, but never the star. I wasn’t holding the team back and I got to participate and feel included - but never had to worry about division / state meets conflicting with other commitments.

I am sad that sports specialization and travel sports and extra lessons / coaching from a young age seem so prevalent in this area because I doubt my kids will have that type of HS sports experience.

I tend to agree. But, at least my community had a pretty good rec soccer program through my kids' teen years. So they got to be solid contributors to a sports team -- even if that team was just competing against other rec teams. My kids were more into band and academics, so they weren't going to be on the varsity squads.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I was very clumsy and hated sports. Still clumsy and a couch potato (with some health issues on top of it) but now middle aged so I don’t care about what other people think. Being emarginated/bullied when growing ip made me overall very patient and I also feel very sympathetic of other people struggles

[Anonymous]

Very much so. Ironically, I seem to have birthed at least one athlete.

It’s a foreign country.

[Anonymous]

yes. I'm small framed and short.

They should have DEI for professional sports. I feel so left out.