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

[Anonymous]

Yes it was horrible.

[Anonymous]

Yes, but I grew up and grew out of it. I can't imagine being 40-something (as I am now) and still being rattled. You take the lessons and you use them to make you stronger/better.

[Anonymous]

Yes, because everyone hated me. Sometimes they would refuse to pick me and the teacher or coach had to demand they do it, and then often they'd physically block me from playing. Too bad - I'm a natural athlete.

[Anonymous]

I was before people saw me play. After that I was picked earlier. Once I overheard this really athletic guy say about me, "I pick her when I can, she's not that skilled but she fights for it."

That was seventh grade and I admit I still feel good when I think about it.

And I would still feel bad in your shoes, OP! I have had other humiliations and even though they happened a long time ago they are not pleasant thoughts.

[Anonymous]

I was, and it did not bother me as much having to be there in the first place—I would not have bothered with any form of team sports if it wasn't obligatory in PE or some similar setting. I had no fantasies of being a better athlete.

Maybe the only two team-ish I was good at and not picked last at was Dodgeball and Kill The Carrier (the latter one maybe stretching the definition of "team sport").

Was a good climber and a decent cyclist as I discovered those and enjoyed physical activity-just not playing Baseball/Softball/Football/Soccer/Basketball/Hockey/etc. Still do, but far less with life and things and dumb excuses on my part.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, because everyone hated me. Sometimes they would refuse to pick me and the teacher or coach had to demand they do it, and then often they'd physically block me from playing. Too bad - I'm a natural athlete.

why did everyone hate you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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

Ha ha, me too!

I became a good runner later in life. I love it. Wish I'd been a better athlete, but I was a late bloomer.

[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 totally agree with you! There really is room for "solid 3rd place" ... we just tend to forget that sometimes.

[Anonymous]

My elementary teachers had us pick teams publicly in first to last order for everything-almost every day in gym class, but also classroom competition type things--like team geography bee, academic contests etc.

If I recall correctly, I was a middle of the packer for most things. As a kid I absolutely loathed standing out in any way--good or bad --in anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My elementary teachers had us pick teams publicly in first to last order for everything-almost every day in gym class, but also classroom competition type things--like team geography bee, academic contests etc.

If I recall correctly, I was a middle of the packer for most things. As a kid I absolutely loathed standing out in any way--good or bad --in anything.

That’s grotesque.

It was experiences like this that instilled in me a distrust of teachers. I know they aren’t all bad but I had so many sadistic, selfish, mean teachers growing up that I’ve just never been able to get on board with the whole “teachers are heroes” thing. Some are. Some are NOT. Same with nurses.

Even now, there are still teachers who do stuff like this. My kid has an “old school” teacher this year and while she hasn’t had kids pick teams, she dies a lot of things that were common in schools in the 80s and I don’t say this in so many words to my kid but: I hate her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

I felt the same way. Totally fit, but I wasn't good at ball sports.

I took golf lessons in my 20s, and the pro commented on how easily I acted on his adjustments. I think it was because we were used to corrections that were for precise parts of the body. You want just my shoulders to rotate in the swing without my hips following? No problem. Easy. It was weird to be really good at a sport!

[Anonymous]

In elementary school, I was picked last unless one of the two even worse boys decided to play that day. I conceptualized myself as unathletic for many years even though I ended up playing a (Div III) sport in college, so I'm slightly more athletic than average.

[Anonymous]

I am spectacularly unathletic. I was always picked last and it didn’t really bother me by high school, but perhaps it did back in elementary? I remember the gym teachers yelling at me for being so uncoordinated and slow (like yelling will help).

Unlike everyone else here I have remained unathletic. I’m a physician and have never once had to jump over a hurdle or climb a rope in my professional life. However in medical training you are essentially emotionally beaten, and I think my terrible gym class experiences provided me with a thick skin and resilience.

My kids are also unathletic. That was tough for them in the DMV, but we moved to NYC, and it’s all good here. Gym class in NYC is low-key, and apparently there’s lots of unathletic kids to keep them company here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bunch of losers on this thread

Hey, Coach!

You were the reason I hated PE.

And, I’m now in far better shape at 51 than you were at my age.

[Anonymous]

I was, but I also have a mild disability unfortunately.