I went through part of the 9th grade football season...including a grueling off-season program before the fall...without really ever having learned a single play or my assignments from the playbook. I was an offensive and defensive lineman playing both sides at times. I only joined to play because a friend said I should join. They called whatever...and I had no clue. But, I never played in a real game...only a scrimmage. I ended up hurting my leg running to the sideline after pre-game warm-ups and, upon physical examination at a hospital with x-rays, they couldn't find anything wrong with me. Then, because of that, the coaches thought I was lying to get out of practice and playing. But, my leg was really messed up and I could not run for the longest time and limped a long time. They demoted me to one of those trainer helper types...but I still got P.E. credit for it. lol. The good part of it was I developed a healthy respect for what football players go through even though I didn't make it a full season...and I got in shape. I have a very distinct memory of a senior hitting me once and I literally did one and a half flips in mid-air before I landed. Ouch. Since most players were bigger than I was, it usually felt like running into a brick wall when we ran tackle drills. But, I laid out players my size or smaller solidly. There were only one or two of them, though. On the flip side, my friend was pretty big at the time and played linebacker. I don't think he ever learned any plays, either, but almost every running play...it was his name being called for stuffing the runner. I guess learning the playbook can be overrated if you are a linebacker. In basketball, my Dad signed me up for some league when I was very young cause I wanted to play basketball and the coach put me at center even though I was the smallest guy on the team. Every player I went up against was bigger than me. I again failed to learn a single play properly having no idea what was called when where how what and winged my way through the whole season. I mostly rode the bench and only scored one point the whole season on a FT shot after being fouled in the last game. I missed the other one. But, another guy on the team was kind of in my boat so I wasn't alone. They let you play when you don't fit because I think it was a pay league; they just don't play you much if any. lol I was a great soccer and baseball player in my young days. I once hit 4 HRs and a double in one game with my Dad watching from behind home plate. But, football and basketball were not my sport...at all....at least way back when.
7th grade track, maybe 8th, but I got pushed down to the B-team for hurdles and triple jump for the city meet. I did end up winning but I took no joy in it. Luckily it was just a bad phase and by the time HS came around I was one of the fastest on the football and basketball team. I don't know why I never ran track again though...shame maybe.
This X 1,000,000 I was the only person cut from the golf team in middle school. Infact, I am pretty sure that nobody really gets cut from the golf team, I was just so bad, that the coaches didnt want me on the team, so they cut me. Literally everyone else was kept on from tryouts. I had a terrible middle school experience...
Last place intramural basketball team, out of about 25 teams. First game of the season, I was a junior and we got beat by a team of freshman doing two-handed dunks over us. We went 0-6 in round-robin play. I had expressly forbid my girlfriend from coming to the games until I saw the team in action... thank goodness for that or this would have been even worse.
