Re: Your sporting story
Originally Posted by
Dachs
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Well, I'm not so sure about my natural athletic ability nor about being an allrounder. As a boy I tended not to be that athletic tbh. My mum noticed that and encouraged me and my twin brother to do some sport. Because she'd liked it as a girl she suggested swimming. So we joined that local club. After two years it turned out that we could reasonably swim the four strokes but didn't get better at a certain point. So there was a push and a pull to leave the training centre and start looking elsewhere. Since there was a
tennis club near our home my mother again suggested joining that because she'd always wanted to play it herself. It was one of the best decisions in my life and an eye-opener in many respects. I played in different regional leagues and tournaments but never won one.
At the age of 15 I had realised that a good physical condition would be helpful but that was something that didn't seem to develop naturally. So I bought myself an expander (there were no health clubs back then in the late 60s, early 70s, were there?) and exercised daily and I also took up running. Within a year my PE teacher noticed improvements and so did I. I could walk on my hands and do a proper handstand and other things which prompted my PE teacher to invite me to a gym team but I declined and stuck to tennis.
Have been jogging ever since I was 15 (no more than 10km and mostly between 3 and 5km) but regularly as clockwork at least once or twice a week until today no matter what the circumstances were or where I was . As a retiree I do sports almost every day.
Dachs thanks for sharing. I swim everyday in spring and summer - great exercise!
Racquet sports - I loved tennis but it didn’t pan out for me. It’s a rather embarrassing story but highlights the importance of a ‘proper’ coach.
I was 8 years old and from the little I’d gleaned from the telly, tennis looked like fun and something I would have enjoyed. Our school had just had tennis courts installed. All the kids wanted to be in the Tennis team. So our PE teacher decided to test anyone who wanted to play to gauge who had talent to be developed…
One key point in this little story is that the coach didn’t take the time to explain the rules of the game. We were just given a bat and asked to ‘play’! Having ZERO understanding of what was required of me, I didn’t serve into the designated area. My ‘serve’ was always wide
how on Earth was I to know where to serve !
Anyway, the result was that I was overlooked for the Tennis club. One of my biggest regrets
I play if we go to a resort but I’ve never been coached- maybe I should add it to my bucket list.
With my son, I’ve done many sports because I’m mom and dad
so we play squash but he’s a demon on the court. I practiced his soccer, cricket, rugby and hockey with him - I didn’t want him to miss out.
I really want to learn to ride a bicycle though- perhaps this summer!
I enjoy my run on the treadmill usually 3-5km is good for me.