My inability to play sports never really bothered me growing up. Neither of my parents are interested in them and so sports were never an integral part of my life. Being homeschooled, I never had to compare my physical ability to others and so it didn't bother me. That was until I took P.E. in summer school at the local high school. Those six weeks were miserable -- it was hot, the students were mean, and we had to run track every day!!!! Everyone seemed to know what they were doing, but me -- I had no basic idea of the game of volleyball, basketball, or any other kind of ball. If I remember right, I was laughed at when I asked which ball was which! However, I was determined to succeed. Our grade was based on both participation and the written tests not our ability to play sports. So while others moaned that they were too tired to play in the heat, I volunteered to be on each and every team. Of course, I was the last to be chosen by the captains, but at the end of the summer, I got the last laugh. The worst athlete was one of the few who actually got an "A." Once I finally could leave the critical eyes of my summer school classmates, I was fully comfortable in my non-sports bubble. I was a harpist and in the musician world, that was cool! Plus, playing sports could injure my hands...
However, the older I have gotten, the more I have become curious about the mysterious world of sports. Here in Japan, the P.E. curriculum is quite intense. All students learn all the sports -- from baseball, to soccer, to basketball, to badminton, to swimming, to you name it! It isn't unnatural to see the kids running around the periphery of the school at 7:45 a.m. before school even starts. Seeing their in-shape bodies and well-toned muscles has made me feel like a piece of flabby fat! So I decided to do something about it!
I was going to join them... oh if only I knew what I was in for!
First up, was the boy's table tennis. Now table tennis isn't that hard, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, the goal is actually to hit the ball -- not chase it! And, unlike basketball where you actually try to aim for the net, in table tennis you try to aim OVER the net...... So I guess I'm not a tennis tabler. (That's what they are called, right?)
Next, came girl's basketball. Purely by beginners' luck I managed to get the ball in the basket not once, but twice!!! The girls were elated, and ask if I would I give them hints. Oh, how they wanted to be just like me! Tall and agile. If only they really knew...
JUDO. After watching one match, I realized that it probably wouldn't be that good if my fourteen-year-old boys knew that they could beat me in a wrestling competition. It just doesn't seem like a good secret for them to know that their teacher was petrified of being tossed and slammed in the ground, and that they probably have the strength to do it!
Boy's volleyball. My joining came by invitation from the teacher. (Come to find out later, I think maybe he wanted to hook me up with the assistant coach.) But no worries, I wasn't going to impress anyone! Did you know it was possible to actually get caught in the volleyball net? Yeah, neither did I... but it is.
The girls' volleyball team didn't want to be left out so they invited me to join them too. A handstand and head-splat later, I'm definitely not impressing anyone anytime soon with my agility!
Swimming. While the kids are eager for me to join them in the pool -- and in the middle of the summer it is tempting -- I'm guessing that wearing a bathing suit in front of middle-school boys is not the best move either. I think I will just be a cheerleader!
Soccer. Well, I definitely can't kick a ball, but I can run laps!! Of course I was tired after 5 and they had fifteen more to go....
Track and Field. Okay, all the other sports I kind of understand now. But why on earth would I ever agreed to join the kids in track and field. Come on, I am the individual who actually has difficulty walking and has been known to trip just standing still! But here I found myself running hurdles (thankfully not running into hurdles!) until the inevitable happened... not one, but both shoes fell off!
3 comments:
I think tea ceremony is the club for you..
We don't have tea ceremony ;-( I would probably spill the tea anyway!!
We have art club, but I can't draw either!!!!!
Oh, we're sorry!! We thought we had musicians so we didn't think you'd ever be that into sports. I guess we just neglected that part of your curriculum. You DID watch games on TV, so I know you know the difference between a basketball and a football. Guess you weren't paying attention to beach volleyball during the Olympics!
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