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let's relive our past athletic "glory" (1 Viewer)

mr. furley

Footballguy
in light of everything going to ####, and the NCAA canceling the big dance, i got to thinking about how some kids seasons ended ignominiously... or without a chance to shine before their careers were over.

for any number of reasons i never got to play organized school sports beyond elementary school.  we were a small school. so not many kids to draw from.  7 kids for basketball. 25 for football in our best year, etc. there weren't cuts. whoever showed up got to play. 

we got killed in every game. killed dead. there was one other school of similar size that we actually beat in basketball & football, but they were our only wins. 

i had two shots at real glory. a real reason to celebrate and get excited.  both ended in utter failure.

(1) we played at a park with terrible drainage. it always rained. the field did not get taken care of. every game we played resulted in a muddy field. we played in one game that was like Verdun after a downpour. i was a running back, 6th grade, we sucked. game was 0 - 0, late in the 4th. i got the ball and somehow miraculously a hole opened in the line. i cleared the mess and started to break free for my first ever touchdown run..... when i sank knee deep in to a mudhole that looked like the rest of the field.  i immediately stopped. could not pull my leg out of the hole. got tackled. tried to get up, but had to be lifted out by a referee. my shoe came off and could not be extricated from the bottom of the pit. that was the end of my game. couldn't play with one shoe.

(2) 8th grade. similar'ish scenario. muddy field. i broke free and was streaking up the sideline. high stepping to try keeping my feet from getting stuck in the ground. wasn't quite as free and clear  this time, but i'd turned the corner and was picking up speed.. when *BLAM* i got absolutely ####### boomed. out of nowhere. just obliterated. oh well.. #### happens.  i get up, look to see who nailed me because i had friends on the other team.. and all i see is our center.  other kids who were chasing me had either got slowed by the mud, got blocked or weren't close enough to be a factor.

i looked around and asked him who tackled me. he said "it was me.. i got so excited that i just lost my head, i guess, and tackled you."  :lmao:  we had a weight limit and i was at the top end. so was he. we were probably roughly the same speed-wise.  he caught me at an angle because the field was not quite as muddy via his path.  he just ####### BLASTED me. i'll never forget the look in his big, goofy face. a mix of excitement and sheepish embarrassment.... but mostly excitement because he really whacked me good.

 
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Funny, I almost posted something similar to this a week or so ago.

My sophomore year of HS, I was on the "sophomore" team for hoops.  I was definitely good enough to play JV but our school was notoriously SHORT and therefore had an abundance of guards.  Anyways...

I started at shooting guard and we were playing a pre-season game against a team that we matched up well against.  Their coach, coincidentally, knew my Dad and I had met him a few times.

I drilled 4 3's in the 1st quarter, pretty much from the same spot (right side, foul line extended), prompting the opposing coach to call timeout and we could hear him screaming at his team: "GET ON THAT GUY, HE CAN OBVIOUSLY SHOOT!!!!!!"

Made me feel awesome.  And for the record, I didn't make another 3 that entire game, but I racked up a handful of assists since the other team was trying to get the ball out of my hands.

I can still see that gym, hear that coach's plea, and feel the magic in my hands that night.

 
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Let’s see, summary of “achievements”

1. Played last two games of freshman year for the Varsity team (football).  Started at kick returner and got a few carries.  The team lost both games, finishing 0-8. I weighed 118 lbs.
 

2. That team lost the first two games of the next season. That represented a streak of 26 straight losses. We went 4-4. Next year 5-3 and first playoffs in 15 years or something. Next we went 6-1-1 and made semi finals, but lost convincingly.  I had a nifty couple runs that somehow got me on the radar for a few D2 schools.  But I wasn’t going to Ohio to maybe get a little playing time at a D2 school so choose palm trees, sunshine and D3.  Middle of frost season knee injury and ongoing tendinitis had me looking to move passed formal ball and more into bong rips and beer bongs. 
 

3. MVP for my high school track team. i think I may have been co-MVP another year but not sure. Only ran three years because we got a hard driving not fun at all coach and I wanted to enjoy my m senior spring after being really focused on not drinking much or smoking during seasons prior. Ran sub 11 100 meters as a soph, won the Long Island (maybe it was just nassau but think it was island wide) Freshman 100 meter championship, Part of county 4x100 meter relay championships (no joke we mini shocked the world - me a super short hairy Jew as start, handed to even more hairy long curly haired Italian that kinda looked like Stallone, to a 6’4” so white you could see through him Norwegian high jump champ, to a tall skinny now Rabbi.  Was awesome).

4. Hit back to back grand salamis in little league and made the local papers

5. Kicked a home run through the opposite basketball basket in 2nd grade kickball. 

ETA: Do have a plaque at the old high school for the Senior Student Athlete award.  Been downhill since 😉 

 
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Let’s see, summary of “achievements”

1. Played last two games of freshman year for the Varsity team (football).  Started at kick returner and got a few carries.  The team lost both games, finishing 0-8. I weighed 118 lbs.
 

2. That team lost the first two games of the next season. That represented a streak of 26 straight losses. We went 4-4. Next year 5-3 and first playoffs in 15 years or something. Next we went 6-1-1 and made semi finals, but lost convincingly.  I had a nifty couple runs that somehow got me on the radar for a few D2 schools.  But I wasn’t going to Ohio to maybe get a little playing time at a D2 school so choose palm trees, sunshine and D3.  Middle of frost season knee injury and ongoing tendinitis had me looking to move passed formal ball and more into bong rips and beer bongs. 
 

3. MVP for my high school track team. i think I may have been co-MVP another year but not sure. Only ran three years because we got a hard driving not fun at all coach and I wanted to enjoy my m senior spring after being really focused on not drinking much or smoking during seasons prior. Ran sub 11 100 meters as a soph, won the Long Island (maybe it was just nassau but think it was island wide) Freshman 100 meter championship, Part of county 4x100 meter relay championships (no joke we mini shocked the world - me a super short hairy Jew as start, handed to even more hairy long curly haired Italian that kinda looked like Stallone, to a 6’4” so white you could see through him Norwegian high jump champ, to a tall skinny now Rabbi.  Was awesome).

4. Hit back to back grand salamis in little league and made the local papers

5. Kicked a home run through the opposite basketball basket in 2nd grade kickball. 
you might be the most accomplished FBG sports-wise

 
Ooh I got another one.  My junior year at UC Santa Barbara, my fraternity had a pretty good flag football team.  We were in the "A" (upper) division, because our stupid Sports Chairman missed the deadline to sign up for the "Fraternity" division.  Anyways.... we wiped the floor with most teams.  We had one guy who played WR in HS, couple other guys who were O-linemen, etc.... and our QB could have easily played in college but he was like 5'8".  

So we win our division and the "A" division winner gets to play the "fraternity" winner.  Of course the winner of the fraternity division was our "rivals", the famed Pi Kappa Alpha's (PIKE).  No offense to any Pikes that may call this board home, but they're known to be the elitist pr*cks, all great HS athletes, etc...

It's Friday around 11am and I'm walking back to my fraternity house and saw that Pike had posted flyers all over campus advertising for their "Flag Football Victory Party" that night.  Yeah, I grabbed as many of them off kiosks and the like as I could and put them up on our bulletin board.

Game that night, and we creamed them 48-6.   Wasn't even close.  Proceeded to walk to their house and drank their beer for an hour or so before going to party at our place.  :lol:  

 
In Senior Babe Ruth baseball (13-15 year olds), I threw a no-hit game.  I wasn't aware of it until I received a nice plaque at the annual league awards event.  Oh yeah, we lost the game. I hit 4 batters and walked 8.  So technically, not a no-hitter.

 
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High school soccer

Was part of a team that went undefeated and unscored on.  Pretty damn amazing

The last game the crowd was playing we are the champions on a boom box on repeat the whole second half 

Easily the best team I was ever a part of 

Me personally was scoring a hat trick in the rain.

 
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Not a heroic achievement, but fun with sports!

Had a very icy storm up in MA way back when in the early 80s, we were playing hockey in the street, sliding around on sneakers and boots, having a blast because other storms had left nice walls of snow on the sides of the road. A salt/sand truck comes along and wants to do the street. We were able to convince them to stop applying for a bit so we could have out 'rink.' My folks were PO'd because it was at the base of our steep driveway! Fun!!

 
you might be the most accomplished FBG sports-wise
LOL.  I doubt that... but it reminds me of one of the things I most missed. I’m 5’6” on a good day.  Hardly look the type that would play college football at any level.  
 

Just had sick wheels (fast as I was, my start-stop and lateral movement was probably even better - but it’s not like high school kids did triple cones then lol - rocked on that presidential percentage thing we did in gym though 🤷🏻‍♂️), huge ### legs and was hard as #### to get a good lick.  Kinda a Darren Sproles with meh hands. 

But even if I saw me, I’d dismiss the competition. At track meets (where we wouldnt already all know each other - sprinters sorta had our during meet community since we spent 4-5 hours there while running a combined 50 seconds and a few long jumps lol), I could literally watch other runners size me up... and not even consider anything more. Outside of 1-2 guys in the county, I’d end up in front of them most every time.  Now I’m just a short hairy old dude trying to work what little charm I have.

One last story which relates:

Soph year thanksgiving break I was 100% recovered from my knee issues, and still in 99% of the best shape of my life - like 3.5% body fat no joke. 
 

Went to my buddies Turkey Bowl. Only he knew me. We picked teams. I was last or second to last picked. THIS is what I miss... because I knew that there was only one college level player there. 
 

First play, everyone goes long. Because idiots. I tell the wb in the huddle that if no ones open I’ll be short (get it .oO)... he reluctantly tosses it to me. I run length of field I touched.

Next possession, defense at least paid a little attention to the fluke TD guy. My legs were pretty huge. I was 5’6” 170 all fast twitch muscle. So now I catch the short pass and lay a knee into one jaw and broke like three tackles.

After my fourth TD, I think they realized my buddy had brought a ringer. 
 

I literally haven’t shared these glory day braggart stories in god, decades? Thanks for the excuse to smile at what once was. 

 
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Tragic.

I won state in 12U 400 meters, set the state record, qualified for nationals.  My dad refused to buy the plane ticket to Hershey from Honolulu.  :rant:

Ranked #1 in TX high school doubles, hadn't lost a match in 18 months.  Lost (choked) to a team that had won 6 games total against us in 4 previous matches in the regional finals that would have sent us to state.  :bag:

eta - almost forgot how I whooped a tiny professional boxer in a hypothetical fight here in the FBG arena circa 2006.

 
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i scored the first goal in the Jr. Olympic water polo finals match vs North Orange County in Iowa City, 1985.

we lost 12 - 7 and got the silver medal.
Waterpolo is NO JOKE. That’s a man’s game, between the physicalness and endurance.  
 

and the not drowning and all.

Kudos

 
Oh and another..... :lol:

I remember my senior year of HS, playing varsity hoops, I got to guard the 6'4" Pat Barnes, who ended up playing QB for the Cal Bears in '95-96.  Since I was only 6' I had to body up on him pretty good in the post.  I was pushing him around like he was nothing.  He kept complaining to the refs that I was "playing too rough".  What a wimp. 

 
greatest achievement: starting the last half-dozen games for my HS basketball team in my sophomore year. smoked since i was 9yo, so i always thought my pitiable windsprint capacity would hold me back, but a growth spurt, my summer at the Sam Jones Basketball Camp (where the tutelage of Bill Russell successor Hank Finkel was invaluable) and the pick&roll i could work w our li'l Italian PG saw me thru. alas, that was the end of my scholastic sports career as i did the hippie-runaway thang in the fall. sidenote: the center of that team rode the pine for Dr J's UMass squad

greatest moment: my gf in '82 was a coworker at UNM Hosp's Children's Psychiatric Center and a bit of a troublemaker. one of the other counselors there was a skinny 6'8 ex-con from the streets of SPhilly and, for some reason Joanie loved to test the racial harmony of the unit by stirring prolims between this Willie & me. at the end of the "school" year, the CPC held a jamboree/fundraiser and somehow my gal promoted a boxing match between this guy & i. now i hadnt boxed since CYO when i was 13 and just plain stepped out the ring after the first real punch rang my bell and Will had been on his prison boxing team. a lot of trash was talked and a good bit of money raised before we stepped into the ring together. Joanie had made some absolutely devilish sexual promises for my success and threatened to free Willie in the broom closet during work hours  if i lost, but i just didnt want to get knocked out.

unfortunately, the reach difference allowed Willie to pepper my head with scoring jabs, but they werent hurting and i noticed he was fairly careless with his lead hand defensively so i stepped into a barrage for the sole purpose of exploiting his rib cage. he hit me twice but as he pulled back i squared my feet and loaded an uppercut into his side. flump, it buckled him and he dropped to his knees. i stepped to away enjoy his dazed look, Joanie's orgasmic squeal & my own lucky power. before he got back to his feet and outpointed me - but without damage - at about a 10/1 rate the rest of the way once i'd given him a reason to take me seriously. i'd done what i came to do and Joanie honored my efforts with fully disgusting post-fight therapies afterward. nufced 

 
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Don't like giving away the best part first, but the second one flows out of the first, so here goes.

I played exactly 1 year of baseball, in '78, when I was 12.  I was slow and had no experience; that must be how I wound up on a pretty stacked team that went undefeated. In total, there were 4 of us who were gawdawful, 2 platooned at 2nd base and since I'm a lefty, I platooned in left field.  I had one ball hit to me all year, a blooper that by the time I got to it and threw it in, the batter was at 3rd base.  The greatest moment for me on that team was in the last game of the playoffs.  Best 2 of 3, we had one the first game and since I had started that game, I was starting this game on the bench.  The hands-down best player on the team and in the league (I'm guessing he was nearly fully grown by age 12 as he hit bombs, stole 2nd when he got walked and was unhittable as a pitcher) came to me just as I arrived at the field and said "I forgot my cup and since you're not starting I need to borrow yours", so I go into the bathroom, remove my cup, go out and give it to him.  He comes out of the bathroom a few minutes later, goes over to his mother and says "it's too big", so she fished some tissues out of her purse to make it fit him better.  Even in my young mind, I knew this was a special moment I would cherish for the rest of my life.

My other great accomplishment started when my baseball career ended after that season.  Our local boys club introduced men's slow pitch softball for the first time.  I was finally able to live out my dream of being a pitcher, and I was so good that I was the MVP of the end of season all-star game, but that was just the beginning of a career in the game that would last another 30 years. Even though most of it was spent bouncing around and getting roughed up in the beer night leagues, I was part of 2 different church-league championship teams as well.  Arguably, the most epic performance of my career, though, was the last doubleheader before I got married in '97. In my first at-bat in the first game, I blew out a hamstring running up the first base line.  I was still able to get to third on the hit, though, and I wound up pitching both ends of the double header and even snuck strike three past a couple of batters.  By the time I was on my honeymoon the next week, the back of my leg was jet black from the bruising.  When I took a line drive off my leg that hurt so much that I actually blacked out for a few seconds, I knew it was time to hang 'em up.

 
Don't like giving away the best part first, but the second one flows out of the first, so here goes.

I played exactly 1 year of baseball, in '78, when I was 12.  I was slow and had no experience; that must be how I wound up on a pretty stacked team that went undefeated. In total, there were 4 of us who were gawdawful, 2 platooned at 2nd base and since I'm a lefty, I platooned in left field.  I had one ball hit to me all year, a blooper that by the time I got to it and threw it in, the batter was at 3rd base.  The greatest moment for me on that team was in the last game of the playoffs.  Best 2 of 3, we had one the first game and since I had started that game, I was starting this game on the bench.  The hands-down best player on the team and in the league (I'm guessing he was nearly fully grown by age 12 as he hit bombs, stole 2nd when he got walked and was unhittable as a pitcher) came to me just as I arrived at the field and said "I forgot my cup and since you're not starting I need to borrow yours", so I go into the bathroom, remove my cup, go out and give it to him.  He comes out of the bathroom a few minutes later, goes over to his mother and says "it's too big", so she fished some tissues out of her purse to make it fit him better.  Even in my young mind, I knew this was a special moment I would cherish for the rest of my life.

My other great accomplishment started when my baseball career ended after that season.  Our local boys club introduced men's slow pitch softball for the first time.  I was finally able to live out my dream of being a pitcher, and I was so good that I was the MVP of the end of season all-star game, but that was just the beginning of a career in the game that would last another 30 years. Even though most of it was spent bouncing around and getting roughed up in the beer night leagues, I was part of 2 different church-league championship teams as well.  Arguably, the most epic performance of my career, though, was the last doubleheader before I got married in '97. In my first at-bat in the first game, I blew out a hamstring running up the first base line.  I was still able to get to third on the hit, though, and I wound up pitching both ends of the double header and even snuck strike three past a couple of batters.  By the time I was on my honeymoon the next week, the back of my leg was jet black from the bruising.  When I took a line drive off my leg that hurt so much that I actually blacked out for a few seconds, I knew it was time to hang 'em up.
glorious :lmao:

 
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I’m a late bloomer at 44 and am in the best shape of my life

This past season finished first in my age group at my local sprint triathlon

Completed my first marathon as part of completing my first Ironman triathlon this past August 

Finally, and most importantly, finished first place with @Koya in the FFA Deadly Animal Draft. 
 

:banned:

 
I was in the zone twice (several years apart) as a competitive pool player. It's indescribable, unforgettable, and impossible to replicate. Looking back on it, felt like the moment of realization that Neo could stop bullets in the first Matrix, but when I was in the midst of it, didn't feel that way. Just peaceful, fun, easy, I couldn't miss. Maybe the better analogy is when Harry Potter drank the Liquid Luck potion in book five. Everything just fell into place. Borderline supernatural.

 
I’m a late bloomer at 44 and am in the best shape of my life

This past season finished first in my age group at my local sprint triathlon

Completed my first marathon as part of completing my first Ironman triathlon this past August 

Finally, and most importantly, finished first place with @Koya in the FFA Deadly Animal Draft. 
 

:banned:
What did you change/do to get in the best shape of your life at this age?

I'm going the opposite direction.

 
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What did you change/do to get in the best shape of your life at this age?

I'm going the opposite direction.
There is no better investment than the one you can make in yourself. Considering the market is down, maybe now is the best time ;)

In all seriousness, it’s just a choice. Choose to get up early, choose to eat different. Once you stop playing your victim card and accept ownership, it’s all down hill. 

Then ... once you hit 3 weeks of success, you go to 6 weeks, then 9. You will have lapses, that’s ok. Remember no one is perfect. Just restart the process, cause it’s your choice, no one else’s. 

Best of luck, you own your happiness. 

 
7th or 8th grade I was running point for the our school team. We had a play that I would bring the ball down and hold up either my left or right hand. Depending on what hand I would lift my teammates would clear that side of the floor so I could take my man to the hole. 

Which ties into my next moment around the same age won lay-up champion in basketball camp. Pretty much the equivalent of a dunk championship. Winning lay-up you ask? Reverse left hand lay-up is what brought home the plaque which I still own. :)

And that was the top of the mountain for me. Oh the good old days.

 
I don't think anyone would be suprised to learn that I was the short, scrawny, nerdy kid through elementary and Jr. High.  At some point, I discovered wrestling where I could compete about other scrawny kids.  I enjoyed it, but wasn't really good, for a variety of reasons.  My freshman year, I just kind of half-asssed it.  My sophomore year, I cought pneumonia and that pretty mcuh wrecked my season.  My junior year, I was a great JV wrestler but pretty much ceded the varsity spot to my friend Larry, who was a senior and tought me most of what I knew.

By when I was a senior, I knew I had a shot.  My senior class was big and good.  We had seniors in 8 of 13 weight classes, and most of us were really good.  I knew my spot, and I knew my role.  So, I spent the summer lifting, and going to a couple camps.  The tough one was the intense camp at the University of Wyoming - that got me in excellent shape.  The capstone event was a 8 mile run to the top of the summit - started at 7000 ft and ended at 8000 ft in elevation.  So I wouldn't lose that conditioning, I went out for the cross country team.  Having never run competitively before, I was on the varsity team and finished 55th at state (which I thought was pretty ####### amazing for a wrestler just trying to stay in shape).

My senior year of wrestling, things started slow but picked up towards the end.  I went from winning 1/2 of my matches to most of them.  The bigger the stage, the better I was, and as the season went on, the better I got.  I could really feel things building.  At the largest tournament in the state, I was the 6th seed (no one knew me), but I ran through everyone.  In the finals, we went to OT and I won on a TD to win the tournament and our team took the title.  At state, I was the #3 seed and again, ran through everyone until the state finals.  I wish I could say it ended on a high note - I lost in the finals 3-0.  The dude who beat me ended up being a 3x state champ.  This was actually the 3rd time I wrestled him - the first time I got pinned pretty quick, the 2nd time I lost by about 10, so losing by 3 was a pretty good improvement.

What haunts me is that had I gotten one particular takedown, I would have been a state champ.  Beyond that, my team would have been state champs as well (we lost the title by 3 points).  I still think about that a lot.  It's not all on me, a bunch of my friends came up short that day as well, including my best friend on the team who injury forfeitted in the state finals due to a concussion.

 
Competitive swimmer from age 9 through college. Represented the country in some well known international meets, fell short of qualifying for Olympic Trials. 

My biggest athletic moment, however, had nothing to do with swimming in the pool.

Have you ever seen the movie Meatballs with Bill Murray? (If you haven't, go check it out -- it hasn't aged well, but was Murray's first movie role).

In the movie, which takes place at a fictional summer camp, Camp North Star, they have an Olympiad-like event against a rival camp -- multiple competitions across multiple events, from basketball, field hockey, and boxing to egg races and eating contests. At the end, the two camps are almost tied with one event to go, which (SPOILER ALERT!) the young protagonist camper, Rudy, pulls off an improbable win against a much older field, carried off by the entire camp in victorious celebration.

Ok. Jump to 11-year-old me at my summer camp. We also had a traditional one day intra-camp special event where the whole camp was split into 3 or 4 teams, usually themed (e.g the 50s vs the 60s vs the 70s) and in addition to whipping up team costumes, special meals, a dance, etc., there was the annual "Mohawk relay" of events -- from racing to sailing to sack races to obstacle courses to canoeing, etc. etc. -- all chained together, and where a baton was handed off to the next event participant. So if you raced across the lake in a sailboat, you had the baton with you, and handed it to the person standing on shore who took it with them as they raced the sack race course, then handed it off to the next event participant on your team, and so forth. 

The penultimate event in the relay was a swim a cross the lake, which was about a third of a mile across. Even though I was pretty young, I was chosen based on the fact that I was already a competitive swimmer. Standing on the opposite shore, I watching with a sinking heart as all three of the other teams arrived ahead of mine, and passed off the baton to a canoer who paddled next to the swimmer as they both took off across the lake towards the camp swim docks. Our team was last, pathetically so, and I can't describe the heaps of anxiety I had watching the other swimmers take off ahead of me. All had at least 3 years on me if not more. One was a camp swim instructor. All of them building an insurmoutnable lead. As it was near the end of the relay, all the teams had gathered by the docks, having finished their events. I was going to let the entire team down in front of the entire camp.

After excruciatingly long minutes passed, the baton for our team finally got passed off, and I just took off. Swimming as hard and as fast and as straight as I could, not looking up or around except to keep my heading directly on the docks ahead.

As I climbed out of the water on the docks to swim the final section (which was framed between the swim docks) I heard yelling and screaming. I realized I had passed everyone. I was in first. I booted to the shore, and the baton was handed off to the bucket brigade, who, thanks to the lead I regained, finished and our team won the whole event.

I was lifted onto shoulders, carried around by my counselor in exaltation with pretty much the entire camp cheering for me. 

It was literally the greatest moment in my life. 

As a postscript -- the camp I was at? It's the very same camp that Meatballs was filmed at.

They filmed the movie about 2 or 3 years before I was there, but my older brother was a camper there. They filmed while camp was in session to take advantage of free extras. My bro didn't make it into the final cut, but a lot of his cabinmates did, including our next-door-neighbor. Have a cousin who was a counselor at the time also in the movie. A lot of the movie is based on the camp -- including The Olympiad which they based on the Mohawk Relay.

So I basically lived the protagonists moment in my very own life.

 
I could have been the first transgender athlete and I didn't even know it.  Punt Pass and Kick when I was about 10.  This was late 70s so long hair was in for boys and we were dirt poor so the only haircut i got was from money from  my paper route and I'd rather spend my money on pizza......"and in 3rd Place, a girl"

 
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Koya said:
Waterpolo is NO JOKE. That’s a man’s game, between the physicalness and endurance.  
 

and the not drowning and all.

Kudos
For sure this. I never played tackle football, but did play some rugby and of course, growing up in Canada, some shinny. So some physical games.

Nothing compared to playing water polo -- it's a downright brutal sport. Aside from the brutal fouls with malicious intent (pulling, sinking, etc.), and a high likelihood of taking an elbow to the jaw or a ball to the nose, what goes on under the water -- kicking, grabbing, kneeing twisting, squeezing sensitive parts, to say the least of it -- pretty much goes unnoticed. 

At it's worst, it's an anything goes bloodsport/kumite type of sport.

 
8th grade in a really, really small elementary school in the pine barrens of NJ. Our basketball team played against other elementary schools and junior high schools.

In our 1st game of the season I scored all of the points for our team. We lost 64-3.

As the season went on we did improve and actually won a game (against the only school smaller than ours).

 
High school JV soccer.  Broke my nose in the first half of a game, gushing blood everywhere.  Coach put me back in and I scored three goals to win 3-2.  Those were different times.

College lacrosse - Overtime against SUNY Oneonta.  I was a midfielder on the sidelines during a clear from our defensive end.  Saw that we were a man short, stepped on the field, and screamed for the ball.  Caught a 40 yard pass from a defenseman, sprinted towards the goal, faked a shot, and passed the ball to my best friend who calmly bounced it into the open goal for the win.  What a great bus ride home that was.

 
Early September 2001 alone in the back country of a National Park.  Inflatable kayak towing a raft full of supplies.  Wanted to scout out campsites for next season.  

Woke before sunrise, hit the water with a tail wind as soon as the sun rose, about 6:30 AM.

Plan was to paddle four miles to check out a campsite but with the tail wind I had over shot by two miles.  Had  lunch but instead of going back I went forward towards a distant mountain range that was calling my name.

Very-long story short.  I wound up at the base of the mountain at 3:30 PM into the teeth of super-strong head wind.

I calculated I would straggle into camp around midnight but got back at 7:30 that night just as the sun was going down.

Wasn't sure exactly how far I had gone but conservative estimate was over 20 miles in 13 hours.

On the trip an otter popped up and circled my kayak.  On the way back I spotted a big black bear on his hind legs two miles from my camp.  

I made an enormous fire that lasted till after midnight.

That night I had a visitor at 2:37 AM.  But that's a different story.

 
JAA said:
There is no better investment than the one you can make in yourself. Considering the market is down, maybe now is the best time ;)

In all seriousness, it’s just a choice. Choose to get up early, choose to eat different. Once you stop playing your victim card and accept ownership, it’s all down hill. 

Then ... once you hit 3 weeks of success, you go to 6 weeks, then 9. You will have lapses, that’s ok. Remember no one is perfect. Just restart the process, cause it’s your choice, no one else’s. 

Best of luck, you own your happiness. 
made this decision for myself at 31. i'm not at @JAA levels of fit, but feeling better than ever and definitely in the best shape of my life. 

i agree with your assessment.  it's largely about saying "enough is enough" and just getting to the business of making better decisions.

 
JAA said:
There is no better investment than the one you can make in yourself. Considering the market is down, maybe now is the best time ;)

In all seriousness, it’s just a choice. Choose to get up early, choose to eat different. Once you stop playing your victim card and accept ownership, it’s all down hill. 

Then ... once you hit 3 weeks of success, you go to 6 weeks, then 9. You will have lapses, that’s ok. Remember no one is perfect. Just restart the process, cause it’s your choice, no one else’s. 

Best of luck, you own your happiness. 
Did just this a little over a year ago at age 42. Feel as good as I did in my 20's. It's on me that I just let my 30's go by without out being responsible. People ask me how I did it. It's very simple you have to decide to make the positive change for yourself. You can say you're doing if for your wife, your kids... but it has to be done for yourself. Cause only you will hold your self accountable every time. 

 
First two starts of my senior year, struck out 16 in 7 innings and 14 in 6 innings. We lost both games by a run, and had a horrible year. 3-15 regular season & 5-16 overall, easily the worst team I was ever on.

I had other moments - dominated Little League, made an unassisted triple play while playing 2B in Pony League, pitched a complete game in the American Legion championship game - but my first two starts as a 17 year old stuck out because I felt like I had complete command. Plus we had so few good moments that year, it was a really tough year.

I learned a lot about resilience & never giving up that year.

 
Early September 2001 alone in the back country of a National Park.  Inflatable kayak towing a raft full of supplies.  Wanted to scout out campsites for next season.  

Woke before sunrise, hit the water with a tail wind as soon as the sun rose, about 6:30 AM.

Plan was to paddle four miles to check out a campsite but with the tail wind I had over shot by two miles.  Had  lunch but instead of going back I went forward towards a distant mountain range that was calling my name.

Very-long story short.  I wound up at the base of the mountain at 3:30 PM into the teeth of super-strong head wind.

I calculated I would straggle into camp around midnight but got back at 7:30 that night just as the sun was going down.

Wasn't sure exactly how far I had gone but conservative estimate was over 20 miles in 13 hours.

On the trip an otter popped up and circled my kayak.  On the way back I spotted a big black bear on his hind legs two miles from my camp.  

I made an enormous fire that lasted till after midnight.

That night I had a visitor at 2:37 AM.  But that's a different story.
OK, you have me hooked.

Spill.

At this point, even money on either direwolf or back-country Deliverance-type meth addict.

 
I learned a lot about resilience & never giving up that year.
looking back, this is what i learned from elementary school sports.

we would get murdered every game, but it was still fun. we didn't just quit. we tried hard and didn't blame each other. we just played, and gave our best.  it was more about personal improvement  and not turning on each other.

none of us went on to do anything in sports but it's universally a good group of dudes to this day.

 
looking back, this is what i learned from elementary school sports.

we would get murdered every game, but it was still fun. we didn't just quit. we tried hard and didn't blame each other. we just played, and gave our best.  it was more about personal improvement  and not turning on each other.

none of us went on to do anything in sports but it's universally a good group of dudes to this day.
Exactly - great lessons I carried with me throughout my life: 

I have several circles from my past who are touchstones. The tech startup I worked for ‘99-03 still meets for drinks every Thursday; my fraternity brothers from college; the guys from my USN command have a reunion ever other year. But the guys I played ball with 40-45 years ago are really special. We live all over now & don’t see each other much, keep in touch through FB, IG & Twitter follows, but it makes my week/month when one of them turns up in NYC on a visit.

 
I was a senior on our HS soccer team.  I didn't start.  I didn't get much playing time unless it was 'clean up' time.  Most of our games were played in the day time but one of our games was played on the football field under the lights.  I used to take gymnastics since I was in grade school all the way through maybe 7th or 8th grade.  Because of this I could do a front handspring with a soccer ball and do throw in's really far.  I could throw it the whole way to the middle of the field.  It was like a cross from a winger but it was a throw in.

That particular night under the lights, it seemed like the conditions were perfect because the ball was a little sticky so I could get a good grip and the grass was damp but not slippery at all.  Not sure why but somehow I ended up getting in the game.  I made 3 or 4 of these 'flip-throws' that were placed very well.  On the last flip throw our striker scored a goal.  We won the game by a goal or two.  The thing that made it glorious is that the local news was there, recorded the game, and played a clip of me making my flip throws on the local news.  There was also a short write up of the game in the local paper and the opposing coach said "... most of their offense was the kid with the throw in" or something like that.

I think that team made it to the district finals and lost.  I hardly played except for that one game... but it was definitely glorious!

 
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OK, you have me hooked.

Spill.

At this point, even money on either direwolf or back-country Deliverance-type meth addict.
Its not just a story, its...  ah little too epic for this forum as it involves meta (meaning beyond) and para (also meaning beyond), physical and normal things that I have not seen discussed in this forum. 

Their is also a preamble from a trip that I took a few months earlier where something odd had taken place.  The preamble is a cool  story and has  nothing para-normal or meta-physical but I feel it was connect to what took place later that year.  

 It took me almost ten years to piece things together since had no idea what was going on at the time.  I've done a ton of research into things that is far beyond the main stream because I've had a lot of those expeinces.

 

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