Did you play any sports in high school or college?

[Guest HighlyLogical]

Outside of the required P.E., the only sport I did during that time was a little bit of cheerleading. That didn't last long because unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) I injured my leg and had to drop out. Did you play any sports in school? If you did, what were they? Do you still play today? I like watching pretty much all sports, but as far as playing anything, I like very relaxed games of tennis, and maybe a little bit of soccer.

[Zack T]

I was on the weight lifting team for a brief period in junior year of high school. My intention was to get strong so I could become a wrestler - unfortunately, I have scoliosis and it had gone undiagnosed for way too long. People started noticing my back was crooked, and when we saw the doctor about it, he told me to stop lifting weights immediately.

 

I ended up having surgery to put rods/bolts in there to stop curvature from getting worse.

[Guest HighlyLogical]

I was on the weight lifting team for a brief period in junior year of high school. My intention was to get strong so I could become a wrestler - unfortunately, I have scoliosis and it had gone undiagnosed for way too long. People started noticing my back was crooked, and when we saw the doctor about it, he told me to stop lifting weights immediately.

 

I ended up having surgery to put rods/bolts in there to stop curvature from getting worse.

I'm really sorry to hear about how your goal was put on hold due to health issues. Thank goodness it was caught in time and you were able to have surgery to halt any further issues. Are you able to do even the tiniest bit of strength training these days? "They" say that adding weights to a fitness plan is a good thing to do, but of course there have to be ways around using weights to gain strength.

I definitely wouldn't mind learning certain wrestling moves. I think it's genius and very beneficial to know how to maneuver your body in certain ways to get out of any possible undesirable predicaments, or to be able to put your opponent in his or her place in a very efficient and clean way.

[Zack T]

I could do some training but I haven't ever since then. The surgery made my back permanently sore and achy, and carrying too much weight hurts. Running feels weird. So I haven't really done anything.

[Guest HighlyLogical]

I could do some training but I haven't ever since then. The surgery made my back permanently sore and achy, and carrying too much weight hurts. Running feels weird. So I haven't really done anything.

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear about your continual back pain. That sucks. I can sort of identify with lingering issues... the leg injury that I had years ago still causes me issues until this day, but they are manageable -- irritating but manageable.

So, no carrying much weight, and no running? Do you walk at all? Walking works wonders.

[Guest airgold]

I played baseball but I'll admit I wasn't one of the better players on the team. I was self taught so there were things I didn't know about until later on. For example, when I was younger, no one taught me to snap my wrist when throwing a baseball. Oh, well. I enjoyed it while it lasted.

[Zack T]

I walk a little bit but not super often. Used to be on my feet for 6 to 10 hours at a time when I worked for Chili's though. That'll make you super sore.

[Guest HighlyLogical]

@airgold You played baseball? Me too! I wasn't great at it either, but what I really liked about going to practice and going to the games was being able to buy all kinds of delicious treats at the concession stands. They had me at hello. Whenever my allowance would permit, I'd buy all kinds of things and come home with a baseball mitt full of candy.

 

@Zack T Chili's huh? I have yet to eat there. I don't really like eating out all that much, but every now and then I'll grin and bare it just to get a test of certain foods. Maybe I'll make a trip to a nearby Chili's over the summer and see what they have going on. The food always looks good on the Chili's commercials.

I used to work at Wendy's and at a store called Mervyn's (they closed), so I stood on my feet a lot too. When I worked at Wendy's I worked with a couple of my friends. We worked the closing shift, and it seems like we did equal parts eating and working, so I think I was too enamored with the single cheese burgers, and the Frosties to give any type of thought as to whether my feet hurt or not:redface:.

 

I walk a little bit too, but not nearly as much as I used to and want to. I started on an exercise plan a couple of months ago, but started slacking off of it. I think I really want to start doing some of those walk at home videos on YouTube.

[Zack T]

I did a lot of food work before breaking into the office world. First job was at McDonalds, and I've worked for Chili's on 3 different occasions at 2 different stores for a total of 4 years. I also worked briefly at Arby's and Steak N Shake and Domino's Pizza.

 

I would've liked to have worked at Wendy's for a discount, I love their spicy chicken sandwiches.

[DandyMandy]

I was a cheerleader and ran track. I'm not athletic in the traditional sense. I've always been afraid of getting hit by a softball or basketball so those were never big on my radar. My school didn't have more exotic sports like hockey, wrestling, and swimming.

 

To jump on the food service bandwagon, I worked at Captain D's during high school and during college breaks. It was one of the best jobs I've ever had. The customers were super nice and we got paid breaks and the managers made sure we used them. That was several years ago and I bet their rules have changed, but it was nice working there when I did.

[Guest Evie]

Most of my involvement in school-related sports was before high school. I was involved in a gymnastics programme outside of my school though. That took up a lot of my time before and after school so I didn't really have the time for anything else. I didn't play anything in college because I didn't have the skill or the time.

[Guest HighlyLogical]

@Zack T I did the opposite of you, my first jobs were office jobs (through a summer youth program), and then a few years later I went and worked at Wendy's because a friend of mine worked there. I 100% love the idea of seeing people work at McDonald's especially because sometimes working fast food gets a bad rap. I remember years ago, a lot of young people around my area didn't want to work at McDonald's, even though it was right there. One young man ignored all of the anti-working-at-McDonald's noise and got a job there. The next thing you know he always had money when no one else did, he always wore brand new clothes, and looked really nice. I loved that.

 

And... I'm romantically enamored with Arby's:love:. I'm sure there's a better way to say that, but we'll go with it.

A friend/neighbor of mine decided to uproot herself and move across country. She was following a man. She was always walking around the neighborhood, you'd see her here and there, so the thought of her moving across the country with basically just the clothes on her back seemed very odd. The man didn't have much at all either. She said that when she got to her destination, she was going to get a job at a fast food place and take it from there.

 

She did just that, got a job at Arby's. She'd call and tell me all about how she pretty much ate only Arby's food to save money when she first got there, and how after a couple of paychecks she was able to rent a cheap apartment, and that her and the boyfriend were doing good.

 

It was like, "Wow, you can uproot your whole life, go across country and make it." That's what Arby's reminds me of-- being carefree, venturing out on your own, buying lots of things from The Dollar Store, and KMart for your new apartment, getting acclimated to a new state, going to work, getting your Arby's check, and making a life for yourself. Like a summer feel-good, coming-of-age movie.

 

@DandyMandy It's interesting that you say that about getting hit by a softball or basketball. That totally happened to me. I got hit right in the mouth with a baseball. Busted my lip... I'll spare you the rest of the details, but yeah, that happened.

I admire your ability to run track, that's not an easy sport.

I think it's great you enjoyed your time working in the food service industry. I think these types of jobs often get criticized unfairly. It certainly depends on a variety of things, but these jobs can be very rewarding.

 

@Evie I'm always surprised when I see kids involved in gymnastics when they are in school, because although there are benefits to being in gymnastics, as you said in your own case, it takes up a lot of time. I didn't do that particular sport, but I had a couple of friends who did. Sometimes I would go to one of my friend's practices after school, and it just seemed to eat up the entire day after school and on into the night. It would be light out when we got there, and dark when we left. We got a ride there and back from her mom, but still.

[scatman]

I was in track and field. I was long distance runner, 2 and 5 mile runs. I tired out for the high jump but I wasn't good enough.

[Guest HighlyLogical]

I was in track and field. I was long distance runner, 2 and 5 mile runs. I tired out for the high jump but I wasn't good enough.

You had/have the ability to run 5 miles?!! Five?! I'm so jealous of that. When I was in high school, a couple of girls that I had known since elementary school ran long distance. After school you would see them take off altogether in a small group from the starting point of the school track and head out onto the city sidewalk.

 

For those of us who stayed a while after school just to hang out, or to watch or participate in basketball (or soccer, field hockey, tennis or swimming) practice, or for those of us who stayed after school because we often had tests to make up:whistling:, or because we wanted to study... after about an hour or so you'd see that group of girls coming back. Still running in a group, they'd head for the track.

 

Then, when they'd get back to the track where the track coach was, they'd stop running for awhile, talk to the coach, and then after a rest, they'd start running again! This time, around the track! That long distance running really fascinated me. I guess especially since I had known these girls for years but had no idea they had that type of skill. I always used to think (still do) that it must be great to be able to run like that, non-stop for miles.

[scatman]

Yeah, I lived in southern Missouri at the time. I tried out one year and was a dismal failure. So over the summer, through all of the hills, I built up my stamina to where I could run "around the block" in the deep country where I lived. The "block" was approximately 5 miles.

 

When I got back to school the following year, 5 miles on a flat track was nothing. I was 16 at the time.

[Guest HighlyLogical]

Yeah, I lived in southern Missouri at the time. I tried out one year and was a dismal failure. So over the summer, through all of the hills, I built up my stamina to where I could run "around the block" in the deep country where I lived. The "block" was approximately 5 miles.

 

When I got back to school the following year, 5 miles on a flat track was nothing. I was 16 at the time.

Makes sense, especially running on hills which will help build up more stamina and muscles than just running on flat ground. It's great that you took your 'dismal failure' and turned it into something productive and positive.

[Guest Evie]

@HighlyLogical, it's super time-consuming. It didn't help that the place where I practiced was a thirty-minute drive each way. I don't know how my parents were okay with all of that. I hope they never thought it would end with me getting a scholarship. If that's the case, I'm sorry Mom and Dad! Swimming is another sport that consumes a lot of time before and after school. I'm sure there are others but those are the two most time-consuming sports in my opinion.

[Guest HighlyLogical]

@HighlyLogical, it's super time-consuming. It didn't help that the place where I practiced was a thirty-minute drive each way. I don't know how my parents were okay with all of that. I hope they never thought it would end with me getting a scholarship. If that's the case, I'm sorry Mom and Dad! Swimming is another sport that consumes a lot of time before and after school. I'm sure there are others but those are the two most time-consuming sports in my opinion.

I think that parents expect and want a lot out of their kids, for their kids, and from their kids when school is going on. I'm a firm believer in allowing kids to be kids. They only have a few years of childhood compared to many, many years of adulthood. On one hand, after school activities, especially sports, give kids certain advantages... they are physically fit, they are learning time management (hopefully), and they are learning how to work with a team. I get that.

On the other hand, kids ought to be able to breathe and let their hair down, so-to-speak. Every moment of every single day should not be filled up with an activity.

 

I agree with you, swimming takes up a lot of time too. When I was in high school, one semester I had swimming first period...

8 o'clock in the morning, cold as ##!!**!. Like, are you serious? Good class, I made a couple of new friends, but still... I can only imagine doing it as a sport after-school.

[Guest Evie]

I think that parents expect and want a lot out of their kids, for their kids, and from their kids when school is going on. I'm a firm believer in allowing kids to be kids. They only have a few years of childhood compared to many, many years of adulthood. On one hand, after school activities, especially sports, give kids certain advantages... they are physically fit, they are learning time management (hopefully), and they are learning how to work with a team. I get that.

On the other hand, kids ought to be able to breathe and let their hair down, so-to-speak. Every moment of every single day should not be filled up with an activity.

 

I agree with you, swimming takes up a lot of time too. When I was in high school, one semester I had swimming first period...

8 o'clock in the morning, cold as ##!!**!. Like, are you serious? Good class, I made a couple of new friends, but still... I can only imagine doing it as a sport after-school.

 

Kids should definitely have the opportunity to be kids. I think sports are great for all sorts of reasons but they shouldn't take up all of their free time. Since we are talking about high schoolers I think it's important to point out that they are old enough to know how they want to spend their time. If they choose sports, then more power to them. If they don't, their parents need to accept this.

 

Being up and ready to swim that early in cold water sounds like a nightmare to me! It always helps to have some friends with you though. I think that's one of the perks of sports - they introduce you to people you might not otherwise spend time with.