Being a Good Sport

Why we should give some things another chance

I only ever bunked off school once; it was a sports lesson, and we got caught because we returned for maths. Freaks, right? Well, not if you hated sport as much as I, and my equally unsporty friends, did. I was in the group that got picked last for teams, and not because no one liked me, but because I was genuinely crap.

I never envied the sporty lot. I didn’t want to be like them; I just wanted to not have to join in. I didn’t see the point of running around a field pretending I wanted to win. It didn’t help that the sports teachers were overly passionate about their chosen subject. The only argument I ever got into at school was with a sports teacher-cum-army drill sergeant who tore strips off us for not reacting faster. I stood up, and, in front of the class, I told him it was a game, and he should calm down. It didn’t go down well. I wasn’t usually disrespectful to teachers, but I didn’t get it – I was convinced sport would play no role in my life after school. I had written myself off as being unathletic (I've written about the danger of labels in another post).

In many subjects, you can slink to the back of the class and go unnoticed if you're not good (until you fail your exams); that's impossible in physical education. My friends and I did try our best to hide, though. Rounders was a big thing at our school; we played it about once a week. For anyone unfamiliar with the game, it’s a bit like baseball. When we were finally added as the last ones to a team, my friends and I would run to the back of the large green to deep field – and I mean DEEP. We were specks on the horizon. But some hotshot always had to ruin our strategy and hit as if their life depended on it. The ball would hurtle towards our huddle, and a tussle would ensue. From afar, it might have looked like we were scrambling to get the ball; in fact, we were pushing the other one forward. None of us could catch. A collective groan would go up at the other end of the field from our teammates (I use the term loosely – they weren't that matey with us during these scenes), followed by screaming that we should throw it back. It wasn’t just our catching that was useless; none of us could throw either. So, whoever gave in and picked up the ball would launch it and watch it land less than a metre away from us again. This would have to be repeated over and again until it finally reached the other players, who would be cursing us and asking the teacher why we had to play – we’d asked ourselves the same question.

A few years after leaving school, I bumped into an old school friend who laughed himself silly when I told him what I was working as. “Oh, you’re not joking? But how?” I was working as a personal trainer in a top London gym. This obviously hadn’t been the plan. Without the army-style screeching of school days, I found there were some sports I enjoyed. I didn’t stay in the industry for long – I’m not a great lover of fitness centres – but I’ve kept fit and have helped others get started or keep going over the years ever since.

Keeping fit requires motivation, and we’re all motivated by different things. I needed to find exercise that suited me. Also, understanding the benefits of working out, the theory we didn’t get at school, helped motivate me. Others need to find a game they like playing, a route they like to run, or a goal they want to achieve. I’ve always enjoyed helping people find their motivation – once it’s there, it’s rarely lost. Even when motivation wanes, it can be kick-started again.

Of course, as we get older, our preferences can change. I was heavily into weights and taught circuit training at the start of my career. When I broke my hand recently, I had to take a break from weightlifting, and I’ve found it hard to get back into it. I now do daily ten-minute workouts – they’re long enough to make a difference but not so long that I have an excuse to leave them out. I run a few times a week because I love it, and it clears my head. I also walk everywhere within reason; some (like my kids) would say the distances are unreasonable 😅.

In addition to keeping us trim as we hit midlife and our bodies shift, sport lifts our mood and balances us. When we’re juggling so much already, finding time to work out can be tough. If you’re a gym-lover you've won, but if you’re not, even getting off the bus or train a few stops early, kicking a ball around with your kids or taking up yoga (as long as you don’t just lie there in Shavasana the entire time😉) can help.

Sometimes, we should revisit things to see if they have a place in our lives. Just because something didn’t when we were younger doesn’t mean that’s the case forever. Once we realise the benefits and try it out in our own way, it can work for us. Don’t invite me over for a game of rounders, though, I still can’t catch or throw – I’ll remain a speck on the horizon where that’s concerned.