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Piece #31 - Sports


Again, another topic to which I'm wondering why I didn't get to earlier considering how much I enjoy it. Right now my biggest obsession is Fantasy Sports (Football, Baseball, Hockey, and Basketball). I love playing it, but NOT for money; two reasons: 1. I don't feel like possibly losing money. 2. Because my wife would kill me. Even though I'm in my forties now, I still yearn for the day to play around with a soccer ball or a tennis ball, golf ball...you get the idea.

Growing up, the big sports person in my family wasn't my dad...it was mom. She would watch sports many times and we even got to go to major sporting events like Royals games (Baseball) or Kings Games (When the KC Kings basketball team was still in town.) [sad face]. One of the biggest thrills for me was being able to go to game 7 of the World Series in 1985. (Yes, the Royals won the Series that year...and yes again; we USED to be a great team.) The two main sports I played were soccer and baseball. Mom didn't like the idea of football for me or my brother, Craig. [Although, my brother did play football in high school].

I'll start with baseball because for me, I did enjoy the sport, but I was rather a big chicken when it came to hitting or playing in the field. My fear was...getting hit by a baseball. It did happen a few times and all I can say is my fears were true, it really hurts! I played second base almost the whole time and honestly, I was really good at the sport. I didn't have the power, but I did have the speed; which meant I was either leading off or batting second. There was one year went my own mom was the coach, but she didn't play favorites with me, in fact it was a little intimidating since I was the coach's son. I didn't play the sport in high school, but I did play a year or two in slow pitch softball in my early adult years.

The sport I loved the most had to be soccer. I could almost write another blog on this sport alone. I was a little older than most when I started playing soccer. Mom had me playing in youth organized soccer, meaning not the average city youth league or YMCA. These were teams that would groom kids for high school and college. I played all the way up to the time I was ready to enter high school. (So begins my frustration.) I still remember my fellow players talking about the high schools they'd be attending this fall and the high school teams they'd be playing with, when it came down to me, they were appalled when I told them I was attending a country school with NO soccer program! I remember an old British coach who would come out and watch us practice, and from time to time he would pull me aside and show me some fancy trick moves that profession players get in their practices. The position I mostly played was at the right fullback spot. (That's on the defensive side of the field.) I really wanted to play soccer in high school, but that never happened for me. The closest I got was indoor soccer. I played indoor soccer for a while, but it did get me in trouble my junior year because I was running on the track team as well and State rules say you can't do both on the same day...so I had to quit track that year. I did run my senior year with my brother who was a freshmen, but I didn't do nearly as well since I had to quit the year before. The worst injury I'd ever had was when I was playing soccer and I was going to head the ball, but I missed and hit my nose on the opponent's head, breaking my nose. You gotta love soccer! I will say when I was dating my wife, I was still playing indoor soccer and she came to one of my games. Needless to say, she was really impressed with my game...yeah baby!

When it comes to coaching, I have done a little bit of it in soccer, but for city youth leagues. I think deep down I'd like to coach for real, but at this point, I don't have the time. I wanted to coach high school, but college is in the way at the moment. Who knows, maybe I might coach college soccer!

The biggest rush I had was at the Texas Motor Speedway where I got the chance to ride along in a NASCAR...what an adrenaline rush! The only sport I still hope to play is golf, now if I just had the time and the money; because after all...a little exercise couldn't hurt - much!

Song of Inspiration [Check it out on iTunes!]:

Song: "For the Love of the Game"

Artist: Pillar

Album: For the Love of the Game

 


Here's a photo of me coaching one of my soccer teams.
 
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