At this time I did not play any organized sports. Any sort of physical or outdoor play that I had was primarily on playgrounds during pre-school and kindergarten. During kindergarten I remember the game I always played was called “chase”, which was basically an endless game of tag in which the boys chased the girls. I also enjoyed playing kickball but experienced frustration with older kids who would make up rules and refuse to play until they were followed.
Ages 7-10:
During this time I played soccer through the elementary school I attended. I enjoyed it and my dad was often my team’s coach. He always put more of an emphasis on having fun than winning. At the time this was frustrating to some parents, myself and my teammates but was probably best for all of us. It has had some influence on how I participate in sports and how I plan to run my sports programs.
Ages 10-12:
I played soccer during this time through a program run through the local parks department. My dad was my coach and again he put the focus on having fun more than winning. As I got older this became more frustrating to me but is something I appreciate today.
Ages 12-16:
I stopped playing soccer out of frustration with being on a team that was constantly losing. During this time I did not play any sports, team or individual. I spent most of my time focused on school and work. I was homeschooled from the ages 10 to 18 and my lack of involvement in sports definitely cut me off socially.
Ages 16-18:
From 16 to 17 I started going rock climbing at minimum once a week with a friend I made through my parent’s work. I stopped going when I decided to focus on school. After my senior year of high school I started running during the summer, at night, after work. I usually ran between 6 and 10 miles, which prepared me for a half marathon – 13.1 miles, which I ran by myself. My dad influenced me the most with his individual participation in cycling and running.