It was P.E. Fourth Period. I was finishing up warm-up’s, bored out of my mind, when Mr. Corwin, the P.E. teacher, announced what we would be “playing” today in P.E. (I put playing in quotes because half the class openly refuses to participate, and 2/3 of the remaining half just poke around. Sad to admit, but I’m all too often a member of the second group.) The sport was soccer. At first, I was “unenthusiastic.” However, it occured to me that I really am okay at soccer. I have next to no training, the last time I seriously played being around 8 years ago. But I do have the next best thing: speed, a talent of sorts, and incredibly long legs. We divided up into our teams, and I was with a friend of mine named Ally. We kicked a** (those asterisks were my mom’s choice) and took names, seriously. We won, but I didn’t truly care about the victory . I was impressed that I only awkwardly flailed my legs a few times, didn’t fall down ONCE, and made a few goals (See? I even know the terminology). Such news is incredibly encouraging for awkward old me.
Allow me to explain to you why it is such big news that I found a sport I’m at least semi-decent at. I have been stuck in what many call the “awkward stage” for, (on April 22nd) 13 years, 7 months. My age, coincidentally. When I was little, my mom signed me up for gymnastic lessons because I couldn’t, honestly COULD NOT, climb play structure ladders. My parents have video tapes (that’s how old I am) of me plodding around in big, red, dumpy sweats on the soccer field. In more current times I hit my head, trip, and even fall over on a regular basis. So the discovery of an activity that requires a reasonable amount of coordination I do fine at is a cause for celebration indeed. I’m thinking about dropping subtle hints to my parents for a congratulatory gift, which hopefully means 50 dollars. I don’t think it’s very likely though.
In the few times my class has played P.E. since I started this specific post, I have consistently kept up with the best players on my team, so I know my sudden burst of soccer finesse isn’t just a fluke. At least, I really really hope I’m as filled with potential as I think I am, because soccer practice starts this Monday and I don’t want to embarrass myself. Bye bye now.
Hello! I noticed the name of your blog on your Aunt Mindy’s sidebar. I read the whole thing tonight. I love your dry wit.
And, in reference to a previous post, I totally have always thought of nerds as slight rebels, definitely NOT someone who considers others above them…But, maybe I have the geek/nerd definitions confused? I loved your descriptions of geeks.
Anyhoo, good luck with soccer!