i was just bemoaning my lack of anything to do on thursday nights to my former-classmate/current co-worker pat, when he asked me if i wanted to coach basketball.
my reaction was immediate and vehement. NO. NONONONONONo. never. i mostly hate basketball, and my participation in it with a passion i reserve for worms and well, worms.
to me basketball is seventh grade, and being 6’1″ and the pressure at home and at school to join, join, join. blech. just thinking about it gives me shivers of disgust. of course when i was 12 i could hardly articulate my desire not to play basketball and how awful it would be. instead i mostly just shut up and/or cried. because that’s what 6’1″ 12-year-old girls do.
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It reminds me of my first day of High School band. The football coach saw me carrying a box of equipment, and tried to usher me to the field so I could practice with the varsity team. When he found out I played the trumpet, he and the band director had a heated argument about where I should put my “God-given talent”. I felt like I had no control over my own life. I enjoy football now, but I wonder how many youths are pushed into sports or other activities because of their physical attributes with no regard to their desires.