Was/is anyone good at team sports?

The question was inspired by this Charlie Brooker article in this mornings Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/27/charlie-brooker-school-sports

It pretty much sums up my attitude to team sports. Going to school in the North West of England, and having PE taken by a huge mountain of a Welsh bloke, I was given the choice of Rugby League, Rugby League or Rugby League. I absolutely bloody hated it!!! When the inevitable happened and a crunching tackle shredded my knee ligaments I was crying with joy as well as with the searing pain. No more rugby for me.

So… as this is a cycling forum. And I’d hazard a guess that we all took up this as a sport because we bloody hate team sports. Am I right?

Was anyone actually any good? Or at least enjoy it?

I loved team sports, played pretty much all of them (apart from cricket, which is more of a pastime than a sport), and was pretty good at most of them.

I loved team sports, Played under 10’s,12’s,14’s,16’s at football, dabbled with Rugby, Hockey and cricket and even Karting in Enduro events etc as part of a 3 man team.

I’m far better at team sports than I am at individual ones, and definitely better at sports where there is a combination of fitness and skill, rather than cycling which is predominantly fitness.

I used to play hockey – highest level achieved (other than schoolboy county and regional representation) was North Premier (just below national league).

Stopped playing through injury – ball in the eye resulted in several broken bones and 3 pieces of titanium holding my face together.

I’ve always hated team sports;

1) because I don’t like letting people down and there’s huge opportunity for that in any team game.

2) Team sports inevitably have another side – I don’t particularly like competing (I think in large part because I don’t like losing)

Yup love team sports, rugby union though.

No, I was pretty reasonable at football and really enjoyed it too. Only stopped playing when it was clear I couldn’t spend all Saturday off playing footy and all Sunday off riding.

Rubbish at team sports. Hated football with a passion, and still do. I was normally the one put in goal. I’ll never get those wasted hours back from my life unfortunately. Same with cricket – how terminally dull was that!

Luckily our school had one forward thinking PE teacher who used to organise outdoor sports trips to Wales every month. Rock climbing, mountain biking (in the days before suspension), mountain walking, orienteering and kayaking. Awesome!

i was almost nearly a pro wendyballer, but probably wouldn’t have got past league 1

enjoy most team sports

Hate them. Went to a school where rugby was compulsory til 5th form, quite enjoyed cricket, but the reality is I’d rather watch team sports than play them.
I hate the idea that the responsibility is in other hands than my own.
Even my wife says that I’m not a team player in our marriage.. 😥

Yup, district rugby,Scottish school trials and a decent club standard.

I’m a high standard at doubles in badminton, if that counts. Much better at doubles then I am at singles. In a match I don’t mind when I let someone else down, as I’m always doing my best – I can’t do more then that. And when they let me down, as long as they’re doing their best, the same applies.

Its not too hard to turn cycling into a team sport, at least on the road, and that makes it more fun.

I like team sports! Played rugby at school, now play a fair bit of football. Playing 5-a-side in about an hours time, in fact 🙂

I loved footy and rugby but never got past Sunday league footy. With hamstrings like cheese strings I had to call it a day in mid 20’s.

I have had reasonable success in Sailing, winning a European champs as a team in 2003. So cant be too bad. Sold our boat a year ago so we could all start families – costs are horrendous.

I love team sports but only if I’m in charge 🙂

I’ve always been really good in threesomes. I know when to delegate and when to rise to the front/take charge at the right moments.

duckman – Member
Yup, district rugby,Scottish school trials and a decent club standard.

Aye, me too. Gave up at 14/15 tho when girls, drinking and drugs began taking up too much time and had to drop one activity ;). other than a kickabout in the park, I haven’t played a single team sport since.

Thinking about it – I must be the only bloke I know who has never scored a goal in football, not even in school.

Doesn’t really bother me but does that make me less of a man?

Or could ‘taking a shot towards another mans open goal’ perhaps be considered a little bit gay? 😉

I quite liked football, rugby, cricket and for some reason, basketball (I’m five foot six 😀 )at school, but was really pretty awful at all of them.

Enjoyed all of them much more when organised socially amongst friends – less pressure and and the emphasis purely on fun.
Our weekly five-a-side footie session went on for years, until family commitments and injuries took their toll; knees can’t cope these days, sadly 🙁 .

BTW, I have a piece of paper next to me with the names of some of our delightful regular forum contributors written on it. If they don’t all post on here during the day, each listing their sporting achievements in some detail, I shall eat my own feet. 🙂

I played for the school rugby team and the local under 15s.
Other than riding in a team of four at Mountain Mayhem once, I’ve had no interest in team sports since then.

I loved team sports when I was younger, played Netball, Hockey and Lacrosse at school. Not very good or anything but could run fast.

Too busy growing up and going to parties after that !

Trying to get back into it with Roller Derby but keep falling over. I will persevere as new skills are good for a person.

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NorthernStar – Member

Thinking about it – I must be the only bloke I know who has never scored a goal in football, not even in school.

Doesn’t really bother me but does that make me less of a man?

Or could ‘taking a shot towards another mans open goal’ perhaps be considered a little bit gay?
Posted 1 minute ago # Report-Post

Me too fella, absolutely hopeless at team sports.

Trouble is I can see my eldest son heading the same way, and I hate it.

Loved team sports… rugby to a decent level, footy to a reasonable level, cricket to a good level but injury stopped all of that when I was at uni which let me get on with the more hedonistic side of student life, and I have never looked back! 🙂

Individual sports only for me – never got into any team stuff. Probably a selfish thing really!

Got slightly into rugby but that’s it.

Do far more sport/activity now than when I was at school. A lot of the rugby/football/hockey “stars” of school have gone the other way and are now fat bar stewards!

Trying to get back into it with Roller Derby

I’ve just had to look this up. Insane..! 😀

Mostly the same for me binners.

All our school used to play was football and I hate football, me and a couple of mate had to game we used to play when playing football, 1, we would either launch the ball as hard as we could not caring where or what direction it went. 2, we used to try out best to stay as far away from the ball as possible without leaving the pitch. But the odd time we played rugby I didn’t mind that.

But one parents evening the PE teacher said to my parents that I never brought my kit and just wasn’t interested. My mum then said to him basically ‘The only sports you play/do is football, and he is a mountain biker and dose lots of miles on his mountain bike to keep fit and just is not interested in football’ so the PE teacher said ‘ok do you mind if we do a fitness test?’ my mum said ‘OK’ and though it was a good idea, I am not too sure what the results was but I never had to do PE (football) again 🙂

I’ve always been really good in threesomes. I know when to delegate and when to rise to the front/take charge at the right moments.

It’s all that experience you’ve had.

Thing is though, what choice does one teacher with 20-30 kids have? Team sports or badders coaching?
Erm…

Normally a big fan of the Brooker, but he talks a bit of shit in that one.
Better for kids to do some sport than none eh?

I played a bit of town football and rugby as a teenager, and cricket a bit too. I never really enjoyed it, but would have like to be better at football. Probably just a status thing though.

Fundamentally though, I don’t actually like people, so the team dynamic never really worked for me.

Always despised football.
Use to hate cricket and rugby too, but they can be mildy entertaining to watch (eg in 20-20 form), but i’d never play them.

Scored 9 goals in hockey once. A Hatrick of Hatricks. We won 27-0, so that doesn’t necessarily make me good at hockey though. Not played for years (well decades).

i was pretty good a rugby league.
play pro for wakefield trinity in the 80’s.

Not really sure why sports at school brings up so many emotions ? Surely its just another lesson like any other ?

Was never great at sports as a kid at school(science + maths was more me) but I can understand why some kids loved it as it was their chance to show they were actually good at something.

I also never remember feeling anxious about PE I normally looked forward to it even if I was a bit rubbish (I was quite good at gymnastics as a kid and did that out of school but at the time you didnt go round telling people that)

In fact if there was any lesson I felt nervous about it was probably languages ! Having to try to pronounce incomprehensible foreign words in front on the whole class BON-JAW MON-SEE-OUR ! Remember getting a good few laughs on many an occasion.

Actually I think it might have been the fact there were girls in the languages classes that made me feel nervous. No girls in PE so I didnt really care.

I love almost all sports. I can’t think of any sport I’d hate to do. I’m pretty rubbish at some of them (like but not limited to darts, cricket, throwing events) and I reckon I’d have been pretty good at some (sprinting, rugby, mountianeering, shooting or archery) but for some reason I’m cycling. I don’t think it’s my best sport tbh – a propensity to be bigger and heavier than most MTB whippets doesn’t help.. although if I could shed a few lbs of fat I might do well.

I think my best strategy for winningness might be a foray into track cycling, but it’s damn difficult to get into.

I played a bit of rugby and hockey fairly seriously until I was 30. I still miss playing 20 years on

I’ll give you a reason for team sports:

Our school touch rugby team played our corresponding Boys School at touch rugby. The girls won and the forfeit was that the team had to come on stage at the annual show we used to put on together in womens underwear. They did it too. (to the tune of the Bendon ad Lou Reed “do what you wanna do” for those that grew up in NZ)

Amazed the girls got away with this, but some of them were so butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths crawly with the teachers whilst underneath hiding evil and duplicitous natures that actually I’m not surprised. I think there might have been some explusions. I certainly will never forget that day.

Used to be pretty good at football and played for 25 years at one level or another.
Finally hung the boots up when I got frustrated at getting old and shite and making crap players look good. Not much fun not been able to walk on a Sunday morning either due to bad knees/ankles/hips etc etc.

Used to love my rugby, but it does take it’s toll and I don’t heal as fast as I used to. Still like the odd game of 5-side footie, although cycling and hill-walking are my main activities now.

I was never very good at team sports, largely because I didn’t give enough of a f*ck about winning to be much use 🙂

Bizarrely, my brother was a cricketing international for errr…Germany in his late teens.

They had a squad with one German in it. The rest were expatriate Pakistanis, Barbadians and the sons of military personnel serving with British Forces Germany.

They lost to the Netherlands and Spain (who fielded an entirely English line-up), but crushed the mighty Andorra!

More relevant to the subject, I find I try much harder with team sports because I have an obligation to my team to do as well as I can. On my own I can slack and persuade myself to be ok with it 🙂 (or should that be 🙁 ? )