Back in your "glory days"...

[Hotsauce]

Football in middle school - I made the team and was a special teams guy mostly, but also played WR and Safety.

Basketball 5 year starter, was a damn good SF

Also was a big time knee boarder

All in all I am a great athlete, I stopped growing taller in high school, so that limited my playtime.

[OnlyPantherFaninMaine]

I grew up playing soccer, football, basketball, hockey, baseball, track, lacrosse...pretty much every sport possible in my hometown. At age 8 I won the Maine State Championship in the 400m for kids 8 and under.

 

By the time middle school came around I settled into football and lacrosse but focussed mostly on lacrosse as I was undersized and the sport was new to Maine in general. By undersized in middle school I mean like 110lbs of skin and bone, under 5' feet, but I was still faster than probably 95% of people on my teams which help me survive on the field. 

 

Freshman year of high school I was in two-a-days for football back ready to receive a punt when I felt a terrible shooting pain throughout my legs and when I went to run I just couldn't do it. The punt left the punters foot and I just sat down on the field in agonizing pain. In the previous year alone, I had grown 7 inches and put on about 30-40lbs and had brutal tendinitis from my achilles on up. Essentially my bones grew so fast that my tendons and muscles couldn't keep up and I lost a lot of flexibility and the pain during athletics was pretty bad. That football season I never played a game and never dressed because I was too busy re-habbing with trainers the whole time trying to get right for lacrosse season. That lacrosse season, after dominating most of my freshman classmates at practice as a defensemen, I was asked to practice and play with varsity for the remainder of the season. I didn't get much playing time but held my own at practice and got better by playing with the best my town had to offer.

 

Sophomore year of high school I was a full-time starter and my team went on to a win a State Championship by the final score of 14-2. We got some jackets and hats and a nice plaque for the win.

 

Junior year my team was a dominant force in Maine lacrosse once again. This was the best team I ever played on but we lost to a rival in the Western Maine Championship. During the quarter final a week prior, I was knocked out cold by a cheap shot and couldn't pass the concussion tests to play the next week. I had to watch us lose the next week from the sideline in street clothes which was one of the more difficult things I had ever done at that time.

 

Senior year, once again, my team was a heavy favorite going into the season. We ran through the regular season with a 14-2 record and cruised into the playoffs with a first round bye. However, this season didn't go as planned for me personally. I had put on 30lbs of muscle in the off-season and lost a lot of mobility and my severe tendinitis came back on stronger than ever. I was unable to take part in a lot of our conditioning drills throughout the season and by halftime in a lot of games my legs were spent and just didn't allow me to run like I needed to be able to do. We ended up winning the State Championship 8-6 my senior year. I played a decent game at defense in front of my goalie and the celebration was something I'll never forget. 

 

Here is the hardware from my senior year:

 

 

Since 2006, my high school has won 6 of the last 8 State Championships including 4 in a row. A win this season would make it five in a row. It's beyond a dynasty at this point. 

[Proudiddy]

Get ready for this mini-novel...

 

Was a streetball/pickup legend through HS.  All of the best players on our HS team either wanted me to come tryout again or was scared I would actually do so.  BUT, following some sound advice from my dad (sarcasm heavy), after missing my freshman tryouts because of my dad's personal failures, and then coming back and getting cut after coach already had his guys as a sophomore, I was told, "don't give him the satisfaction.  If you know you're good enough, then quit trying out."  So, I did just that.  My friends, including the class president among others, kept telling me to come out because they needed a "Jason Williams-type white guy," lol, but I refused to give the coach another chance to judge my fate.  I was good friends with and balled with numerous elite-level athletes throughout that time and was known for my abilities.  The NC HS State Player of the Year loved my game, and we were good friends, and he sometimes would ask me to play in tourneys with him, although he never actually went and did them.  I gave up trying for football because my dad came up to the school and embarrassed me cussing at the coaches for making me late to work bagging groceries at Food Lion (which I had already cleared with my manager).  BUT, everything I did and everyone I played with in HS, I was among the best.  You could still ask anyone who was anyone to this day, I just never got to do it where it counted up through that time.

 

I ended up trying out and playing at a JUCO after sitting out several years and barely playing...  So, not in my prime...  My first year, I was an absolute basketcase.  In streetball, I was in my element.  Organized, indoors, for the first time outside of rec, it felt like a different beast.  And it was collegiate level competition.  So, I basically skipped through all high school and went straight to college, lol.  I was shellshocked initially.  I didn't even want to handle the ball, I didn't want to make a mistake because it was magnified.  But, my teammates still saw it.  I was known for legendary quickness and fast feet - some speed as well.  So, I slowly settled into my role as playing off-the-ball that first year and focusing on defense first and getting buckets through the open floor and spotting up mostly.  Which was so counter-intuitive to me because all my life, I created for myself and others.  But, I guess it was just like settling in and working my way to being comfortable.

 

Anyway, my highlights that year were scoring in the Dean Dome in limited minutes against UNC's JV and over a future varsity player there, AND we squared off against the nation's leading scorer in all of college that season...  He was averaging 38 PPG going into the last week of the season, lol.  It was unreal.  We played them twice in that last month or so, including in the tourney.  I started both times IIRC, and our coach only played me and my best friend on the team on him he entire game - mainly because of our quickness.  He never scored a single FG on me, playing at least half the game, and I believe he scored only 5 points on me total from free throws between both games.  Combined, my friend and I held him to 15 the first game and I believe 19 the second game, and as I said, he only scored 5 points on me total, lol.  It was his lowest point totals all season.  He earned a partial scholarship that season to NC State and ended up quitting basketball to run his father's business before enrolling.  It was crazy.

 

The next season, I was operating as a potential star...  I overcame my mental obstacles from the first year and found my cockiness from HS again.  I was the leading scorer in a majority of our scrimmages throughout the summer and up through the season.  I was doing some amazing stuff.  My coach told me he had a friend come in for the first time...  I guy he greatly respected who had been in basketball his whole life...  The guy came in saw us play an preseason game, went to him after the game and asked who I was.  He told the whole team the next night, the guy said, "that guy is a BALL PLAYER.  He's got it, especially if he learns to slow down a little bit."  LOL.  Didn't comment on anyone else...  And my coach ate it up, as did I. 

 

We were expecting my son around October that season, I started getting in some pretty intense beefs with new guys on the team that wanted my spot.  I was growing frustrated with certain aspects of the program and at times felt I was being overlooked.  My coach assured me that wasn't the case, but I just got tired of all the drama.  My best friend who played professionally overseas and I trained with prior, had numerous NBA and college connections.  He had already been putting in the word for me with some D2 schools and such and I was invited to come up and workout when I was ready.  He even marketed me to them as being "like Jason Williams," as well, a recurring theme, lol.  My coach was telling me he thought he could get me a scholarship as well to a D2 school at this point...  But, I felt like I could do it on my own, and out of frustration, I left the team when my son was born.  I applied and transferred into UNC because my wife was already there.  I called the NCAA after starting the school year, only to find out, my eligibility started ticking the day I enrolled in college, whether I was playing a sport or not.  I had actually started school a year earlier at a different community college prior to transferring over to the JUCO to play ball...  So, it turned out I only had like a year of eligibility left.  So, I realized my collegiate playing dreams were over and there was no point in trying out for the JV at UNC or trying to transfer to another school, most likely in West Virginia (where my friend had connections), with only a year left to play...  No coach would want that over a guy they could keep for multiple years. 

 

I became depressed and ate Bojangles multiple times a day between writing papers, lol.  And so, ever since, I've been hovering 10-20 lbs. over my playing weight.  I'll get in great shape, go up to the local gym, bust some ass, get out of shape, embarrass myself, then do it all over again.  That's the cycle. 

 

THE END.

 

Thank you for reading.

 

[Panthro]

Yeah NC State won a state championship and I made a goal line tackle with my eye socket to end the first half.

[dos poptarts]

Played Optimist? sports (baseball and soccer) in middleschool/jr high. Always one of the smallest, scrawney players. (130lbs as a freshman @NCSU). 

 

1st time at bat ever in game....hit a line drive down the first base line that got into the outfield. Coach sent me to 2nd and the 3rd base coach told me to keep running. I fell on my face between 2nd and 3rd, just by tripping over my own feet. I got up and made it round 3rd and home because the other team missed the cutoff man....Homerun!!! Just an average player after that.

 

Soccer....I have absolutely no offensive skills. NONE! I was the shutdown guy. Because i was so small I didn't see any difference between a kid at 120 lbs vs 170 lbs. They were both much bigger than me. Coach would pick out the their other teams best offensive player and I would shadow him to wear him out. Contest everything. Must be something in my personality because I play UT2004/Quake CTF the same way. Defense and choke points. Ask me to carry the flag and I'll probably run right into a rocket.

[toldozer]

Also I could dunk a basketball when I was 16. Im 5'11 & white. Never played organized basketball because I can't shoot or play d

[hepcat]

I think the greatest moment in my sports career came when I beat my black friend's dad in a game of one-on-one basketball at a court in downtown Atlanta.  All the people watching were calling me the "White Larry Bird".  I just got lucky and shot well from the perimeter.  He was 6'4 and I'm 6' and he had at least 50lbs on me.  No way I was driving on him so I had to just shoot three's.  

[pstall]

Baseball, football, bball, soccer. In every sport I almost always played all positions except lineman in football. Totally excelled at soccer as that game just came natural for me. Picked up golf later and not patient enough to get good.

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[thefuzz]

Football, Baseball, Surfing, Wakeboarding, Snowboarding

 

All are "sports" only two could I really compete in.

 

Played RB and LB/DE, played both ways, and returned kicks and punts from 3rd grade-10th grade.

 

Very fast, burst and long distance, had a "2nd" gear on the field, high IQ player.

 

Grew a couple inches between 10 and 11th grade, got a little lanky for LB and RB, they wanted some speed and length on the outside.  Moved me to WR and CB/S.  I hated it.  Went from touching the ball 15-20 times a game to touching it maybe 2.

 

Got interested in women, boats, and boarding.  Grew my hair long, and stopped thinking that I would play college ball about that time.  Could have played at a D2 school, and a few of my teammates did, but I had given up on football at that point.

 

If I had it to do over, I would have learned how to place kick and punt.

 

 

[Shufdog]

About the best thing I've got is, I hit for the cycle (a walk too) with a walk off grand slam, wining the game by one run. I was awesome for a day!!! LOL!!! :thumbsu:

[PhillyB]

i'm bummed alice hasn't posted wrestling stories here yet

[Jangler]

I've heard of cat juggling, is dog wrestling a sport?

[pstall]

Also became very successful baseball coach while randomly enjoying PCP. Oh those were the days. Ma'am your son cant play 2nd base. Mom: why? Me: do you hear that? Is that a hyena in the woods?

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[Proudiddy]

Also became very successful baseball coach while randomly enjoying PCP. Oh those were the days. Ma'am your son cant play 2nd base. Mom: why? Me: do you hear that? Is that a hyena in the woods?

Sent from my SPH-L710 using CarolinaHuddle mobile app

THAT, is hilarious.