being discouraged from sports

It is common knowledge that there are exactly two types of relationships one can have with sports: either you live and breathe sports or are forever excluded; there is no in-between. You get to determine this relationship very early in life, say late primary school, with little to no experience, and if you are not exceptionally lucky, with no one showing the way. Still, you must choose wisely, because once you pick your side you will not be allowed to switch. If you decide sports is your thing, good for you, please enjoy a lifetime of support and encouragement. If you, however, happen not to show interest in this very crucial time, you will be labeled as a non-athletic person, because a particular decision in a particular moment clearly indicates your unchanging opinion on sports for life. The probability of you having a negative first impression and not enough time to experiment with what you like is never discussed. If you have never had a chance to taste a true game of basketball until middle school, but found it tedious to spend class after class learning how to properly bounce the ball, it could only mean you are not fit for it. With your relationship established, it is only a couple of years of time for you to come to understand and accept it. During this period, you will be reminded of your role whenever you do not play along. If you decide to give the handball team a try, for instance, expect weird, uncomprehending glances from other players. On a particularly unlucky day, one particularly tactless player might even say something like “So, you are trying out. Why? ” as if you must have a secret motive to dare do something as outrageous as trying out together with athletic people such as them. At every chance people will use this relationship to define you, because of course sportiness is an inherent and most essential part of your character. “He’s not the athlete-type, ” is how your parents introduce you; it is a forever recurring topic of small talk with strangers. And when the class is divided into two teams in physical education, you are picked for neither. You lack practice, and because of this very reason you are not allowed to practice. Occasionally, you are made the referee in a poor but well-meaning attempt to make you feel included, not too included though to actually play. So you tell yourself, like everyone else, that you simply do not like sports. You might even go a bit far and say that you are too good for these repetitive, uncomplex games, because if you are to be excluded it should be by choice and because the truth makes for a much sadder story. This is how it has been and will always be, because it is much simpler to put people into limited, inadequate categories than actually getting to know and recognize them as the individuals they are. And when you are placed into one such category, it is so convenient to accept and go along with it. So why should you, in misplaced bravery, try to break out of this well-established, well-functioning way? Is getting to play and enjoy sports with others, to discover a new part of yourself, to start new friendships, to make everlasting memories, and to lead a healthier life really worth the trouble? These questions are for you to answer, but whatever your choice is, be certain that this time it is your own.