Me and my Sporty Self

I’m gonna talk about sports today. I am not and have never been a sporty person. I’ve been through phases where I’ve watched and followed some basketball and football, (the Detroit Pistons used to be my team back in the day before Rodman got all nutty, and Isaiah Thomas was still doing his thing). Other than that I rarely did anything remotely physical. I was an academic, not an athlete. My kids on the other hand seem to have some athletic spirit in them, so my career as a sports parent is blossoming. I want to share my perspective on being a sports parent though I am not a sports person. However, before that, I want to give you a glimpse into my illustrious history in athletics.

It all started back in…

Grade 2 ish

In grade 2, I think, I raced against a boy named Denzil. He was one of the fastest boys in our grade and I wanted to prove that I could run too. It was a sprint from the edge of the fence to the principal’s office and I was ready. The race started and we were neck and neck. I was doing it! All of a sudden my body was moving forward with too much speed and my feet were struggling to keep up. A mere yard from the finish line I fell, rolled, and grated off an impressive patch of skin from my knee. I remember feeling embarrassment, which quickly turned into relief because the other kids were too busy laughing at poor Denzil to notice my shame. They were chanting, “Anya almost beat you”, and at that moment I was content. Anya the brain keeping up with Denzil the bullet… unimaginable!

Grade 8 ish

I took a long break from running after the fall to recuperate and heal 😁. In grade 8 we all had to try out different track and field events to see if we were good enough to represent our house team on sports day. I tanked at most of it but I was surprisingly ok at triple jump. I wasn’t dressed for it and I remember wearing my regular leather-laced high-top shoes instead of sneakers. They were probably very practical and supportive for walking, but definitely not meant for running and jumping. I wonder now if I owned a good pair of sporty sneaks, because you would think as an academic I would’ve had the sense to wear them to track and field 🤔.

Despite being unprepared I was chosen to be one of the triple jump reps for house 1. At the house 1 meeting when they announced that I, Anya Brewley, would be one of the triple jump athletes, there were audible gasps, wide-eyed stares of disbelief, and I think somebody collapsed in the back row from shock. Anya the brain making the house team… unbelievable!

I didn’t win; I didn’t even make it past the first round, but in my defence I wasn’t trained and my shoes were shit

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Freshman year of University

During my first year at UWI in Jamaica, the freshmen were forced encouraged to participate in Cricket matches against the the senior students within the dorm. It was an exercise in bonding; us against them! I had never played or watched a game of cricket in my life so you can imagine how it went.

Sooo, the pitcher has to bowl the ball, (or is it that the bowler has to pitch the ball), and try to hit the wicket behind the batter for the out. And the fielders have to either catch the ball in flight for the out or retrieve the ball and throw it to hit the wicket as the runners sprint between the wickets, for the out. Ok, I was ready….. (I was soooo not ready).

A few plays into the match, I stood there on the field admiring a beautiful hit as it sailed over my head into the outfield, barely noticing the team captain yelling at me to do my job and get the ball. After that, she made the brilliant choice of positioning me on the field in positions where the ball wasn’t being hit. We won the game!!! Oh yeah, Anya the brain winning at cricket…Inconceivable, but it happened 😂.

Today

These days taekwondo is my jam. Am I good at it? Well, I try. I’m getting old. My joints have begun to click and creak when I move, and when I bend at the knees past 90 degrees it’s a real struggle to get back up. I’m not flexible enough but I try to stretch every day. I’m not fast enough or strong enough, but unlike two years ago, I can now do 20 pushups at a time and throw a damn good hooking kick 😁. Taekwondo for me is about personal growth and challenging myself to be better than I was the day before. I am happy with that. Anya the brain kicking butt and taking names.

So there it is, my athletic career in a nutshell. It’s not glamorous but I feel proud of what I have accomplished.

My kids are already on a tangent to surpass my life’s accomplishments in sports. I have a roller derby player, a softballer and an upcoming cross-country runner, all of whose skills so far outshine mine. My experience so far as a sports parent has been interesting, and I promise to tell you all about it in another post.

So have a fabulous weekend. Watch some hockey, toss a ball, or go kick something; just remember to have FUN while doing it.