When I was younger, children my age played any and every sport just for fun. I played soccer for a long time, I did tumbling, I played on a YMCA volleyball league, and I swam on a summer swim team (beginning in third grade through last year).
I played volleyball my freshman year of high school but decided to only play that one year because I wasn't going to join a competitive volleyball team. I had no desire to join a club volleyball team and basically, if you didn't join, you had a very slim chance of playing JV or Varsity in the next 2-3 years. I liked volleyball before, but playing it in high school made volleyball unenjoyable.
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| Freshman year volleyball |
Then swimming. Again, I have swam on a summer swim league every year from third grade until my junior year. I made the high school swim team my freshman year with no problem. I was one of the better swimmers, I wasn't incredible but I wasn't awful either. Then sophomore year, again I wasn't awful but I wasn't the number one swimmer either. The incoming freshman class had a few competitive swimmers who took the spots on the A relay, which they totally deserved because they were better. This year, my junior year, even more competitive swimmers joined the program, not just on my team but across the entire conference. Last year I swam the 500 freestyle in 6:41 at our conference meet and made it back to finals. This year I swam it in 6:35 and didn't return the second day for finals. So many girls now swim competitively that I don't stand a chance.
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| Freshman year before GACs |
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| Sophomore year when I won a rose for placing in the top 16 with my relay |
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| Junior year before GACs |
The thing is, I don't want to swim competitively. I tried that for like 4 months in 8th grade and it made me hate swimming. I've seen it in high school all the time. People who've dedicated their entire lives to a sport get burned out. Then a slim few actually go on and play in college. I understand if you want to do a sport competitively but it totally consumes your life. I want to live beyond a certain sport. I don't want to have to spend every night and weekends at a place training for my sport. I want to have the freedom to do what I want with my time. And if you enjoy doing that, go ahead and do it, it's just not for me.
My whole point with this is that all of the kids growing up will have to pick one sport and get really good at it. There is no room for rec leagues anymore, if you want a chance to do anything in high school you have to be doing it competitively for a long time. I'm glad I was born when I was because I enjoyed doing a multitude of sports just for fun. It's sad for kids who are like me because I'm sure some of them won't have the same outcome I did (being able to play sports in high school).
I wish we could go back and enjoy sports for what they were some times, and not be so serious.
Until next time,
Taylor xx
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