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Were you popular and sporty in school?

(131 Posts)
biglouis Tue 12-Apr-22 01:07:46

I was a swotty kid and hated sport. There were other subjects I did not particularly enjoy (maths, science. housecraft) but was around the middle of the bunch in my class. I was always slow and clumsy at sport.

I especially hated the way the two most sporty girls were named team captains and had to pick their teams turn and turn about.

Yes - I was always the one left standing at the end.

In contrast my sister was good at sport but not academic. Her life was made difficult because she was not top of the class.

When I was 14 the following conversation took place:-

Sports teacher: your not interested in sport are you Biglouis?

Me: No miss, Im not good at it and I dont see the point

Sports teacher: You cant go through life ignoring the things you dont like Biglouis

Me: Look Miss, Im top of the class in 5 academic subjects and its those I will be putting down on the application forms when I look for a job. Im going to be going into the civil servise or one of the professions. Im not looking for a job as a sports teacher,

Sports teacher: youve got an answer for everything Biglouis. Your a cheeky girl.

Me: no miss, you asked me a question and I answered you.

In spite of being top of the class and always representing my house in various competitions (and mostly winning) I was never chosen as a prefect. I suspect that not being "popular and sporty" had something to do with that.

lizzypopbottle Fri 15-Apr-22 12:01:19

I enjoyed sport and was good at it, particularly gymnastics and running, but haven't a competitive bone in my body so never tried out for house or school teams. I wasn't one of the popular set.

My parents had a weird idea about TV channels back then. They/we watched ITV and rarely or never watched BBC. I think it was a mistaken idea of a social class thing. Watching BBC was posh! Consequently, Top of the Pops, The Man from Uncle and The Forsyte Saga were all off limits to my sisters and me but were all endlessly discussed at breaktimes in school. I did feel a little disadvantaged but, hey ho, it was character building... ?

pen50 Fri 15-Apr-22 12:03:51

I would have loved to be sporty but I wasn't very good at games and I was always the last to be picked for teams (the humiliation is still with me!) On the other hand I was very, very academic, particularly at maths and sciences (still am) which made me deeply unpopular. At 12 I started going off the rails - to make myself more popular - and I can't say I ever really got back on; despite having a degree and a reasonable profession I always feel I have underachieved mightily. Looking back, those girls who were - not exactly mean, but exclusionary - might have put back cheap, clean, and controlled nuclear fusion by 30 years. But then again, probably not!

Dianehillbilly1957 Fri 15-Apr-22 12:05:01

NO & NO! Hated school think I'd have definitely benefited at one of those outdoor schools!!

gulligranny Fri 15-Apr-22 12:06:15

No and not particularly, from me. Totally unsporty, pudgy and flat-footed. I did have my group of friends and a particularly close bestie but there was another group of girls (I was at a wonderful co-ed grammar, adored it) that I went out of my way to avoid, didn't want them to notice me at all. Their leader was so confident and outgoing, she frightened the life out of me. Oddly, after meeting up at a school reunion some years ago and finding that we got on amazingly well, she's become one of my dearest friends!

Fashionista1 Fri 15-Apr-22 12:11:21

I was sporty but not a pretty child so I was picked for teams but not in a group of friends. I was teased mercilessly at school about my nose which was 'Roman' and not attractive so much so that at 21 I paid for a nose job. Nobody remembers me from school and it was the most miserable time of my life. After I had the surgery I blossomed into an attractive outgoing person but deep down all through my life I have not been confident and I think it was all due to the bullying I received at school. Bullying however slight leaves a lasting impression and can ruin lives.

Divi Fri 15-Apr-22 12:13:42

I hated team sports at school, to such an extent in the 6 th form
sports took place on a Wednesday afternoon and I never attended for the full two years! I decided that if I never went none of the sports teachers would ever know. The idea was that you signed in for the sport of your choice every week. It could be gym or hockey, tennis etc. Well I went home at lunchtime on a Wednesday. Parents knew and sometimes my mother would pick me up from school. The whole family looked forward to reading my school report comments from the sports teachers! They would write D is working hard at her tennis etc Ha Ha!
I still have the last laugh! Friends from school who were sporty now have bad knees etc.
I do a lot of walking as I have always done. I belong to rambling clubs. I am a size 10/12 and in excellent health.
Popularity in my case was not about being good at sports. I was always good fun and hopefully good company.
Still hate watching sports!

maryrose54 Fri 15-Apr-22 12:14:57

I was quite overweight and hated sport. Can remember being made fun of because of my size. I enjoyed most other subjects and was near the top in all. I remember one particular friend but always felt awkward and the odd one out with the other girls.

Lupin Fri 15-Apr-22 12:21:24

Oh God! No to both. Plump and round of body I could not run very fast. and needed glasses to see a ball, and my eye/hand co-ordination was poor. I loathed that selection process and think it cruel. On Wednesdays we had double games, double maths and double cookery. Going to school on Wednesdays felt like going to my execution.
In the gym classes I tried to make myself as quiet and inconspicuous as possible and would keep sliding to the end of the line up for the vaulting horse or rope climbing. I don't think the gym teacher knew who I was.
I had friends enough, but school was never a pleasure. My particular year was quite rebellious and spent a lot of its time in detention - the whole class.

icanhandthemback Fri 15-Apr-22 12:22:20

I hated sports and teams would sooner play with a man down than pick me! I avoided it at all costs by leaving my PE kit behind, having a permanent period and having various ailments which would get me out of it. My body wasn't really designed for it either. Being flat footed, my legs hurt at anything that needed me to run. I'm dyspraxic so spacial awareness was awful and I was a danger on the hockey field wielding a stick. I have the attention span of a gnat and would go off in a day dream so that didn't help. The one time I played tennis, I slipped a disc and never did sport again.
One thing I really excelled at was "avoidance" strategies! It stood me in good stead for avoiding sports, PE and Prep time.
I hated the Boarding House and made no attempt to hide it in my early days there so I made myself quite unpopular as I was very negative. Looking back, I can see I was actually depressed and I had shut down so the unpopularity just added to that. It isn't a time I'd like to go through again.

Jenh66 Fri 15-Apr-22 12:29:13

No good at sport. Bullied at primary school relentlessly, less so at high school where I was put in top form and too sets for all subjects; none of my bullies were with me so could make new friends. Very swotty and keen to do well in all subjects, which I did. My bullies were keen to be my friend when they realised I had ability. Sport however has always alluded me. I love watching lots of sports but am useless at participating.

Joesoap Fri 15-Apr-22 12:31:43

I was never sporty, I did like playing tennis thats all, hated gym at School.
I dont think Iwas remembered after School, we were a few friends, but I was definately not a favourite, not prefect or anything, just plodded on, then got on well in life.

Purpledaffodil Fri 15-Apr-22 12:39:49

When I did my teacher training we were told never to allow children to pick teams. So used to go along the line saying red blue yellow or whatever. Children would line up in those teams and woe betide any smart a**e who tried to fiddle the system. How I wish they’d done that when I was a “last to be picked” child?

pce612 Fri 15-Apr-22 12:51:48

I never liked PE, couldn't do handstands, forward and backwards rolls, hated being upside down. Eventually diagnosed with vertigo. Got banned from hockey for breaking my friends nose - win win for both of us - she wanted her nose fixed and I just hated team games. I couldn't see the ball when the sun was in my eyes playing tennis. I would have loved to have done archery. I was always in the top class, not allowed to do art O and A levels as I was 'too clever'. Left school at 16 and went into a drawing office, later qualifying in Building Technology. My parents couldn't have afforded to send me to Uni, I wanted to be an architect I found out later.

Alioop Fri 15-Apr-22 12:52:46

I was the tiny ginger kid, got picked in a bit because of my 'Duracell head', but thankfully had plenty of friends and some of them are still great friends today. I was in the school hockey team, I played wing as I could dart up and down it, but the rest of sports I despised, netball, athletics, cross country, etc.
I was all into my art classes and reading. I adored my O level arts teacher, he was such a lovely man.

polly123 Fri 15-Apr-22 12:53:10

Loathed sport and still do. My passions were art, anything to do with books and languages. However, I loved dancing and ice skating and still do. Found all sports boring especially hockey and tennis and totally lacked the competitive urge in those areas and couldn't understand the need to win in team sports.

BlueRuby Fri 15-Apr-22 13:40:32

In my first couple of years at senior school I was very sporty ... I played for my school, in tennis and netball. I wouldn't say I was popular - I was too weird. However, puberty meant I quickly developed big breasts - and there were no bras to support big breasts. By the time I was 14 I had a figure like Marilyn Monroe - tiny waist, big breasts - I went from flat to 36C in weeks,with a 22 inch waist. I was embarassed and ashamed. My mum had given me a leaflet about periods but that was it for any information about how my body was changing. It was uncomfortable and embarassing to still do any sort of sport, so I gave up - like many women I have spoken to over the years. Maybe I should have become a porn star!!

Visgir1 Fri 15-Apr-22 13:43:48

I was picked about 3rd for Sports and yep quite popular, and I was a House captain.
My all Girls School in a City was not too big about 28 in my class x4 classes in the year group until 5th year then only about 15 in total doing the 5th form.
I had a great time at school, loved the sports, and we had some really nice teachers. As a class we were quite a rowdy bunch, but academically we all did well in exams. One teacher actually said, she didn't know how we did it?

lilydily9 Fri 15-Apr-22 14:08:05

The only sport I enjoyed was netball and being in the team in primary school that took part in tournaments. At secondary school, there was no netball only hockey which I hated. I'd have loved to play tennis but we were never taught despite there being a tennis court!

Issipy Fri 15-Apr-22 14:23:50

I wasn't particularly popular or sporty, but I've no enemies, have had a good working life, and still playing tennis twice a week at 77 years old.

Sarah59 Fri 15-Apr-22 14:46:33

No I wasn’t good at sport, didn’t enjoy it and always got picked last, but I was v good at art and that made up for it ?

Luckygirl3 Fri 15-Apr-22 14:51:29

It is interesting how sporty and popular are linked, as if being sporty must mean you are popular - sporty and musical? - why not?

Musicgirl Fri 15-Apr-22 14:54:05

I was hopeless at PE and did not have my growth spurt until later on so netball was disastrous although I didn't mind playing it. I liked swimming though. Hockey was the worst because not only was I totally uncoordinated but I am very mixed handed using my right hand for some tasks and my left hand for others. Hockey sticks are made for right handed people and l could not play hockey this way. I well remember the ignominy of being picked last for teams. I preferred more academic pursuits, obviously music being top of the list. The other problem l had was lifelong asthma. In those days there were no real preventative medications and the treatment was rudimentary. It meant that l physically could not do cross country or most athletics. I was not worried about it, though. I do think that it is far harder to hide being being bad at PE and games than any other subject.

Sue450 Fri 15-Apr-22 14:56:04

In my secondary school (all girls comprehensive) I loved tennis
thats the only sport and English, reading hated maths especially as it was before metric. Left school at 15 never regretted it. Much happier working.
Most of the girls were ok but some were just downright dreadful?

Jzpap Fri 15-Apr-22 15:04:50

I loved sport and Pe with the exception of Netball and Tennis although given my dislike of netball it was bizarre I liked Basketball and was team Captain. I hated studying and was terrible at cookery however I was good at Art so I planned to go to Art School and managed to get a place at a fairly prestigious one to do a foundation course?.
Don’t really know what happened but after training to be a (Norland) Nanny I went on to have a fantastic career as a Nurse and retired after 40 years.
I am also a passionate cook and although I still love doing bits of art and craft cooking and baking are my hobbies

Mine Fri 15-Apr-22 15:40:14

I was never sporty at school and was even worse at secondary as we had to do PE in bottle green pants as part of our uniform..I always asked my mum to write me a not to get out of PE... I imagine I was quite popular as I had lots of friends both boys and girls.. We were always up to some nonsense and had loads of laughs...Those were the days..!!!!