I know what you’re thinking, “Athletics aren’t my thing!” “I’m not sporty!” “I’m way too uncoordinated for sports!” Trust me, I’ve been there too. I was a bench warmer on the high school soccer team – the furthest from good that you could get. I swore to myself that in college, I would NEVER play a sport. It’d be like high school on steroids, and I’d be thrown off to the side and forgotten about because I’m not good.
My whole outlook on sports changed when I joined Field Hockey.
Our Field Hockey team at Wells is a work in progress, so when it was posted on the freshman Facebook page that they needed players, I wanted to help out. I had never even heard of Field Hockey before, and couldn’t believe I was going through with it, but I did. I was so nervous to meet all the girls on our team. I was scared that they wouldn’t like me, because I had no skills or because I wasn’t the fastest runner. I couldn’t have been further from the truth.
The girls on my team are great. Every single one of them. They understand that not all of us have played before, and don’t get upset at our lack of the most basic skills. They encourage us and pick us up when we’re feeling down, or like we’re not good enough – on and off the field. They genuinely care about us. They have quickly become my family here at Wells.
Even if you aren’t a sports person, I encourage you (if you’re able) to try it out. Try out that club sport that you’ve been curious about, try that sport you loved to watch in high school but were too scared to play. You just may find your second family.