i was recruited as a baseball player... i thought i was good, until i arrived a permanent duty station with three legit minor league and one college player... was first base as long as i can recall- being a lefty helped... anyway, i could hold my own with them as a batter, but fielding? ... uh... i dabbled as a catcher here and there growing up, never in a game- mostly as an assist with pitchers needing a work out- and caught for some that excelled in leagues i played in... i'll say it straight- those Marines w/ no shit harball backgrounds threw those plays to first (me) harder than any pitcher ever has... they could turn the infield quicker than anything i'd ever seen outside of paid players... i realized then and there joining the Corps instead of pursuing either baseball or football was a good decision.
one of those guys, from Colorado, made it all the way to CWO5 and was a true Marine Corps Gunner- he very recently retired. Another, from Pennsylvania, got out and figured the Army Reserve would help him pay for school- he was recruited for what was then still known as Delta, and globe-trotted from one hot spot to another before going straight black- we've heard rumors but don't know where he's at for sure. The other one finished his tour and went back to NH and played the remainder of his eligibility as a catcher... he was a tough dude who let a gal decide his career which ended up being a mistake- but he has a much better one now and a beautiful family and home to go along with her. the other fella had a hummer roll over him while he was in the turret and on the M2, and without the barrel of that thing jamming through the mud and hitting something substantial down there keeping it from crushing him completely, he'd not be here anymore- as it is he's been wheelchair bound since. he was a helluvan athlete prior, and after many tough years coming to terms with that chair (he's tougher than me, i'd have eaten lead i'm almost certain) he's done damn well for himself- recently retiring from an awesome job i'm not going to name, and snowbirding in a beautiful home on the water in florida. those guys were athletes one and all.
i played inside LB in a 52, which is still my favorite D scheme, though it's useless in today's game. folks ran a lot more then. when i wasn't ILB, i'd play DE and RG. I got to punt some too... an abrupt and dramatic change in my world led me from FB my Soph year, and i tried to play my Jr year but it conflicted with what i had to do... the USMC was my way out, and i was sitting in PI less than a week from walking the stage with my classmates.
it's gonna sound like bragging and i really don't want it to- but up until the last ten years physical abilities came easy- i managed to make the cut into an elite group, and then another above that one. most of that is attitude and physical ability- the thought process being you can mold a person's attitude if they have the foundation, and if they naturally have the ability to pass the physical cuts, you can further beat/smash/willfully create what you need out of them. I had excelled in every place i'd ever been until i ran into the men of the second unit (same unit with the baseball players)- and there? I struggled... mightily... but i made it for a long time, until my body straight up said EFF YOU- now i have two blown knees- one more serious than the other with a missing MCL.. two blown shoulders.. broke my back in '96 and never came back to 100%... had a compound dislocation (i didn't even know such a thing existed prior) where i snapped my fibula and the tibia came right out the inside of my ankle -while still in shock i reset it- watched a blob of sand go back in with it, and thought i could tape it w/90mph tape and continue... not a good plan.. the surgeon spent nine hours on that leg, said the tendons and ligaments were like a ball of wire... being more stupid and afraid to miss something, i was back on the rotation in five weeks- but likely only because the doc said i was most likely done.. i had to prove him wrong, and though it was a minor victory then only i truly enjoyed, it's one of those things that's cumbersome now.
after the corps and PDC'ing, (well, during private defense contracting too) i picked up mountain biking, which gave me cheap thrills and rare impacts (only when i bit off more than i could chew, anyway), but i only tried to play football once more- a guy in the grocery store stopped me and asked if i played- said they were recruiting for a local semi-pro league... i showed up for a practice sans pads, at my old position of ILB, and the RB gave me instant recollection as to why i didn't play football, basketball, baseball tennis racketball handball or any kind of ball anymore--- my knees gave... i could run for miles without a whimper in a straight line, but the first time i have to plant/pivot/burst? these damn knees plop right out and i look like a fawn deer for a few days. so... that is that. damn it.
one of my regrets is not playing through HS. i had all of it going for me i needed except for circumstances i really couldn't control, but learned later after gaining some mental toughness that i damn sure could have- it just would have been a little more difficult than my teammates is all... but i didn't... can't go back, right?