You as a high school athlete

[huskerdinie]

Went to high school in the late '60's, early 70's (graduated in 1973) in small town South Dakota where girls sports were pretty much non-existent.  I ran track the first year it was offered in Belle Fourche as a freshman then moved to Mobridge, where track was not offered until my junior year.  At that time I was 5'6" and didn't hit 100 lbs until late freshman year.  I ran the 50 and 100 yard dashes, and was the third leg of the 440 relay team.  At one meet, I ran the 440 and swore I would never run any kind of distance race ever again.  Never won a single time, but had fun anyway.  Broke my little toe running barefoot up and down the bleachers between events my last year and that was the most exciting thing to happen to me, lol.  

I did play pick up basketball, baseball, and football with all the neighborhood kids in the clover field across the alley from our home in Winner.  I guess I was the biggest tomboy around, ha ha.  

Since girl's sports were never really a big thing, I stuck with being in band and playing at all the football and basketball games where it was much safer for my scrawny behind, lol.  

[ELA]

Wabash is an all boys school, no?

Correct.  It couldn't have checked fewer boxes in what I was looking for in a college.

[TyphonInc]

I started High School back in '89 at 4'11" and 97 lbs. Senior Year I was 5'10" and 120.
And I ran, ran like I stole something.

I letter 3 years in Cross Country. I missed my Junior year with Spinal Meningitis, doctor had me tell the CC coach I shouldn't run, so I joined the JV Soccer team. 

[MichiFan87]

Never even bothered to tryout for any competitive organized sports growing up. I knew I was always too short, slow, small, and/or unskilled..... However, band was my main extracurricular activity growing up, and then I was in the Michigan Marching Band for 3 years (to be sure, the pre-game drill requires you to be in very good shape, which is why the MMB has at least 100 extra members more than they need for it, and I only ended up performing in pre-game once along with a few half time shows). In college, I discovered how awesome broomball is, though, and I continue to play that and floor hockey recreationally as a 2nd line defender, which is more about hustle and knowing where to be than skill.

[betarhoalphadelta]

I started High School back in '89 at 4'11" and 97 lbs. Senior Year I was 5'10" and 120.

I just can't fathom that... In 7th grade I wrestled in the 135# weight class, and I was probably almost pushing 6' by that point. I think I maintained that weight to qualify for football in 8th grade, because IIRC there was a 135# limit at the time. I don't know exactly what I was starting HS, but at the end of my soph year I remember I was about 6'3" or 6'4" and 185#, and then filled out to 225# by the end of senior year. 
I didn't mind coming into my HS as a freshman and already being taller than most of the seniors lol...

[OrangeAfroMan]

The weights that I know of are 100 lbs in 5th grade (first year of football @ Jax Beach) and then 220 as a FR in HS.  I was so weak as a FR, but gaines strength pretty quickly.  I wasn't flabby fat, just an all-around chubby kid.  I wound up simiarly built as Ron Dayne, but played on the OL.

I played in 5th grade, middle school, and HS - 8 years altogether.

I remember moving in 8th grade from Jacksonville to Gainesville and being flabbergasted that they didn't have football at my new school.  I was happy we moved, though, as my parents were going to make me attend a prep HS in Jax with no football (at the time).  We ended up moving into the only HS I had heard of in Gainvesille.  Worked out okay.

[betarhoalphadelta]

The weights that I know of are 100 lbs in 5th grade (first year of football @ Jax Beach) and then 220 as a FR in HS.  I was so weak as a FR, but gaines strength pretty quickly.  I wasn't flabby fat, just an all-around chubby kid.  I wound up simiarly built as Ron Dayne, but played on the OL.

I actually credit my size as one of the things that turned me OFF to football. 
Our league in the Chicago suburbs was age *and* weight based. I started playing in 3rd grade in the 85# weight division, and was playing against 5th graders. And I have July birthday, so I was also consistently one of the youngest kids even in my own grade. There was NO way that my muscles were developed enough to compete with kids who were 2-3 years older than me. Heck, we even had a 1st grader on that team. I don't care how much you weigh, a 6 year old ain't going to do anything against a 10 year old. 
I know the rules are there to keep things fair -- you don't want an 85-lb 3rd grader flattening a bunch of 60-lb third graders. But having the weight classes at the same time made things unfair to those of us who were big. An 85-lb 3rd grader just isn't competitive against an 85-lb 5th grader.
So it might be counterintuitive, but it was my size that stopped me from playing, as I wasn't competitive. Had I stuck with it to the ages where my size would have been an advantage, it might have been different, but I had already moved on.

[DevilFroggy]

In northern Ft Worth I played football 8th-10th grade. Started off as a DE but seemingly out of nowhere coach moved me to LT my sophomore year, at 6'1" (still same height, reached my peak early I guess) and 160 lbs. Surprisingly I actually started at LT on the JV team. I was both the tallest guy on our OL and the lightest but I was also the quickest on my feet so I could pass block pretty good, and we were a one back pass-first team (the Todd Dodge specialty, he was our varsity coach at the time). We did pretty good for a JV team, went 8-2.

Anyways going into my junior I was the exact same size while all my teammates kept growing so I decided to quit football and did wrestling and cross country. I was simply ok at both, not elite but not terrible and I did end up lettering in both sports junior year. 

My HS football team, btw, did end up losing in the 5A (biggest classification at the time) Div II semifinals to the eventual state champs. Despite being one of the better teams in Texas in 2001 we only had 3 D1 athletes and none at a major school (Army, TCU, and Tulsa). Probably woulda had a 4th but our LT was a dummy who barely passed HS and went the JC route, where he dropped out and quit.

[FearlessF]

I actually credit my size as one of the things that turned me OFF to football.
Our league in the Chicago suburbs was age *and* weight based. I started playing in 3rd grade in the 85# weight division, and was playing against 5th graders. And I have July birthday, so I was also consistently one of the youngest kids even in my own grade. There was NO way that my muscles were developed enough to compete with kids who were 2-3 years older than me. Heck, we even had a 1st grader on that team. I don't care how much you weigh, a 6 year old ain't going to do anything against a 10 year old.
I know the rules are there to keep things fair -- you don't want an 85-lb 3rd grader flattening a bunch of 60-lb third graders. But having the weight classes at the same time made things unfair to those of us who were big. An 85-lb 3rd grader just isn't competitive against an 85-lb 5th grader.

stupid rule

[SFBadger96]

Played one season of high school tennis. I was pretty good, but not great, but my high school team was -- it won the state championship every year I was in high school (and at least one more year consecutively), so I was assigned something like the #6 doubles team. That doesn't get you invited to tournaments, or even to travel with the team because only one other school we played had that many doubles teams, so I only played one match the entire season. That wasn't enough to keep me coming back (and, as the consecutive state titles proved, I wasn't going to be moving up the depth chart).

Started playing recreational hockey when I was 14, so I was way behind people who had played since they were little, and we didn't have the funds or time for me to join a travelling squad, even if I was good enough (I was a pretty good goalie by the time I was 16 or 17).

I'm basically a pretty good recreational athlete: not big enough, strong enough, or coordinated enough to be anything special in any sport, but I have decent size and play with a lot of effort and a little coordination. In the adult world, I'm generally one of the better athletes at every sport I play, but never one of the best. I wish I could have sports seasons like my kids play in, where I could play soccer in the fall, basketball in the winter, baseball (or softball) in the spring, tennis in the summer, and hockey year round, but that's not the way life seems to work out. 

Funny, about the only sport I'm not interested in is cyling (as in racing). I love to ride my bike and put a lot of miles on it, but I can't imagine wanting to join a bunch of amateurs in a peloton. That sounds insane.

[Cincydawg]

It sounds as if most of us were on the small side to be a good athlete but made up for that by being slow.

[FearlessF]

It sounds as if most of us were on the small side to be a good athlete but made up for that by being slow.

Ed Zachery, in my case

[OrangeAfroMan]

Well I'm an idiot - thinking football fans = football players.  This is neat.

[FearlessF]

football fans wish they were players, but the vast majority of us just weren't blessed with the physical attributes