Can you become better at sports?

S

sunsetbeach

Cathlete
I have been working out for many years. I used to run in my twenties and now, in my forties, continue to do a variety of activities including aerobics and weight lifting. I discovered Cathe about 6 months ago and am hooked. I have no problems with following her moves in terms of coordination, but have always believed myself to be uncoordinated. I am very srong and muscular now.(Thank you tank top arms!) I never did any sports as a child and never participated in group activites as a teenager and adult out of fear of looking like a klutz. I was always picked last in school for the basketball team! My big dream in life is to be athletic..to be able to swim and play tennis would be wonderful.My husband, who is very athletic, took me out to play tennis about 20 years and told me I was hopeless.I haven't touched a tennis racket since. Needless to say, he does all the sports activities with the kids and I am just assumed to be unable to do these sports. I was wondering if any of you have been able to become more coordinated by working out? My kids are also very athletic and wonder why I never participate with them. I am always watching, not participating. Looking forward to hearing from you guys and seeing if there is hope for the klutzs of the world! :)
 
Great Athletes are made, not born. Co-ordination is learned. I've been a coach in soccer and basketball for ten years, and some of my best players have been the less athletically gifted who work their tails off, follow instructions, and aren't afraid to look dorky while they learn. Someone's already given you the idea that you can't do certain things, but if you can follow Cathe's choreography, you can swing a tennis racquet. Find a coach who will go as slow as you need to go--you're way ahead of the game because you're already in shape. Footwork, balance, body mechanics can all be taught and learned. Talk to your kids' coaches and see if they'll let you watch some of their basic practices and borrow some ideas for whatever sports you're into. Have your kids teach you things--they usually love that. There's no way you can do Cathe and still be a klutz. So many women have grown up like you believing themselves inferior athletically, but the post title IX evidence strongly proves otherwise. I'm reading a book called "Raising Our Athletic Daughters" and there is tons of information in it supporting the notion that women are just as good as men, sometimes different, but just as good. Can you tell this is one of my favorite subjects? Please, please, please don't give up on yourself--what I always tell my players is "Whether you say you can or you say you can't, you're probably right."
--Ann
 
A rule to live by:

Never, ever, take lessons from your spouse or significant other. Not that you can't play together with ground rules but get an independent instructor.
 
Hi Hounddogs!
Thank you so much for your insights on this subject. I am going to go out to the tennis courts tomorrow and have my 13 year old give me a lesson! I'm also going to get hold of the book you mentioned.I really appreciate your encouraging words!:)
 
Your story reminds me of myself. I was raised in an "intellectual" environment, where sports and physical activities were not encouraged. My mother used to think -and probably she still thinks...- that sports are for boys, not for girls.

Based on others comments and my experience, I consider myself to be un-coordinated. When I tried my first aerobic video I thanked God I was alone because if somebody would have been there, that person would have died of laugh.

I am 24 years old now and I am now discovering that I have a body, that I have muscles underneath my skin. I have gained body awareness, something that I never had before.

And I have found that I have improved a lot, though I still have a long way to go. I wish I could be able to do sports and to learn to swim, and I know I will. In the meantime, I focus on getting fit and being able to follow the coreographies in my tapes.

I have schizoaffective disorder and sometimes it turns into a learning disability, so I go easy on myself and praise every little accomplishment.

Take it easy. You are not the only one! Take it at your own pace, but do it, and do your best. Don't compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to yourself before and after.

Mariela
 
My dear, if you can do Cathe tapes, you are NOT uncoordinated!!! I feel bad that your husband made that stupid remark all those years ago and that you BELIEVED him! That has stayed with you all this time, but it's time to change your thinking.

I would get some private tennis lessons if you have the means to do so. I would also investigate your local Y to see what they have to offer. If they have no tennis lessons, you can still network with the trainer and the patrons as far as getting involved in sports. You know the Y has swimming lessons anyway, right?

Get thee out there and become a jock! You are well on your way with what you're doing now, because lots of women would not go near a weight.

You go, girl!
 
RE: tennis

I've taken lessons thru the city parks & recreation department. Fun, affordable & some great instructors. Unfortunately my tennis skills have never caught up with my fitness level.

For swimming, check into U.S. Masters swimming. Community colleges are another resource for all sorts of physical activities. The only hurdle there is that I'm as old as most of the students' parents. Parks & recreation classes are a better bet for finding peers at your own level & you don't have to worry about a grade.

My husband can pick up new activities in a flash. Quick learner, very agile, great coordination, etc. I do better in a structured environment with an experienced teacher.

Have fun!
 
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