Sports has always been a big part of my life, even though I've never been what you'd call a gifted athlete. My parents were from a culture that didn't place a big emphasis on sports, although my father played cricket and other sports while he was in school in India. Once he graduated, the most physical activity he would get was when he was in a bowling league in his 20s and 30s. He would play catch with me when I was getting into baseball around age 10-12, but he'd be sitting on our front steps at the time. But he was a big sports fan, and as a result, I spent many hours with him watching the Leafs, Blue Jays and various golf and tennis tournaments (as well as tons of other TV programming...he watched a LOT of TV).
I wasn't blessed with athletic skill, but I loved to play. Most of my spare time was spent playing hockey in our driveway; at first, by myself but later with my little brother and buddies from the neighborhood. I took a learn-to-skate class and then did "hockey school" at the local arena in Pickering, Ontario. But my organized hockey dreams died there because my parents refused to let me play in the town league like all my other friends; they told me it was because they didn't want me to get hurt, but I knew it was because they didn't want to schlep me to practices at godawful hours of the day and night. I put on this big presentation where I noted that I could get rides from my friends' parents and it wouldn't be a hassle, but my parents were steadfast. I was enraged; still annoyed by it, but I understand it. I continued to play street hockey all the time, but even that went by the wayside when we moved when I was in 9th grade.
But a sport my parents could get behind was soccer. I played indoor soccer starting in 5th grade and then started playing outdoor in the town league the next few years. My dad's union even sponsored my team one session, although we had to have a ridiculous name like "Ontario Hydro Draftsman's Union Local 515." At the time, I was a little pipsqueak with plenty of energy to burn but no shot to speak of. They put me on defense, where I wasn't awful because most of the other kids were twerps like me. I remember we'd be lining up in practice to take shots and I could barely get it to the net. Just had no strength. Again, the soccer stopped my freshman year after we moved to Washington state because my new high school didn't have a soccer program at the time.
But when we moved to New Hampshire for my junior year, I signed up to play soccer. It was good because going to summer workouts meant I got to meet some of my classmates before school actually started. This was helpful because I didn't know a damn soul at the time; we lived on the way out of town on a highway, so it wasn't exactly a neighborhood. There were no cuts because the school was so small. I hadn't played organized (or really, any) soccer in a few years, so the coach put me on the JV squad my first year. Thankfully, they moved me up to offense. I played sporadically because I wasn't that great and was still a scrawny runt. I ended up with a single goal that year. The best thing that came of it was fitness; we ran a lot in practice so I was in great shape during the season. Of course, I didn't play any other sports (there was no hockey team and I hated running, so cross country was out of the question), but I didn't need to exercise to stay skinny back then. I just was.
Senior year, I made the varsity team, probably because it would have been embarrassing to be on JV as a senior. I didn't play a whole lot; there was one game where I didn't play at all. I was pissed off about it, but I get it. At the banquet, I got my varsity letter and jacket.
You were supposed to get the letter sewn on the jacket, but I never did. Not sure why. I wore the jacket occasionally, even a few times my freshman year of college. It was a classic mid-'80s corduroy deal with my name on the sleeve and "SANBORN" (the name of my school) in huge letters on the back. I still have the jacket, but the letter was buried in a box of junk in my basement until this morning.
Once I got to UNH, I played sports sporadically. Intramural soccer, softball,floor hockey. A bunch of guys from the hockey team lived in my dorm so I would play in these marathon street hockey games with them. Even though it had been several years since I had played regularly, it didn't take long to get my timing back and I held my own in those games. On ice, my skating ability couldn't compare to D1 players, but running around on a tennis court, I did okay. Sophomore year, I bought a new set of hockey equipment and started playing intramurals and going to stick practice at Snively Arena on Fridays.
After graduation, I discovered the joys of working out, mainly out of necessity because my metabolism slowed down a bit around junior year and I started to add beer and junk food weight. I ran a little bit on the beach in Magnolia and then joined the Y, where I started to work out daily. I also started to join various leagues: mainly softball and indoor soccer at first. I started playing tennis and golf and eventually around '97, joined a pickup hockey league. I was doing something almost every day of the week at that point. After we had kids, I got into running and started dropping a bunch of stuff to spend more time around the family. Soon much of my spare time was spent taking the girls to their various practices and games, and eventually coaching them as well. The only sport I still play is hockey; I'm skating twice a week and having a blast. I'm still not a great athlete, but I'm effective. Still no plans to sew on that damn letter, though.
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