Author Topic: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older  (Read 4911 times)

BOP Mustache

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When I was in high school, I was a very good cricket player (think kind of like baseball if you don’t know the sport). I played against current international representatives and I’ve recently found out via doing some research that several of the players I played against and admittedly was better players than them at 18 years of age who are now playing in the professional domestic competition.

These domestic players are all around 29-31 years of age and play the summer in NZ/Australia and then go to England to play in the other six months.

Now I’m sure they don’t get paid well and have to start a career from scratch at 32/33 once their playing days are over and they have had to set aside other life priorities in order to pursue these goals but a bit of me is jealous and regretful that I chose study and career over potentially becoming a professional sportsman.

Anyone else the same?

nereo

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #1 on: January 31, 2019, 11:19:05 AM »
Anyone else the same?

I'll give you a contrarian opinion.  I spent most of my teens and 20s as competitive, top tier athlete, getting so far as to have scholarships through college and sponsors for a few years afterward.  Yet a big part of my deeply regrets that decision.

Why?  Because I missed out on a great deal in pursuit of marginal increases in performance, and now a decade later my body has all sorts of painful quirks from having trained full-bore for years on end.  Don't get me wrong, I encourage everyone to have a very active lifestyle, but there's a world of difference from spending an hour or so each day exercising to training 20+ hours a week at the highest intensity you can while having your life micromanaged by coaches and trainers who's ultimate goal is to squeeze just a bit more out of you.  I never got to take a month off to backpack in the summer. Heck, I couldn't even take a week-long family vacation without clearing it first and setting up a detailed training regime for when I was gone.  What I ate was controlled, what activities I did was controlled (absolutely no downhill skiing!). 

Training took up such an outsized part of my life that what little freetime remained was always focused on one of two things: getting sleep or consuming more food.  When friends went out late I had to pass because I needed to be up at 5am.  I also missed out on a lot of internships that could have boosted my current job because I lacked the free time.  I spent hundreds of hours each year in vans traveling to and from competitions, and hundreds more waiting for my event.  On a given year I probably spent 40 or 50 of my available 102 weekend days in competition - most of the rest was spent either training or in recovery. I had to show up to college 3 weeks early for training camp and my holiday break was cut to just 3 days when everyone else got almost a full four weeks.

It took three months after I offiically retired from competition before I could roll over onto one side without shooting pain in my shoulder.  To this day (more than a decade later) I'm still acutely aware of the scar tissue in several of my joints from chornic inflammation and overuse.

Being a pro athlete may seem glamorous - and for the vsanishingly few that manage to make 6, 7 or 8 figures the result effort/reward might indeed be worth it.  But for the vast majority of even the upper echelon of athletes you give up most of your time for what amounts to very little compensation.

Of course there were great parts too - and I have many fond memories.  But now that I'm a parent I'm certainly not going to encourage trying to become and stay a pro-level athlete.

DadJokes

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #2 on: January 31, 2019, 12:06:00 PM »
I feel the same way sometimes. I dislike my job, all previous jobs I've had, and will probably dislike all jobs I have in the future. The only thing that gives me passion is sports, and I hate that I threw away a potential career over a dickwad coach in high school.

However, there isn't anything I can do to change the past. I can still play amateur sports, for the most part. I have had to limit myself due to injuries, but the ability to play more frequently has become part of my FI goal. I actually just had a conversation with a 67 year-old man who has been retired since 50 and has been able to play travel ball and was able to coach his son growing up. That sounds like a great life to me.

Also, as nereo pointed out, the vast majority of athletes do not make good money, and I would probably still be playing minor league ball somewhere making less than I make now with a much shorter career window.

ericrugiero

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #3 on: January 31, 2019, 12:39:14 PM »
I'm one of the most all around athletic people that I know but I didn't get to play high school sports (not pro level athletic but certainly could have played something in college).  I thought about playing college baseball but decided instead to have a social life and play every intramural sport offered while not neglecting my studies.  It was clearly the right decision for me.  If I had the chance, I would play high school sports in a heartbeat.  College sports you have to truly love to play because they are such a huge time commitment.  You MIGHT break even when you compare the time invested vs working a low paying job but I doubt it. 

Many parents now invest tens of thousands of dollars in their kids sports which is usually not a great investment.  It's even worse if the kid doesn't love the sport and is being pushed into playing so much. 

BOP Mustache

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #4 on: January 31, 2019, 05:18:16 PM »
Parents expectations, that so very few athletes make it professional and that getting a college education was a safer more practical route.

nereo

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #5 on: January 31, 2019, 05:43:58 PM »
OP are you too old to pick it back up?

Good question to ask.  There's a common misperception that as humans we 'peak' sometime in our early 20s and that by the time we are 30 we are 'too old'.  With a few exceptions that narrative is basically false. Factoring out injuries, some of the top athletes have their best performance in their early to mid 30s.  Dropping down a tier, many elite athletes (the ones that finish in the top 100 of marathons, cycling races etc) are in their 40s.  A shocking number of 'casual marathoners' post their lifetime bests right around when they hit 50.

The biggest factor we see so many 20-somethings is simply because after college few can arrange their lives to train 5 or 6 days per week.

use2betrix

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #6 on: January 31, 2019, 05:54:49 PM »
Of course it’s easy to look back and have regrets. I, as well, also have tons related to sports. I was a very very good athlete but got really depressed and then turned to drugs for a couple years in high school.

I think about things I would’ve done differently career wise, dating wise, school wise, etc.

You know what though? At the time we evaluated the decision based on the current information we had and our current knowledge at the time. It’s easy to come in and play Monday morning quarterback with your life.

Instead, step up and make everything you can of your life. There’s not a lot of people at 60 who won’t look back at 30 thinking “gee, I should’ve done that differently,” in the same sense that a 40 year old might have the same view of when they were 20.

The best thing you can do is look at your life now and see how you can improve it, because I guarantee there’s room for it (as with nearly everyone).

Slow2FIRE

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #7 on: January 31, 2019, 09:02:07 PM »
Anyone else the same?

I'll give you a contrarian opinion.  I spent most of my teens and 20s as competitive, top tier athlete, getting so far as to have scholarships through college and sponsors for a few years afterward.  Yet a big part of my deeply regrets that decision.

Why?  Because I missed out on a great deal in pursuit of marginal increases in performance, and now a decade later my body has all sorts of painful quirks from having trained full-bore for years on end.  Don't get me wrong, I encourage everyone to have a very active lifestyle, but there's a world of difference from spending an hour or so each day exercising to training 20+ hours a week at the highest intensity you can while having your life micromanaged by coaches and trainers who's ultimate goal is to squeeze just a bit more out of you.  I never got to take a month off to backpack in the summer. Heck, I couldn't even take a week-long family vacation without clearing it first and setting up a detailed training regime for when I was gone.  What I ate was controlled, what activities I did was controlled (absolutely no downhill skiing!). 

Training took up such an outsized part of my life that what little freetime remained was always focused on one of two things: getting sleep or consuming more food.  When friends went out late I had to pass because I needed to be up at 5am.  I also missed out on a lot of internships that could have boosted my current job because I lacked the free time.  I spent hundreds of hours each year in vans traveling to and from competitions, and hundreds more waiting for my event.  On a given year I probably spent 40 or 50 of my available 102 weekend days in competition - most of the rest was spent either training or in recovery. I had to show up to college 3 weeks early for training camp and my holiday break was cut to just 3 days when everyone else got almost a full four weeks.

It took three months after I offiically retired from competition before I could roll over onto one side without shooting pain in my shoulder.  To this day (more than a decade later) I'm still acutely aware of the scar tissue in several of my joints from chornic inflammation and overuse.

Being a pro athlete may seem glamorous - and for the vsanishingly few that manage to make 6, 7 or 8 figures the result effort/reward might indeed be worth it.  But for the vast majority of even the upper echelon of athletes you give up most of your time for what amounts to very little compensation.

Of course there were great parts too - and I have many fond memories.  But now that I'm a parent I'm certainly not going to encourage trying to become and stay a pro-level athlete.

Almost sounds like my time in the Army!  (except the big pay days)
Granted, the physical aspect wasn't as grueling outside of Basic Training, AIT, and deployments.

six-car-habit

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #8 on: February 01, 2019, 12:30:00 PM »
   My parents put me into figure skating, young, and apparently i was pretty good, but by the time i was 7 they couldn't afford the coaching / rink time / skates...
 The skating coach tried to persuade my mom to put me into hockey, as it was much cheaper.
   Mom didn't want her darling child hurt.... so it was soccer instead, which was becoming big at the time in the USA [1970's]

  Played for several years and was good at that , eventually making it to the "travel team".  My Parents stated fighting around this period, and the time and travel commitment of soccer games didn't help . One guy got cut from the travel team after the 1st year, that was me. The Coach was the father of another of the players , and i was certainly better than the coaches kid, but that was my first lesson in nepotism.  But admittedly , i wasn't putting forth 100% anymore. Probably i would have been more attuned to a sport that allowed the use of hands ?    * So Dad comes home from work the day I am cut from the team, and i am Crying outside. He sits with me for a few minutes to talk about it, and it's never mentioned after that. Dad is busy with my siblings also, work, money issues and the impending divorce.

   So, I start getting after-school jobs instead, and i sort of follow the path Use2Betrix goes down. Still i play various pickup/ intermural games of football / baseball/ volleyball etc and when teams are picked, am usually one of the first players to be claimed by a 'captain'.

  Did i have potential ? Maybe... Did i follow parents expectations possibly to my sporting detriment ?  yes.... Would a caring inspiring and able coach have helped my attitude ?   certainly.

 Fast foward 25+ years, I have a child "late" in life, and decide that i need to get rid of the belly paunch, and be able to run around with my kid without being winded. So we take up martial arts, and when the "parents / grandparents" day happens at school, I'm one of 2 parents actually running around having fun with the kids on the playground after lunch ,out of about 80 parents attending. The other parents are talking amongst themselves or looking at their phones.

  Two suggestions for BOP :
* find a different sport to start engaging in, one where it's more individual acheivement + struggle.  You won't measure up as high in your old sport of cricket, but in a new sport, you can only get better from a low baseline.
**  Consider coaching, not the guy who just barks orders from the the side of the field ;  but maybe the assistant coach, who runs laps with the team , gets on the ground and stretches with the players, etc.

  My best sporting compliment this month was after "sparring" a guy 20 years younger, and he walked away mumbling " Dang, that's some 'old man' strength".
 Faint praise maybe, but I'll take it.

 A quote from the Gym we attend __ " Come Train !!  The largest room in the world , is your room for self-improvement "
 

DadJokes

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #9 on: February 01, 2019, 12:43:59 PM »
I find it odd that hockey is cheaper than figure skating.

ROF Expat

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #10 on: February 01, 2019, 12:49:26 PM »
There have been a couple of other threads recently from people about how they regret things they didn't do or achieve years ago.  All I can say is that regret will get you nothing and take you nowhere.  Recognizing what you have, in fact, achieved, and striving to achieve more, might be more productive.  Play old boys cricket, or coach, or take up a new sport and try to be the best you can be. 

Life is short.  I prefer to spend it looking back at my successes and looking forward to more of them, not worrying about my (plentiful)failures (except to learn from them). 



six-car-habit

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #11 on: February 01, 2019, 01:43:42 PM »
I find it odd that hockey is cheaper than figure skating.

  That's how my mom put it. Essentially she said the skates/blades cost more than an equivalent hockey skate.  And that the coaching time was one-on-one or 1 coach - 2 students thing, and as they were paying the coach by the hour, the hockey team / league fees were much less.
    But this is recent quotes from her, of things that happened 40 yrs ago, as she describes them, which may or may not be true, either then - or in todays prices.  I guess travel costs for games and/or  shows should have been about equivalent. No mention was made of safety pads / sticks / uniforms costs.

  I imagine having 3-8 kids taking up the whole rink figure skating is more expensive per child in "rink rental fees" , than having 15-20 hockey kids using the rink for an equivalent time period - may have been part of the perceived price difference. 

edit to clarify.
« Last Edit: February 01, 2019, 02:28:07 PM by six-car-habit »

Johnez

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #12 on: February 01, 2019, 10:00:19 PM »
I have had similar feelings bugging me for the last three years (33 years old now) and the hardest part is the fact that nothing is physically wrong with me, so I could if I tried, but so dang much is on my plate, including toddlers, schedule, and the fact that I'm kinda broke. My sport was wrestling. I wasn't that great at it, not like a state championship or anything, but I did have potential. I've been thinking about picking up running or weightlifting-two exercises that can augment wrestling and keep me in shape.....should I ever make another run for athletic greatness haha. Perhaps there's something out there like that for you. The reason running or lifting weights works is there are no schedules or demands really, can go at your pace and practice when you want. 30 isn't that old. If you get into shape, maybe this can look more realistic and you can actually make a go of it. There are adult anateur leagues around you can reach out to?

aceyou

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #13 on: February 01, 2019, 10:24:50 PM »
Sorry BOP you are having regrets. 

Your question is whether there's anyone in the same boat.  For me, yes and no. 

I did the opposite and continued with my tennis.  It ruined my feet more or less...constant pain, unsuccessful surgery.  I'll never do many of the things I once could as a player, and it affects many other parts of my life.  A year ago I even fell into depression for a month or so because of the effects of the pain. 

I had to change my mindset to get out of it.  Here are a couple exercises that helped me:

1.  I realized that my feet are a sunk cost.  I can still walk, I can still be active, but now I have to limit certain activities, and other activities are off the table.  But there's a lot I can do.  Cycling and swimming and yoga are things I've picked up over the past couple years.  Very low impact in both of these activities.  It's very unlikely I'd have picked these up, and they bring me great joy, as well as health.  And my young kids LOVE doing all of them with me.  So, if pro cricket is out, what are some amazingly fun/enriching things that 29 year old you CAN do because of the unique situation you are in?  If your answer is nothing, my bet is that you are very wrong:)

2.  If I could go back and nix the college tennis, I'd have much better feet, but college tennis gave me a lot of good things too.  I'm a coach of a state ranked team, it got me in the door at the school where I teach, and man do I teach at an amazing school in a great location.  When I started knocking down the dominos like that, I realized that most of the great things in life are a result of the thing that ruined my feet:)  So, what good things do you have right now that wouldn't exist if it weren't for your decision to take this current path?  I bet you could make a pretty long list. 

3.  Negative visualization.  On days where my feet hurt especially bad, I think about people I know who have far worse conditions, and yet are happy and optimistic and even grateful.  That usually makes me think, if I've got to have a "thing", might as well be that instead of much harder things others are enduring.  So, maybe spend time contemplating people who've made decisions with far worse negative consequences.  Yeah, maybe if you could do it all over differently you would, but many others are in far more need of a do-over than you.  If you are going to have a "thing" to regret, this is a pretty good one.

Maybe our situations are just too different for any of this to be helpful.  In any case, there's a lot of awesome ahead for us in life regardless of our mistakes, I wish you luck in going after it!

sol

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #14 on: February 01, 2019, 10:59:20 PM »
It sounds to me like everyone in this thread DID live up to their potential.  No matter what your sport and what your abilities, everyone tops out eventually.  It's rarely because of they reach the limit of their bodies.

In my experience, it's usually like one of the stories already in this thread:  they can't continue due to injury, or due to personality conflicts, or due to a lack of time or money.  But these are also your limits.  You trained until your body broke, that was the limit of your potential.  Or you trained until the time/money commitment got to be overwhelming, so that was your limit.  Whatever the reason was that you quit, that was the exhaustion of your potential.  I don't think it makes any sense to wonder what "could have been" if you had a stronger body that didn't get injured, or more willpower to sacrifice your social life to make more time, or more ability to swallow bullshit from a bad coach.  You might as well wonder what could have been if you were a foot taller.  That fantasy question isn't about you anymore.

I used to do martial arts.  I loved training, and I loved coaching, but I eventually had to give it up to pursue other things that I loved more, like getting a stable full time job and starting a family.  Before that, I won a couple of small state championships and there was talk of starting the Olympic pathway by way of the Pan-Am games, though I never really thought I was good enough to compete with those guys.  But I have never once regretting letting all of that go to become a professional scientist.  I have also never regretted the thousands and thousands of hours I put into training, or the friendships I made there.  It was youth well spent.  It's also happily behind me now.

And what would it have mattered if I had gone to the Pan-Am games?  I would have lost there eventually, and if not then I would have lost at one of the other quals, and if not then I would have lost at the olympics, and if not then I would get a medal and then what?  In any sport, you always top out eventually.  I'm not sure I see the difference between a kid who tops out in high school vs one who tops out in college vs one who tops out in the minor leagues or the olympics.  It's just a matter of what you are willing to sacrifice to move up the food chain.  It all seems so pointless.  There are more important things in life.

Maybe it's just a self-esteem issue?  Like it's pretty common for people in the throws of a mid-life crisis to have these thoughts about their former potential, about their mythical chance at greatness that was somehow stolen from them.  We don't usually accept our own role in our eventual failures to move up the food chain.  My only advice in that case isn't going to help anyone:  you have to just get over yourself.  You need to learn to value yourself as a person for some reason that actually matters, and I guarantee you that athletic ability isn't it.  Even Michael Jordan doesn't base his self worth on his ability to play basketball anymore. 

Panly

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #15 on: February 04, 2019, 04:41:55 AM »
It sounds to me like everyone in this thread DID live up to their potential.  No matter what your sport and what your abilities, everyone tops out eventually.  It's rarely because of they reach the limit of their bodies.

In my experience, it's usually like one of the stories already in this thread:  they can't continue due to injury, or due to personality conflicts, or due to a lack of time or money.  But these are also your limits.  You trained until your body broke, that was the limit of your potential.  Or you trained until the time/money commitment got to be overwhelming, so that was your limit.  Whatever the reason was that you quit, that was the exhaustion of your potential.  I don't think it makes any sense to wonder what "could have been" if you had a stronger body that didn't get injured, or more willpower to sacrifice your social life to make more time, or more ability to swallow bullshit from a bad coach.  You might as well wonder what could have been if you were a foot taller.  That fantasy question isn't about you anymore.

Whenever I meet one of my old (very talented) school/football (you call it soccer) friends, it won't take 5 minutes before the regret pops up, why they didn't try harder, why they didn't make the right choice, why this why that.  And "what could have been?", given that less talented guys actually made it. No injuries were involved.

Hence with my children, they get no restrictions. They're allowed to train as much and go as far as they can. Actually, I want them to train more than the others.
Even when I know that the chance for a paid career is very close to zero - I understand the stats. 

But having tried and failed is way better than not having tried in the first place.



 





nereo

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #16 on: February 04, 2019, 05:36:00 AM »
It sounds to me like everyone in this thread DID live up to their potential.  No matter what your sport and what your abilities, everyone tops out eventually.  It's rarely because of they reach the limit of their bodies.

In my experience, it's usually like one of the stories already in this thread:  they can't continue due to injury, or due to personality conflicts, or due to a lack of time or money.  But these are also your limits.  You trained until your body broke, that was the limit of your potential.  Or you trained until the time/money commitment got to be overwhelming, so that was your limit.  Whatever the reason was that you quit, that was the exhaustion of your potential.  I don't think it makes any sense to wonder what "could have been" if you had a stronger body that didn't get injured, or more willpower to sacrifice your social life to make more time, or more ability to swallow bullshit from a bad coach.  You might as well wonder what could have been if you were a foot taller.  That fantasy question isn't about you anymore.

Whenever I meet one of my old (very talented) school/football (you call it soccer) friends, it won't take 5 minutes before the regret pops up, why they didn't try harder, why they didn't make the right choice, why this why that.  And "what could have been?", given that less talented guys actually made it. No injuries were involved.

Hence with my children, they get no restrictions. They're allowed to train as much and go as far as they can. Actually, I want them to train more than the others.
Even when I know that the chance for a paid career is very close to zero - I understand the stats. 

But having tried and failed is way better than not having tried in the first place.
 

As parents I think we have an obligation to raise well adjusted children that can succeed in all phases of life. Having personally been down this route I'm keenly aware that sports and training can easily take over kids lives, and not in a good way. Competitive sports will take all you can give and still demand more time, energy and money.  I'd just advise some perspective.

Fomerly known as something

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #17 on: February 04, 2019, 06:01:04 AM »
At the University I rowed.  I had the times my final year to qualify for the US National Developmental Team testing as a lightweight.  I didn't go and began a career where my unpredictable schedule didn't even allow me to row recreationally.   I always wonder how far I could have gone but I really don't regret my choices it just is another of my life's what ifs.   

mbl

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #18 on: February 04, 2019, 07:11:04 AM »
I think the satisfaction, fitness, pleasure and sense of accomplishment can be found doing something else later in life or now.
Pick something that resonates with you and that you can do with your current state of fitness.

I started riding horses in my 30's.  It really is a lifestyle and goes well beyond riding to management and stewardship.
It can be very challenging,  rewarding and exciting.

I also began swimming in Masters.   I found it to be a wonderful experience with what I have found to be a very high level of sportsmanship.
The competitive aspect is really secondary to the overall experience.   We each are going against our own times.   As the heats are organized by time and you
are often not even swimming with anyone in your age bracket,  your only time concern is you.

Swimming is especially good for those of us with injuries that are aggravated with impact sports.
It's also ageless.    One can do this over the course of a whole lifetime.
It seems to be a very inclusive activity.

dude

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #19 on: February 04, 2019, 07:28:44 AM »
I played football in high school. Was the captain of the team senior year, earned all-conference and all-area honors. Football was my life in high school, so much so that my grades sucked. I got some letters from D-2 and D-3 schools, but didn't have the size and speed to play at the D-1 level. Joined the military instead, but still had a burning desire for years to put the pads on again. When I got out of the military at age 25 and went to college (D-2), I decided I would walk on my sophomore year, after I'd had a chance to get an academic year under my belt without distractions. The summer between frosh and soph years I hit the weights hard, put in the miles and sprints, etc., and was determined to get on the team that Fall. But I was out of money and struggling to figure out how I was going to pay for sophomore year. Near the end of that summer I got a letter from the university inviting me to join the Honors Program with a full academic scholarship, on the basis of my freshman year performance and SAT score. To maintain the scholarship, I had to maintain a B+ average. I decided right then and there to forego my dream of playing college football to devote my full energy to academics. I didn't want to make the same stupid mistakes I'd made in high school. I have never once regretted that decision. That scholarship literally changed my life in the most dramatic ways imaginable. I wouldn't be where I am today without it.

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #20 on: February 04, 2019, 07:35:44 AM »
I find it odd that hockey is cheaper than figure skating.
Costumes. Choreographers. Hair/makeup. Figure sakers are renting the ice solo.

Cassie

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #21 on: February 04, 2019, 11:09:56 AM »
I know people that pushed their kids in sports and the kids ended up with permanent injuries by 18 . Use, when you say most people at 60 are looking back at 30 with regrets you couldn’t be farther from the truth. St 64 we are wondering how long our health will remain, how long will we be able to travel, live alone, etc.

Mike in NH

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #22 on: February 04, 2019, 12:59:41 PM »
I have no regrets about playing fall baseball for one semester of college and deciding that the value proposition wasn't worth it to me (it helps when the person in front of you at your position is only a sophomore and the best athlete you have ever shared a field with). All set with getting up at 4am in February for batting practice instead of enjoying myself at college.

There's regret, and then there's a void. I think it's important to understand that we aren't mislabeling one when it is really the other. I didn't have any regrets because I took a look behind that door and saw what I needed to see regarding my potential. But after college, I stopped playing rec sports for a few years and there was definitely a huge void. I missed the camaraderie, activity, and the competition. I missed shagging flies, making diving catches and that feeling when you hit a ball so sweet it barely seems like it even touched the bat.

So I filled that void. I'm 38 but I still regularly play recreational soccer, softball and basketball. I hike a lot as well. These activities are really my foundation for a happy life (active, healthy, social). If someone is feeling that void, there are definitely ways to fill it. And if you are feeling regret, there's a lot to be said for finding something similar that you can apply yourself to and perhaps takeaway some of that sting. There are people in our hiking community who may have been amazing endurance athletes, and instead they do amazing things hiking. Or taking a childhood of wrestling talent and seeing where it takes you in mixed martial arts. Taking your talent and using it to create fulfillment/happiness can happen at any age, just gotta think outside the box a little like we are already accustomed to doing around here.

Maybe there is some comfort in the fact that the statistics don't lie, an overwhelming majority of us weren't going to make it, unlike early retirement which is much more dependent on the laws of math and time.   

mm1970

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #23 on: February 04, 2019, 03:39:03 PM »
OP are you too old to pick it back up?

Good question to ask.  There's a common misperception that as humans we 'peak' sometime in our early 20s and that by the time we are 30 we are 'too old'.  With a few exceptions that narrative is basically false. Factoring out injuries, some of the top athletes have their best performance in their early to mid 30s.  Dropping down a tier, many elite athletes (the ones that finish in the top 100 of marathons, cycling races etc) are in their 40s.  A shocking number of 'casual marathoners' post their lifetime bests right around when they hit 50.

The biggest factor we see so many 20-somethings is simply because after college few can arrange their lives to train 5 or 6 days per week.
I don't know anything about Crickett but I'm sure it depends on your sport and if its a team sport or individual sport. Here's some old dudes and dudettes playing and winning at my former sport. I was a spring chicken in comparison ;-):
https://beachmajorseries.com/en/1896/age
Ahh my favorite sport.  Ironically, I would go out of my way to go see indoor Pro beach games while living in DC - and I've probably seen more of them than I have seen here in California.  And I've been in CA for 20+ years.  I've probably only gone to 2 tournaments, both here in town.

Okay, I have kids, so maybe it's not so ironic.

I took half a week off work to drive from DC to Baltimore with friends to watch the beach volleyball Olympic Trials in 1996. 
I went to another DC-based tournament where they trucked in so...much...sand to the indoor arena.  Crazy!  Ah the 1990s... Kiraly, McPeak... (I have a photo of me with Holly McPeak).

Ok, done geeking out.

alsoknownasDean

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #24 on: February 05, 2019, 07:00:37 PM »
What was your speciality in cricket? Could have another crack if you're a decent batsman or spin bowler. Being paid to play grade cricket as a side hustle? :)

Then again, I'm a 4th XI park cricketer (on synthetic wickets) who bats at the tail and bowls slow-medium trash, and was when I was younger too. No chance of higher honours here, although I kinda wish I'd returned to playing the sport earlier (didn't play between age 19 to 31). I'm really glad I took it up again, team sports can be a Mustachian activity :)

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wbranch

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #25 on: February 05, 2019, 08:14:09 PM »
My BIL was an elite level athlete. Top recruit for D1 basketball, played on AAU teams with guys that made it big in the NBA. So arguably potential for real $$ when some of the guys had 7/8 figures annually in their contracts. He hated all of the pressure and had issues with depression and anxiety as a teenager, never played organized basketball after high school. He actually enjoyed baseball and did some warmups with MLB teams and played in junior college, but that ended after an injury. He is now 38 and from talking to him he does not regret that he never went big with any of it since he felt like he never was having fun playing.

MsPeacock

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Re: Regretting not living up to sporting potential now I’m older
« Reply #26 on: February 06, 2019, 11:50:04 AM »
I find this so interesting!

I am coming from the other end of the spectrum I guess. I was never enrolled in or encouraged in sports as I was growing up. In my 20s and early 30s I was always active, but nothing organized (rode my bike w/a group on weekends, lots of yoga, etc.). Did enough running to pass the APFT, etc. Then had kids and divorce and career and medical issues (weird kind of arthritis that took years to be diagnosed) - all of which significantly hampered by ability to do anything.

And then - the kids got older, medical stuff got addressed, cruddy husband became wasband, and... I am having a blast w/ athletic stuff. Started volunteering for a cycling program for wounded service members. Started swimming because it didn't hurt. Did a triathlon (with a fair amount of walking) because a friend asked me to. And now, at 50, qualified for [age group] worlds in two events and will be on Team USA in Spain. The pressure is only what I self-inflict (mostly just pre-race anxiety) and I can sit back and have fun and compete w/o worrying about a scholarship or a sponsor (although I got a minor one this year - which is nice and covers a very small amount of the costs) and made tons of good friend.

My point being that the opportunity is never lost - life changes and things come back around in surprising ways. I hope you all find a way to pursue your athletic passions when the opportunity again presents itself.