Poorly chicken

[redhotchick]

At school my P.E lessons weren't great. I liked sport but I was ignored by the teachers. At trampolining when I was about 16 the PE teacher was at a loss for a gymnastic term, and I came up with it. She said "yes, fancy you remembering that". I have never forgotten the feelings of disgust that I had for that teacher, who obviously had no idea how interested or enthusiastic I had been. I did lots of exercise after I left school, aerobics, weight training, yoga, 5K runs, skiing, static trapeze, horse riding, dinghy sailing, swimming, dancing. I enjoyed them, and I felt I was good at them.

In my school the PE teachers didn't seem interested in getting individuals to be the best they could be, just the ones that were already naturally talented, I felt that I was no good. Was your PE teacher the same? I wish I'd been taught about personal best, and that Olympic events had been explained to me. I might not have been a 100m contender, but I might have been the marathon hopeful!

How do you think that the 2012 Olympic Legacy can be transferred to the Nation? The Media are talking about improving the fitness of the nation as a whole as well as future Olympic success. I think both are important, and that a lot of this starts in schools - is it possible to achieve excellence without alienating the rest?

[Looney]

I had a similar conversation with OH the other day. I wasn't sporty at school and didn't excel at anything really. I was no good at tennis or hockey or netball so wasn't on the PE teacher's radar. In my favour I was very strong, totally fearless and had a very high pain threshold and stamina but this was never recognised or channelled into something that it would suit sport wise. I couldn't throw or catch or hit a ball very well so didn't stand out.

 

I remember doing a really good cross country run (for me ) and came in third out of about 35 girls. As I crossed the finish the PE teacher just looked at me and said "that was jammy". I remember wondering what on earth she meant, I had come third through will and effort

 

Maybe I would have been a good weightlifter or gymnast or....who knows!

[WitchHazel]

In my school the PE teachers didn't seem interested in getting individuals to be the best they could be, just the ones that were already naturally talented

 

That was really true at my school, which was an all girls High School with an excellent reputation. The sports teachers didn't actually teach us anything. In my first few Athletics lessons at high school, we all had a go at everything (javelin, shot putt, running, hurdles, etc). There was no tuition, we were just given the equipment and told to have a go. Subsequently, and for the rest of the time at High School, the teachers worked with those that had shown some promise at these early sessions , but the rest of us just did the "lessons" without any coaching or support. What a waste! Some personal help on how to balance the javelin, or how to imrpve the distance on the shot putt, or frankly would have been better. I came out of school not one jot more capable of doing any sport than I was when I started. I was never able to climb ropes in Gym, and I left school still not able to do so (I just couldn't work out the mechanics of how one did it). And one of the saddest things (for me) is that I did not realise until I was an adult that you should carry on breathing while running. I don't think it would have turned me into a contender, but knowing how to breathe while running might have made the lessons more bearable, and it's possible I might have improved over time.

 

Same in tennis. The "teachers" never spent any time helping those of us who were rubbish to improve. We were just sent to play tennis on the courts while they coached the naturally gifted. In the course of five years at the school, the rest of us dudn't get any support help to correct even our initial problems; o we either improved by our own luck or some, like me who had problems getting a serve in, never got any better at all.

 

The final nail in the coffin of associating sport with anuthing positive was the team picking. The teachers favourites were always team captains, and numpties like me were always the last to be picked. I realise now that the teacher should have made the numpties captains (at least occasionally) to make things less unbearable.

 

I used to feel miserable and useless when we had PE at school. As an adult, I feel angry about those 5 years - partly because they were such a waste, but mainly because of the legacy they left me.

It laid a lifelong foundation of antipathy towards sports in general, and left me with an absolute detestment of having to do anything sporty. Team building days at work which involved sport always just brought those memories back.

 

I'm also angry with myself for not overcoming it.

[snowberry]

I was hopeless at sports at school; well, that's what the PE teachers led me to believe! Being bullied in school from day one didn't help & I never got over the humiliation of being picked last for everything. Actually, if I was lucky, I was left as reserve...

Each PE teacher was more evil than the last. One told me on our first hockey lesson that if I didn't 'push' the ball as opposed to hit it, she would hit me with the stick

I hope the attitude in schools has changed now...

[Daphne]

What an interesting thread

 

Like many of you, my PE teachers were only interested in those who showed some aptitude. Those of us like me who were pretty average never got any coaching, or any praise or any recognition. PE lessons were just something you had to get through. They were also the only lesson I can remember where quite a lot of the time, in junior school anyway, you had to do something as an individual in front of everyone else. I also remember hating the PE kit and really hating being made to do sport outside in the cold and wet. In my first years at secondary school I'd have a go at anything, but as the girls hit puberty lots of us became very self conscious and were always 'forgetting our kit' or 'feeling ill'. Because the teachers were all fit and a bit macho and quite frightening there was never any incentive to try very hard. It was never clear either, why we were doing it. Careers in sport like physiotherapy, sports science, coaching etc were never ever discussed.

 

The sports I do now are the ones I am naturally drawn too; the ones I did before entering the education system - cycling and the odd bit of running and badminton. In fact, the only sporting skills I acquired at school which I could use now are swimming and bad hockey.

 

Being a bit more positive, I think the programme they have now to spot youngsters with some cycling talent is fantastic. I would have loved that opportunity. I'm hoping similar programmes exist in other sports. I think sport is seen differently now (sport isn't quite the same as PE is it?!) and I think sports educators should take a broader view of it and introduce it in context; you don't have to be brilliant as a performer but you can still be involved as a coach, nutritionist, biomechanics person, social inclusion/wellbeing promoter, health educator, product/textile developer/designer etc etc. Its creative and cerebral as well as physical.

[Olly]

A very similar story - I loathed PE, was frighted of the very abrupt and shouty PE teachers, and as I had no natural aptitude - couldn't run fast, couldn't catch or throw, and was scared of most things - I usually got left till last. And that business of picking two girls and telling them to pick their netball teams - "Ooops, word censored!"ody wanted someone like me on their team! It put me off sport for life, unfortunately. The only thing I really enjoy now is swimming, I know I should take more exercise but the thought of going to the gym just reminds me of scary PE lessons all over again.

[Snowy]

Some very familiar stories there! I think I spent most of my school PE lessons playing truant!

Which is ridiculous when I think about it - although bullied because of my weight, I was actually very fit, I rode all the time and cycled to the stables several times a week. I loved swimming (I won the diving competitions in the school swimming gala because my Dad taught me to dive in our local pool!) but was never given any additional coaching - my swimming technique is still poor! I was quite good at ball games as I have a great eye for the ball (I could always get the ball in the net at netball, and am quite handy at tennis and badminton). I remember there being a netball team, but i wouldn't have known how to get onto it - I was certainly never asked! I have a definite lazy streak, so probably didn't try very hard, but the annoying thing is that with a bit of encouragement I would have tried! All I really remember about school PE is that I hated it!

[sadietoo]

I hated sports at school too, although I was quite good at throwing and catching, and dance type things, I was generally below average and was always always left until last when the teams were picked. I was never encouraged to develop the little aptitude I had, and I would have done almost anything to get out of PE... As far as I was concerned it was institutionalised bullying, and from my children's experiences at school to a great extent it still seems to be. It certainly needs to improve and it would be great if this brought it about.

 

That said I'm not at all interested in the Olympics ...unless being chased by something bigger than you I can't see the point of being the person who can run the fastest ..( Sorry Usain Bolt but it is a talent with limited application as far as I can see no matter how pleased you are with yourself) and I'm rather cynical about the idea of "the Legacy" this government, like others before still seem to be most enthusiastic about selling off playing fields to supermarkets or developers, which I feel says more about their commitment to sport than any pretty words or slogans....

 

If past experience is anything to go on, all "legacy" will mean is being forced to watch the same news footage over and over again ad nauseum....

[Alis girls]

Ditto here too - wonder if things have changed - I always got " you've long legs you should be good at PE" - I also had undiagnosed asthma which held me back. I felt like saying "I 'm a girl not a bloomin giraffe" one of our teachers spent her spare time having an affair with other PE teacher. Need I say more. I am 50 so things might have changed

[Willow]

Interesting question, Ideally I'd like to see the range of sports offered at school extended beyond the usual team sports. My boys loathe football and have no interest in rugby but my elder son was good at hockey. The year after he made the school team and before the first match he would have played in the school dropped hockey because funding had been reduced and it was one of the few places they could cut their budget (state school). Both my boys show some aptitude at rowing so I'll be encouraging that, but it's fiercely competitive locally and they would have to be soooo good to be selected for any competitions I doubt they will ever row seriously. I've been at a loss for what else I should encourage them to try.

 

I was middling at school - did judo competitively to county level out of school but it was never recognised by PE teachers. Not the fastest runner but could keep going. Long distance was regarded as around the school field I remember being envious of boys schools cross country running.

 

You do need PE teachers prepared to look beyond their one or two stars and encourage all to try a range of sports.

[HennyPenny]

I think it's really sad that we all seem to have similar stories (wonder if we're all of a certain age - that might give us hope that things have changed?)

 

I was always useless at sport and never got picked for any team. My school (girls grammar) was all about hockey and when it became clear that I wasn't very good, I was moved to netball with the other 'failed' hockey players. As I am only just over five feet now at my full adult height, it soon became clear that I was even worse at netball but there was no other option so I spent most games lessons watching other girls play or getting shouted at for being useless!

 

Since then, I have discovered that I enjoy aerobics and zumba and I have even completed the London Marathon twice (at a snail's pace, admittedly) but I still find it hard not to think of myself as useless at any form of sporting endeavour.

 

I really hope that times have changed for children now.

[SarahJo]

I think things have changed - but not in all schools

 

My boys have won tickets through British Swimming to swim with the Olympians in the "Heroes" tour - aimed at getting youngsters inspired into the sport. They are already competing - but YS does have the drive to be the next generation, so for us its inspiring to keep going

 

School-wise - we as a family introduced Biathlon to ES school, where the PE dept are really encouraging and fair. I do witness 1st hand some PE lessons at the Athletics track and can confidently say the boys have every opportunity and are treated fairly regardless of abilty. The girls on the otherhand - . I am not sure if its the teachers or pupils at fault. Most of the time the girls do not seem to want to take part - and female teachers seem to be unenthuiastic. This is not a generalisation - just personal observation.

 

I would imagine there are good and bad out there - but the legacy of the olympics is being taken seriously from an aquatic point of view - I just hope it lasts beyond the heroes tour

[Charlottechicken]

I ran everywhere as a child, and ran for my primary school at the age of nine, for the under 11 year olds, there was no-one faster in the school than me, not even boys

 

Secondary school was a different matter. I went from a smallish primary to a huge secondary school, where every sport was promised, the equipment room was bursting at the seams, but we only ever seemed to do netball or rounders. I'm useless at both so was always picked for wing defence in netball, and one of the last to go in rounders (or one of the ones who went so far out in the field so that I wouldn't have to throw the ball back )

 

I remember once, we were allowed to get the javelins out. Now I love watching javelin and also was a sprinter so you'd think someone would've spotted some potential when I threw the javelin left handed, and further than everyone else, but no. The female PE teachers were scary beasts, and yes, like others have said, had their (netball) favourites, and obviously, being rubbish at that I just wasn't on their radar. I did get a bit of flack from some of them, and as I was a timid child, felt that they were all just bullies. Most of the girls I knew at secondary school hated PE.

 

Such a shame for so many of us to have bad memories, or regrets as to what could have been

[Looney]

I was always picked for wing defence in netball too, I was quick enough to stop the WA getting the ball and that was about it And in my whole school career I only ever scored one rounder as I hardly ever hit the ball but I was always the one left in til the end, trying not to get run out!!

[Mrs Webmuppet]

I was hopeless at games at school, given that I was born with a wonky leg and lousy eyesight I was at a distinct disadvantage ( getting both feet to go in the same direction was hard enough without doing any running). The games teachers hated me, it didn't help when my Dad laughed at her at parents evening ( Dad pointed out to her 'what do you expect she has a bit of handicap') I was only ever any good at swimming.

 

These days I ride a bike, sail a dinghy, swim and do my physio exercises ( these exercises are not for the faint hearted- the physio keeps making them harder and harder).

 

LMW goes to a school where sport is most definitely on the menu - she gets to swim 3 times a week in the on site pool and they get to choose which sports they want to do so that she doesn't have to do a sport that she is really hopeless at or detests ( although hockey is compulsory the others they get to select)

[miffy]

ooh some familiar stories here I attended a number of schools as father was in RAF. I was hopeless at all sport, short, fat and wore glasses. My last secondary school was different though. Although not much equipment we did have an on site outdoor swimming pool and a teacher who wanted to teach modern dance (1970's style) I hated the school but the PE teacher was great, as long as I supported her dance projects, she didnt ask anything else of me. She would always give me a note to get out of whatever lesson I didnt want to go to, so I could "train" or practice for her next project. As a parent now, it makes me shudder, but at the time it stopped me playing truant. Oh dear I sound like a right nightmare!!!

[patsylabrador]

I think the media are the key to this. If the sports papers and news reports go back to reporting almost exclusively on football then I dont think this will grow. The British public have shown an enthusiasm for all sorts of sports and I think we deserve more from especially the BBC. Sport and music are especially good disciplines for children but they seem to increasingly shoved aside.

I dont trust any government to nurture sport after these Olympics without a lot of pressure from the public and the media.

Im one of those people that finds football mindnumbing, unless it's played by women who play a much more exciting version. My dream is for a sort of weekend Grandstand with a wide and varied range of sports including amateur sports clubs to raise the profile of our hardworking young sportspeople. Not likely to come true.

 

I used to do cross-country at school with my three best buddies. We found a hidey-hole, would jump in it and wait until the other girls came back and then we would rejoin them. The PE teacher either didn't notice or didn't care. In the summer we would hide down the field bank and chat and make daisy-chains. I wasn't very sporty.

[C&T]

Another on here with similar memories of PE at school. Netball was everything for some reason, closely followed by rounders. And I was always one of the last to be picked. I represented my middle school for sprinting and high jump - but Secondary school didn't care as not netball or rounders. I remember having a go once in 4 years at Javelin and Discus - but all that equipment was hidden away again after a 1 hour "lesson" to get covered back in cobwebs.

 

As Patsylabrador said, the focus on football is so over the top. Anyone male who is good at sport seems to drift (or be pushed) to football - the glory and the money I expect has something to do with it (although money ruined the game a long time ago in my opinion). For females - well, apart from the Olympics every 4 years, you don't see many women in sport on the news. Therefore there are not the role models. Media has a lot to answer to for that.

 

But ultimantely it is up to the PE teachers - and until they can be bothered to look at all their pupils as individuals, and cover more sports and foster any talent, then it will all be pointless. I am sure there are some good ones - but this thread shows they are not the majority.

[Cooks]

Oh this all sounds so familiar

 

I was always selected to do hurdles and high jump as I have long legs, what they didn't take into consideration is that I am one of the clumsiest people on the planet and would 9/10 end up entangled in a hurdle or have tripped over on the way to the high jump.

 

I was good at trampolining however I just had to jump, that wasn't that hard, nothing to get tangled in

[Guest]

Ditto

Ditto

Ditto

..........

 

I hated PE at school! In my first year I knew "Ooops, word censored!"ody in my form, the classes were arranges alphabetically and none of my primary school friends ended up in the same form as me. But lots of the others knew each other from primary school! So at the first PE lesson the teacher said "who's played netball before" the girls in the rest of the class had all played in their school team so were picked! I spent the next 5 bl@@dy years "practiscing" baskets whilst they played games!

 

Then came swimming........in a cold, victorian baths....the sort with cubicles all around the edge! Complete with floating hair and plasters and other unmentionable things! "line up" said the teacher - now "jump in" .....well I couldn't swim so refused! That went down well! I spent the rest of the lessons bunking off!

 

In my final year I discovered a love of tennis, well I am from Wimbledon and was born over the fence from the tennis! I won loads of matches, played other schools and the PE teacher was gutted that I had done so well! Ditto BAdminton!

 

So it's a case of finding what sports suit you! But school definately didn't help me!

 

I now swim at least 3 times a week, love walking and running and Badminton. I'd still love to play tennis (hate watching it) - but don't have the opportunity!

[Olly]

Oh crumbs - I'd forgotten the swimming 'lessons' - as you say louisewomble, it was 'jump in' and then for those who held back 'non-swimmers down this end' where they made us stick our heads underwater. How that was supposed to help someone who had hardly ever been swimming and was scared of water, I don't know. I didn't learn to swim until I was at secondary school, and that was a bit of a miracle - I love swimming now, and always swim underwater but that's no thanks to lessons at school.

[abwsco]

Well I played netball and rounders at junior school and loved them both. Also enjoyed swimming although I can't remember going often at junior school. Got to the all girls grammar school and it was horrendous. We had at least two of the teachers who played for the GB hockey team. If you couldn't play hockey brilliantly you were a waste of space, same for tennis. I used to regularly swim 25+ lengths a day out of school but this was ignored when we had swimming lessons. Loved trampoling when I had an opportunity to try that. Seem to think that was twice. Still remember being shouted at in front of the whole class that I looked like a lump of blancmange in a 1970's modern PE dance lesson No wonder I hated all sport at from aged 11+ and often had "asthma" attacks along with others which meant we were unable to do them

[redhotchick]

I'm sad, but not surprised to read so many of you had similar experiences to me. I'm in my early forties btw.

Daphne you are right about trying to link up PE with possible future careers. I never knew about Physiotherapy until I needed it! I think I'd have liked to have gone into that as a career.

Patricia, I hope your boys learn to love rowing for itself, and aren't put off if they aren't successful in competition. Such a great form of exercise and getting out in the fresh air.

Sarah Jo, I was pleased to read that there was someone with some positive experiences.

Patsy Labrador, I agree the media has a role to play in reporting on a greater variety of sports. I found it so refreshing not to see football on the backpage of the paper!

I think that competition is important and natural ability should be nurtured, but children who aren't naturally good at the sports on offer should be encouraged to explore other activities, even if that is walking or gardening maybe? It's unrealistic to think that a limitless range of options could be catered for, but there has to be more than netball and hockey, in the winter, or tennis and rounders, in the summer!