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Nah dude, the only way to get better at something is to practice it. All the sports you listed require good endurance, however, so you could work on getting into great shape by running and such. That will give you an advantage physically while you work on the other aspects of the sport.
Don't worry about the skill level of everybody else. Just keep improving every day and you'll be just as good before you know it.
Don't worry about the skill level of everybody else. Just keep improving every day and you'll be just as good before you know it.
You need one thing to be good at any of those sports; determination. If you show up to say football practice day one, and practice, stick with it, and do what the coaches tell you, you'll eventually be a starter. Same with swimming, basketball, or soccer.
But as a very general rule of thumb. If you are short don't go for basketball. If you're frail/ not strong, avoid football. If you are over weight, avoid soccer/swimming. And if you can't swim, well avoid that. Just go to the sport that suits your body type, no point in playing to your disadvantages. And I'm sure there are numerous statistical correlations to be found online between body types and sports (like swimmers tend to have shorter bodies/longer arms, Football QBs are taller, RBs shorter, basketball players tall, you get the gist).
But as a very general rule of thumb. If you are short don't go for basketball. If you're frail/ not strong, avoid football. If you are over weight, avoid soccer/swimming. And if you can't swim, well avoid that. Just go to the sport that suits your body type, no point in playing to your disadvantages. And I'm sure there are numerous statistical correlations to be found online between body types and sports (like swimmers tend to have shorter bodies/longer arms, Football QBs are taller, RBs shorter, basketball players tall, you get the gist).
I will tell you this, being good at a sport is not what really gets you accepted by others who play that sport. It's more about your personality and having a sense of humor. When you try out, be sociable and do you best during the tryouts; you are bound to make a few friends that way. If you actually make it on a team then it will be easier to make friends if you just talk to people and not think "I need to make friends". Obviously, getting good at the sport helps, but is not necessary. there is always that one person that is willing to help the new guy too.
If you want to be good at a sport, just practice as hard as you can. That's all you can really do.
If you want to be good at a sport, just practice as hard as you can. That's all you can really do.
Note that this post is only relevant if you are in Highschool or above: If you only want to play sports only to make friends then you should just give up. Sports take a huge degree of devotion and determination and unless you have the eye on the prize, you will not be respected and you will not improve. If you do have the love for the sport and are willing to improve, then the skill and friendships will come in hordes, but if you aren't willing to push your passion hard to the point of fainting, then don't even try.
Edit: This post does apply if you haven't played a sport before. My favorite sport is Soccer btw, but it requires tons of concentration and conditioning to be exceptional at it. Personality does play a huge part in gaining friendships though sports, but being respected makes making those friendships easier. If you don't open up and actually talk to people, then noone will even know you exist.
Edit: This post does apply if you haven't played a sport before. My favorite sport is Soccer btw, but it requires tons of concentration and conditioning to be exceptional at it. Personality does play a huge part in gaining friendships though sports, but being respected makes making those friendships easier. If you don't open up and actually talk to people, then noone will even know you exist.
As he said. You shouldn't do a sport just to make friends. If you have other reasons on why you should do sports, like for community service hours, then yeah go for it.
You can't make friends, unless you are good at the sport. And from the looks of things, you don't seem to have any experience on any sport. I don't even know what grade you in, but if you are a Junior or Senior. Just forget it bro. It'll be a waste, unless you are willing to work day n night at getting better at w/e sport you decide to pick, then yeah...I guess you can give it a shot.
But don't waste your time if you know you aren't gonna give it 100%...
Why not join a club sports team or do intramurals? I don't play sports at all, so I don't really know exactly how it all works, but I'm pretty sure that these are less hard-core than varsity, so you could learn to play the sport for fun and not have to worry quite as much about winning. This could help you meet individuals who are also interested in sports while taking some of the pressure off of you :)
Another suggestions, though: if you're not actually passionate about sports, don't even like them, and are just doing this to try to fit in... don't do it. It's not worth it. Join a club that you are genuinely interested in instead, and you will meet like-minded individuals. You'd be surprised at how many different extracurriculars are out there; I'd suggest visiting your school's website to explore your other options.
Another suggestions, though: if you're not actually passionate about sports, don't even like them, and are just doing this to try to fit in... don't do it. It's not worth it. Join a club that you are genuinely interested in instead, and you will meet like-minded individuals. You'd be surprised at how many different extracurriculars are out there; I'd suggest visiting your school's website to explore your other options.
First, work on getting in great shape; the more in shape you are, the faster you're going to be, the less fatigued you are, and the more potential you have to do something with the ball when you get it. You don't HAVE to be in great shape to play sports; but if you want an edge on people, that's one of the best things you can do for yourself. It actually takes a lot of endurance/stamina to still have an edge on the rest of the people throughout the game, so work on that for sure.
To be honest, unless you know the "proper" form for shooting hoops or whatever sport you decide to play, it's probably a better idea to get some pointers from the coach now so that you can try out next year. Developing "bad" habits is super easy, and breaking those habits are a pain (coaches tend to spot it pretty quickly when they don't like something that you're doing). Most coaches are coaches because they actually LIKE the sport and are willing to volunteer their time; so just let them know you're really interested in joining the team next year and want some pointers so you can practice over the off-season; I doubt you'll have any issues getting those pointers and some one-on-one practice. Plus, having the coach know you and your drive to get on the team is never a bad thing.
I would also encourage approaching some of the current team members to see if they're up for some scrimmage and/or if they're attending a camp (as a team-activity) over the summer. Jump in during recesses and/or after school when they're playing ball; so on and so forth.
Of course, if you're worried about approaching your peers or something... you can always attend a summer camp that's specific for the sport you're looking at; it'll give you a chance to test your skills and to get some pointers. Plus, if you go far away there's less likely that anyone from your school will see you there so you'll have a chance to mess up a lot without having the spotlight of peer-pressure on you.
Anyways, High School sports are awesome. You definitely develop a great camaraderie with the people you play sports with in High School (not to say that there's never drama; they're just like any circle of friends that you have). I can honestly say out of anything from High School, playing sports was definitely up in the top 10 good decisions I made.
Hope everything turns out great for you! :)
To be honest, unless you know the "proper" form for shooting hoops or whatever sport you decide to play, it's probably a better idea to get some pointers from the coach now so that you can try out next year. Developing "bad" habits is super easy, and breaking those habits are a pain (coaches tend to spot it pretty quickly when they don't like something that you're doing). Most coaches are coaches because they actually LIKE the sport and are willing to volunteer their time; so just let them know you're really interested in joining the team next year and want some pointers so you can practice over the off-season; I doubt you'll have any issues getting those pointers and some one-on-one practice. Plus, having the coach know you and your drive to get on the team is never a bad thing.
I would also encourage approaching some of the current team members to see if they're up for some scrimmage and/or if they're attending a camp (as a team-activity) over the summer. Jump in during recesses and/or after school when they're playing ball; so on and so forth.
Of course, if you're worried about approaching your peers or something... you can always attend a summer camp that's specific for the sport you're looking at; it'll give you a chance to test your skills and to get some pointers. Plus, if you go far away there's less likely that anyone from your school will see you there so you'll have a chance to mess up a lot without having the spotlight of peer-pressure on you.
Anyways, High School sports are awesome. You definitely develop a great camaraderie with the people you play sports with in High School (not to say that there's never drama; they're just like any circle of friends that you have). I can honestly say out of anything from High School, playing sports was definitely up in the top 10 good decisions I made.
Hope everything turns out great for you! :)
First off, congratulations on making this decision. I'm certain you'll benefit from this!
I skimmed through the responses and I thought I could add some new information for ya based on what I've experienced. When you pick what sport you want to do, make sure you are going to be able to stick with it. You have to enjoy it to some degree in order to want to be there; you don't want this sport to become a chore (there's one exception, I'll get to it). So I suggest you take a general gym class or the equivalent at your school where you can get a sample of many different sports. You'll find out where you think you can excel. Also look at your body, most of the sports you mentioned require different body types. For soccer you're best bet is to be smaller, although height can come in handy at some positions. Weight wise you almost have to be lean, the more in shape you are, the better. I'm not a football player, but I know that they are usually a bit heavier. You have to have inertia in nearly every position. Quickness is also required. To play basketball you should be somewhat tall and you'll need upper body strength. All three of those require coordination. I'm not a swimmer but I know that you should be comfortable in the water. If you have a phobia of drowing or something (since you're interested in swimming I doubt you do) then don't do it. Contrary to what someone else said, I've seen heavyset swimmers, you'd just have to make up for the drag with good upper body strength. Swimming is probably the most physically demanding out of the four you've chosen. (I hate when my soccer coach decides we'll have an 'easy day' with a pool workout.)
So once you pick your sport, you're gonna have to train for them. Soccer and football are over and it's probably too late to get into basketball and swimming (but if you still want to try out, do it!) So I'm gonna focus on a spring sport: track. This is the exception I mentioned above. Track is a great way to get yourself into shape for sports next year, I did it as a chore because I needed to be conditioned for soccer. If you want to play soccer or swim, join the distance team to get your lungs and heart into good shape. If you're gonna play football, do shot put or discus, something that focuses on weight/inertia. If you plan on playing basketball, do sprints, hurdles, or the long/high jump. Those increase your quickness and jump. Also run at home either by yourself or with a running buddy. You can start doing this now. Join a gym to lift weights and possibly use a treadmill/indoor track if winter gets a little too cold where you live.
tl;dr: Get yourself into shape before you commit to anything serious.
I skimmed through the responses and I thought I could add some new information for ya based on what I've experienced. When you pick what sport you want to do, make sure you are going to be able to stick with it. You have to enjoy it to some degree in order to want to be there; you don't want this sport to become a chore (there's one exception, I'll get to it). So I suggest you take a general gym class or the equivalent at your school where you can get a sample of many different sports. You'll find out where you think you can excel. Also look at your body, most of the sports you mentioned require different body types. For soccer you're best bet is to be smaller, although height can come in handy at some positions. Weight wise you almost have to be lean, the more in shape you are, the better. I'm not a football player, but I know that they are usually a bit heavier. You have to have inertia in nearly every position. Quickness is also required. To play basketball you should be somewhat tall and you'll need upper body strength. All three of those require coordination. I'm not a swimmer but I know that you should be comfortable in the water. If you have a phobia of drowing or something (since you're interested in swimming I doubt you do) then don't do it. Contrary to what someone else said, I've seen heavyset swimmers, you'd just have to make up for the drag with good upper body strength. Swimming is probably the most physically demanding out of the four you've chosen. (I hate when my soccer coach decides we'll have an 'easy day' with a pool workout.)
So once you pick your sport, you're gonna have to train for them. Soccer and football are over and it's probably too late to get into basketball and swimming (but if you still want to try out, do it!) So I'm gonna focus on a spring sport: track. This is the exception I mentioned above. Track is a great way to get yourself into shape for sports next year, I did it as a chore because I needed to be conditioned for soccer. If you want to play soccer or swim, join the distance team to get your lungs and heart into good shape. If you're gonna play football, do shot put or discus, something that focuses on weight/inertia. If you plan on playing basketball, do sprints, hurdles, or the long/high jump. Those increase your quickness and jump. Also run at home either by yourself or with a running buddy. You can start doing this now. Join a gym to lift weights and possibly use a treadmill/indoor track if winter gets a little too cold where you live.
tl;dr: Get yourself into shape before you commit to anything serious.
Im not sure what grade you are, but in high school almost no one has anyone experience in football before they join the team so youll be on equal footing. The exact opposite is true in soccer, if you don't have significant experience (3 years was usually below average at my school) youll feel very inadequate. Soccer is the most fun sport to play though, so even if you suck you can just keep at it and enjoy it, youll eventually get to the level of your peers. The best part about soccer is that when you get to college you can find a pick-up soccer game almost anytime between 10 am and 1 am(you wouldnt belive how many games of soccer start at midnight) so you meet a lot of people and its a really good experience.
Hopefully you already know how to swim, but joining the swim team is generally a really annoying time commitment, you wake up early to swim, and you practice after school too, not much fun imo.
Basketball is a lot of fun, even if you suck. Almost as fun as soccer.
Hopefully you already know how to swim, but joining the swim team is generally a really annoying time commitment, you wake up early to swim, and you practice after school too, not much fun imo.
Basketball is a lot of fun, even if you suck. Almost as fun as soccer.
I'm going to say that at even at the high school level, soccer, football, and basketball require tremendous dedication. If you're doing these for fun (aka not on school team), basketball is a good way to meet people once you're decently good. You can practice on your own just fine until you're at a level where you can join pickup games in the park. At my school swimming is the sport that anyone can do as long as they're in good enough shape, but requires early mornings and late nights. I'm going to put in a few suggestions and then address why they might be a good fit: cross country/track, tennis, and ping pong.
Track and cross country, at least at my school, are no cut. You may not run varsity, but you'll be on the team. They also get you in great shape. If you show some dedication early on, you can quickly gain some respect not just of your coaches but of your teammates as well. Just the fact that you're competing will get people to take notice of your existence. They are also fairly social--when you're running, find someone to talk to. It eases the pain by a lot and gets you into social circles. Summation: competition is fairly low below the varsity level for the most part, it gets you in great shape, and it encourages conversation.
Tennis is another option I would consider. In Europe it is viewed as an elitist sport, in America every single park has courts. What's great about tennis is that you can get good on your own--that's how I did it. I went down to my garage every single day and just hit forehands off the wall. When my parents weren't home (they couldn't stand the noise) I would hit rallies off the garage door. In a week my forehand was passable. The next week my backhand was decent. Then I went down to the courts and hit 50% serves until I could get them in. At that point, I went and found people to play tennis with. The market for average tennis players is huge. It also gets you in pretty good shape and develops your hand-eye coordination, which will help with other sports. The problem: you have to dedicate some money. Rackets aren't all that cheap, strings will break, and balls will be lost.
On that note, I'd like to point out ping pong. If you get a ping pong table with enough room around it, you will become one of the most popular people in school. Everyone loves ping pong-movie hangouts, and I mean everyone. Get yourself a table, some balls, and some paddles (yes, it will be expensive) and you'll be set. You can also practice on your own or with family (again, who doesn't like ping pong?). Getting in shape isn't the easiest with ping pong, but it will net you some popularity. It will also build hand-eye coordination.
Good luck, and congrats on taking on life's challenges!
Track and cross country, at least at my school, are no cut. You may not run varsity, but you'll be on the team. They also get you in great shape. If you show some dedication early on, you can quickly gain some respect not just of your coaches but of your teammates as well. Just the fact that you're competing will get people to take notice of your existence. They are also fairly social--when you're running, find someone to talk to. It eases the pain by a lot and gets you into social circles. Summation: competition is fairly low below the varsity level for the most part, it gets you in great shape, and it encourages conversation.
Tennis is another option I would consider. In Europe it is viewed as an elitist sport, in America every single park has courts. What's great about tennis is that you can get good on your own--that's how I did it. I went down to my garage every single day and just hit forehands off the wall. When my parents weren't home (they couldn't stand the noise) I would hit rallies off the garage door. In a week my forehand was passable. The next week my backhand was decent. Then I went down to the courts and hit 50% serves until I could get them in. At that point, I went and found people to play tennis with. The market for average tennis players is huge. It also gets you in pretty good shape and develops your hand-eye coordination, which will help with other sports. The problem: you have to dedicate some money. Rackets aren't all that cheap, strings will break, and balls will be lost.
On that note, I'd like to point out ping pong. If you get a ping pong table with enough room around it, you will become one of the most popular people in school. Everyone loves ping pong-movie hangouts, and I mean everyone. Get yourself a table, some balls, and some paddles (yes, it will be expensive) and you'll be set. You can also practice on your own or with family (again, who doesn't like ping pong?). Getting in shape isn't the easiest with ping pong, but it will net you some popularity. It will also build hand-eye coordination.
Good luck, and congrats on taking on life's challenges!
