I'm pretty athletic (6:47 mile), enjoy sports, and lift/work out a lot. But I've never played a sport seriously, which I realize now is a mistake.
My school is very competitive in all of its sports (football, soccer, basketball, baseball, volleyball), so it's pretty hard to get onto a team without having played since you were a kid. I tried out for football and basketball anyway, didn't make it.
I'd like to play a sport, though. I have 4 criteria:
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I have to be able to get good and compete starting at this age. Whatever sport I want to play, I want to dominate. So definitely a sport most people start older on. I know any sport is hard to be good at, but I'd like a fighting chance.
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Has to be something college recruit for, cause I gotta think of the future.
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It would be nice if I could meet new people my age playing it
- Cool factor. I'd like something kids think is cool or at least don't care about, rather than something people actively make fun of.
Any suggestions?
robatusf 5y ago
Wrestling. Few people get into it before high school, so you won't be as far behind.
Redreaperrising 5y ago
I actually wanted to do wrestling, cause a lot of people were talking about on here. But my school doesn't have it for some reason.
Any other suggestions?
beefthathasredmiddle 5y ago
You could always talk to your principal or P.E. teachers about starting a team.
Redreaperrising 5y ago
Maybe, I'll look into it.
SanPedroLover_ 5y ago
Play Rugby like a real man!! ????????
Insendi 5y ago
Martial Arts bro
Redreaperrising 5y ago
Do colleges recruit for martial arts?
Ronaldo-CR7- 5y ago
Boxing
Redreaperrising 5y ago
Nice username.
Also, can I get recruited or get a scholarship for it?
Lostitink 5y ago
Bro football is the only sport in the US where you can get a scholarship and only pic it up in high school. There are guys playing pro right now that never played before they went pro, crazy right. This is why. With American football all you need is athletic talent and to be strong and you can learn a position. Not like baseball where you need to learn a lot of new skills. Football is highly physical with the strong man winning most times. It’s an awesome game and you only have to really learn either how to tackle or how to catch at first. Rugby is also great when first learning, do to its highly physical nature. I would not recommend baseball though it is my favorite sport to play. Baseball is very intricate and has many new skills you would have to develop simultaneously, and hitting a baseball is literally the hardest thing to do in sports. But being a football QB is the hardest position in sports. Take all this with a grain of salt but I’d say play football during the fall and do track in the spring.
Redreaperrising 5y ago
I would, I really would, but I tried out and didn't make it. Our football team is one of the top 20 in the country, and cuts are brutal.
Could I play rec this year and become good enough to make it next year?
Lostitink 5y ago
I don’t see why not but you would need to be in the weight room and become a monster. Playing rec won’t be nearly as intense. Sounds like your school is way more legit than mine was. You could play club rugby. The games are really intense at any level and the skills translate almost perfectly. Plus you can actually get scholarships to play rugby for high level programs in college.
Redreaperrising 5y ago
I was interested in rugby, but my parents say it is too 'rough'. Any advice on convincing them?
Lostitink 5y ago
Just say it’s less rough than football and it’ll help you network at Ivy League schools
Redreaperrising 5y ago
That's what I did. They told me that there are other sports that are good for ivies like fencing and rowing. Fair point.
Lostitink 5y ago
I’m sure those are good. I just don’t know Jack shit about either of them. I do know I’d look at you funny if you told me you rowed or fenced. Though I supposed that’s my own predisposition because I associate those with a certain type of person. Basically I’m just being a hater. Those could be good options if you have a good coach or trainer. I think rowing would drive me insane just because it’s like an endurance sport where you work together. Fencing could be fun, but I think wrestling would be what I would gravitate to in a fighting sport because you could look at someone and know you could fuck them up in a fight without a stick. However, anything that you do choose to do make sure you give it all you got.
Redreaperrising 5y ago
True, thanks.
heman240 5y ago
not an answer to your question but how were you able to get your mile time so low?
Redreaperrising 5y ago
https://www.livestrong.com/article/522164-how-to-train-to-run-a-mile-in-seven-minutes/
Mostly just followed that routine.
heman240 5y ago
anything else or was that it?
Redreaperrising 5y ago
Pretty much just doing that with a bullheaded determination. It sounds simple, I know, but it is hella hard to push yourself to that much pain just to shave off a couple seconds.
[deleted] 5y ago
Jiu jitsu
Redreaperrising 5y ago
Do colleges recruit/give scholarships for it?
[deleted] 5y ago
Not as much as wrestling, no, but youre one step from mma and theres nothing cooler than mma.
Redreaperrising 5y ago
There are lots of stuff cooler than mma imo.
[deleted] 5y ago
what?
Redreaperrising 5y ago
Airplanes, exotic cars, plasma physics, lasers, robots, filmmaking, beer brewing, et cetera.
[deleted] 5y ago
Oh, yeah, sure, I meant sportswise though.
Redreaperrising 5y ago
Sports wise? It is a matter of personal preference, but for me, rowing, fencing, rugby, squash, soccer, basketball, lacrosse, and swimming.
[deleted] 5y ago
Not the same cool factor as mma, though.
Redreaperrising 5y ago
Each to his own. Out of curiosity, though, what do you find cool about mma? It's alright, but I don't see why it's so hyped up on here?
i0427 5y ago
How tall are you? If you are above 6'0 you can try basketball.
Redreaperrising 5y ago
I'm 5'10, supposed to be about 6'0 at the most, at least according to my doctor.
ChadFromColumbus 5y ago
Tennis for sure.
You can improve quickly and tons of girls play. This is a game you can keep playing basically for life and you only need one other player as opposed to a team. It’s super easy to meet tennis girls, there are tons of leagues and meet ups in big cities once you get older. If you get half way decent it’s even easier to meet girls.
Not that it matters, but Tennis is also by far the most lucrative pro sport for women. The only one where they come close to matching men’s paychecks. But make no mistake, the ability gap is massive. Serena would get crushed by the best 17 year old guys in any given state.
Redreaperrising 5y ago
How is it from a college recruitment standpoint?
ArbitraryArlom 5y ago
If you’re kind of a swimmer and don’t live in California, if your school has water polo then that’s totally a move. Pretty much everybody starts freshman year. Super cool and physical sport, you can brag to all your friends that you kicked dudes in the nuts underwater.
Redreaperrising 5y ago
It's actually co-ed at my school, which could be a pro or con.
MagicalMichael1 5y ago
Badminton
Redreaperrising 5y ago
Nice, thanks.
BrodinsOats 5y ago
Track, swim, water polo, or rowing could all be good options.
Redreaperrising 5y ago
True, true. Which one of those would you personally reccomend?
BrodinsOats 5y ago
Whatever appeals to you the most. Swim & water polo would probably go together btw. And if you run track they’ll want you to do cross country.
I don’t recall if swim & track share the same season. If they do you could try out for both and see which one vibes with you better.
I personally enjoy both running and swimming so I would be hard pressed to choose as well.
Redreaperrising 5y ago
Ah, okay. Swim season is fall, so I'll have to wait until next year. Track is spring, so I could probably do it this year.
BrodinsOats 5y ago
Well fuck it bro, do both. Running and swimming are both great things to be skilled at.
Redreaperrising 5y ago
Sure, thanks.
LarrySellerz 5y ago
Try soccer, its a great sport and you can get good in a few years, lacrosse is also a great sport. Something like swimming is probably kinda easy to pick up too. tennis is also kinda easy imo
Redreaperrising 5y ago
A few years? I guess, but I feel like I'd be playing catch up.
Lacrosse is a good idea, though.
LarrySellerz 5y ago
Dude you're not gonna be great at any sport in a year, that's part of the fun of sports. There's nothing wrong being JV, you're young anyways JV is normal
Redreaperrising 5y ago
Haha, JV? There are literally guys who've been playing their entire life that didn't make the freshman team.
LarrySellerz 5y ago
Depending on the sport you will never get that good, I started hockey as a freshman without skating and was terrible, but soccer is definitely a sport where newcomers could make varsity the season after they start, atleast at my school. Lacross takes some stick skills that will take a while to learn
Redreaperrising 5y ago
Ah, okay. My school is really focused on competing, so most sports are a no_go.
jakethesnake5000 5y ago
Run track. Tons of really fit girls did it when I was in high school. You have a good mile time
Googoots 5y ago
Or cross country.
Redreaperrising 5y ago
I inwood the difference between track and cross country- cross country is longer and runs through the woods and stuff- but I'm good at short and long distance, and not sure which to join.
Torvoltz 5y ago
Join both. Cross country season is in the fall, and track season is in the spring. Most of your teammates from cross country will do track in the spring as well.
Redreaperrising 5y ago
You're right, but if I'm going to do 2 seasons, I want some sort of variety. I know cross country is longer distance, but running is still running.
Redreaperrising 5y ago
Thanks mate. You're right, a lot of people do track. Obly question is, what distance? I'm best at mile with sprinting second, but sprinting is good for building the body.
jakethesnake5000 5y ago
Do the 400 or 800, (1 or 2 laps). I did the 800 and mile, I got pretty thin back when I was 16. You have plenty of time to build muscle in the off season. It’s a very social sport too, go on long runs with the bros or a bunch of girls in short shorts and those tits bouncing. Good times!
Redreaperrising 5y ago
Why 400 or 800 over sprinting or mile?
jakethesnake5000 5y ago
Sprinting is really tough, but if you are good at it try it. I did the 800 and the mile. 400 and 800 are the best races that combine distance and sprinting
Redreaperrising 5y ago
Ah, makes sense. Will coaches give me a chance to try out different things before choosing?
jakethesnake5000 5y ago
Definitely. Unless you are the top guy on the team, you can change what you do at any point of the season
Redreaperrising 5y ago
Nice, thanks.
JakarrSlamson 5y ago
Volleyball was pretty easy if youre coordinated and tall. I had never played before my junior year of high school and ended up winning mvp of the team my senior year. Everyone on the team was chill too because nobody took it seriously. Every practice we would goof off to the point that our coaches kept quitting. Whats funny though is even though we didn't care, we won most of our games. If you have a school where the team are all tryhards though dont play.
Id say something like rowing, golf, tennis, or wrestling could be cool and might be easy enough to get recruited for. Rowing is great exercise and it's nice to be out on a lake for practice. Wrestling is fun but you mentioned your school doesnt have it. You could always join a dojo on the side.
If all else fails, just join track and play rec sports. Sign up for u18 rec basketball or soccer in your neighborhood and then do track in highschool. You need a varsitt sport for your college resume and track is probably the easiest one to get.
BrodinsOats 5y ago
Wtf, where did you play volleyball? That’s one of the hardest sports for newcomers imo, out of everything else I played growing up (soccer, basketball, baseball).
Unless you’re really athletically gifted with height, a big jump and good coordination to make you a strong hitter. Then you can be subbed out for defense. Setting and passing really well is hard af.
JakarrSlamson 5y ago
I played all the way around and we won league. Most people on our team picked up the game once they got to highschool. I'm 6'3" and have a pretty good vert I think since I can dunk. Im in norcal- I think mens volleyball competition wise can differ alot based on location though. Our final game I remember I blocked some black guy who had a D1 scholarship 3 times in a row lol.
Honestly sports is gonna depend mostly on genetics so you just have to get lucky. One guy had started playing a year before me, was my height, and he never left the bench haha. The good advice would be to stick to track if you arent coordinated.
Redreaperrising 5y ago
Everything at my high school is tryhard though, lol: sports, debate, grades. The school has a rep as one of the best public schools in the country, and it tries really hard to maintain that.
Rowing does sound fun.
If I do join track, why play rec sports alongside it?
JakarrSlamson 5y ago
Rec sports keep you busy, you meet more friends outside of your high school, and you will get better at sports for when it comes time to play in college+ (as everything becomes rec after that point). They are also less committment- usually 2 practices a week and a game on weekends vs practice every day. You can also build your skills playing those sports and maybe compete for a spot in your school later on. For example, I feel like if you played soccer enough on your own and upped your already decent cardio, you could probably make a run at the school's soccer team.
The other side of the coin is that school sports are a complete waste of time if you dont have college potential. Would be better to do something like track/rowing/wrestling and then focus on academics. The most jacked guys I knew in highschool did rowing, wrestling, or football.
Redreaperrising 5y ago
Hmm, fair enough. I might not have enough time for rec sports with other clubs I'm part of, but I'll see if I have time.
I am a good runner, so it might be worth it. Rowing sounds fun, but I'll have to see if I'm good.
JakarrSlamson 5y ago
You can also look into more specialty sports like rafting, skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, rock climbing, etc. Those will be more enjoyable post high school, get you outdoors, have plenty of hot women, and seem to rely less on talent and more on fitness and practice. I remember the skii and snowboard club at my college had the most ridiculous parties.
Redreaperrising 5y ago
I rock climb for fun, but I'm not in any official group for it.
coopdawgX 5y ago
Play baseball
Redreaperrising 5y ago
Literally the most competitive sport in my school, though. There have been people I know who've been playing their whole life and didn't get in.
coopdawgX 5y ago
I’m a little biased because i have played my whole life. I played every other sport with baseball but that was the one that ended up sticking.
It takes more individual skill to play and be good at than any other sport, definitely a challenge but worth it. I think it’s more fulfilling than any other sport
Edit: what’s your build like?
Redreaperrising 5y ago
True, true. I'm considering playing baseball or soccer as a rec sport, but I want to do something I can get recruited for.