Sports and Me

Sharing another Toastmaster's Speech...

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Sports and Me.

I have admiration for sports legend, the likes of Tiger Woods for golf, Maria Sharapova or Roger Federer, for tennis, National Pride – Manny Pacquiao for boxing, and yes, our very own, Richard Daza, for basketball. But that is the “be all and end all” of sports for me.  Yes, you are correct.  There is no trace of athletic blood  in my vein.

Since Physical Education is always part of the curriculum in school, I cannot avoid but engaged in sports, but to no avail; I was always a mediocre. I think the old cliché – “Try and try until you succeed”  is not applicable to sports and me. I never excelled in any field and passed the subjects for my efforts and, of course, for making good in the written examinations.

For example, playing volleyball becomes an earthquake drill whenever it’s time for me to serve the ball. They have to duck and cover because the ball goes everywhere and you’ll never know if it will hit you. I also tried table tennis but always fail to have the ball touch the table. I also tried badminton, bowling, darts, swimming, basketball, billiards, kick ball, and even jet skiing,  where we ended up in the middle of the ocean for 15-20 mins. because we ran out of gas;  maybe I applied too much gas or I did not know the proper way of jetskiing.  Anyway, I always tried and tried  but never succeeded.  I think my only sport is biking and dancing… good thing that people now consider dancing as a sport…

I have accepted the fact that no matter how I try, I will never excel in sports. This is just not my thing.

Last December, the family went to Lago De Oro, home of the first Cable Wakeboard Park in the Philippines. Wakeboarding is a surface water sport which involves riding a wakeboard over the surface of a body of water. It was developed from a combination of water skiing, snow boarding and surfing techniques. The rider is usually towed behind a motorboat, typically at speed of 20-25 miles per hour, depending on the water conditions, board size, rider's weight, and rider's comfort speed. But a wakeboarder can also be towed by other means, including closed-course cables which is similar to the one installed in  Lago de Oro.

Anyway, I was excited to have this vacation with the whole family after the tragedy that hit us in October last year.  I was intended to just swim, eat, relax and have fun. Naturally, wakeboarding was not in my plan.  But we went to the area and watched the guests trying their luck in the wakeboard. It looked exciting and thrilling, so we went to the front desk and paid for 1 hour wakeboarding. I had mixed emotions – excited and nervous.  I had several thoughts running in my mind -   how strong should the pull of the cables be, how to maintain balance, how to position my legs, and arms etc. I just brushed off those thoughts and wore the helmet and vest for safety. There are several people in line so I just waited for my turn.

I see people who are gifted with in-born skills and manage to balance up to the end and there are also people,  who after a few seconds of being pulled by cables, immediately fell and created a big splash in the water;  some got catapulted, and was dragged through the waters. When it was my turn, I was given simple instructions by the cable operator – squat, extend your arms, hold the rope firmly but never ever pull it, find your balance, relax and just have fun. After the 5 minute instruction, I was ready to go… The operator then pressed the start button, and slowly, the cables are running … then just after a few seconds and just a few inches away, I lost my balance,  so I just let go of the rope and shouted at the top of my  lungs as I got submerged in water. The water was not deep, maybe just above my waist, so I just walked up to the edge and climbed out of the water. Though I was not able to get pass even the first buoy, I was so thrilled to try it again.

I lined up again, hoping that I will be more relaxed this time and will get pass the first buoy. Note that there are actually 3 buoys. When it was my turn, I was given the same set of instructions -- squat, extend arms, hold rope firmly, find balance, relax and have fun. The instructor reiterated that I should not pull the rope – I should relax and let the rope pull me… and so I did. When the operator pressed the start button, I grabbed the rope and got into the position. I was able to find balance for several seconds, but then again fell right across the first buoy. I was so happy I achieved my goal. For an hour, I was able to try wakeboarding 5 times and with pride, I tell you that for my last try, I almost reached the third buoy. I had some bruises on my foot but it did not matter because I was happy.

The next morning, though my hands and legs are still sore and I still have bruises on my feet,  I again tried my luck in wakeboarding.  I am happy to say that it was a success,  because on every try, I land pass the third buoy. I just don’t know how to turn and that’s why I get out of balance and fall on the water. Still, I was happy and proud of myself. For the first time, I felt good about a sport. It was totally not bad for a first timer.

I am going back to Lago de Oro this March, and who knows, I might be able to turn now or better yet, do some stunts. I know it’s still a far cry to what I can do now… but at least it gives me hope and maybe, just maybe, I will succeed this time and will be able to call wakeboarding as my sport.  So I encourage everyone,  try wakeboarding; believe me, you will not regret it.