my dad was a high school sports hero, so he had some expectations that i had no intention of ever living up to. i never learned to skate, but he had his way in forcing me into playing football for a couple of years. grades 8-9.

i made the football team in grade 9. i didn't even try, really - but i did show up to one of the tryouts kind of pissed off about something, and in need of winning a race. i was legitimately fit, if not muscular - not tall, but thin and in good cardio-vascular health. so, i could beat most of the jocks at 100m, 200m, 500m - really any distance.

they pencilled me in as a defensive back. the job was to be as fast as the receivers, and that was a job i could do.

but, i had more interceptions than tackles.

that was kind of a problem, in the end.

i just didn't have the aggression to hit people, and wasn't interested in developing it.

but, if i was more angry and less apathetic, i might have been a decent safety.

i didn't bother trying out in grade 10.