Your Greatest Athletic Achievements (Non-Golf)

[jamo]

I'm pretty good at slow pitch softball. I play shortstop on my team and led the league in triples last year (mostly because I don't have the speed to turn them into home runs).

I also used to be pretty good at ping pong and finished runner-up in a tournament. The guy who beat me was wearing ping pong gloves and shoes and brought his own racquet, so I consider that a moral victory. It's not something I'm naturally good at though, so any ability I have at ping pong slips away really quickly when I don't play. 

I also play center and defensive line in flag football (I'm also the captain). Last year was our team's first season in the league and we almost made it to the finals. Lost in the semis to a team whose QB started in college and I managed to sack him a few times in the game. 

None of those are really accomplishments though. Like @Golfingdad I can pick up just about any sport and be okay at it (shoot a basketball, throw a spiral, hit a topspin forehand, etc.) but I'm not amazing at any of them.

[Golfingdad]

43 minutes ago, jamo said:

I'm pretty good at slow pitch softball. I play shortstop on my team and led the league in triples last year (mostly because I don't have the speed to turn them into home runs).

I also used to be pretty good at ping pong and finished runner-up in a tournament. The guy who beat me was wearing ping pong gloves and shoes and brought his own racquet, so I consider that a moral victory. It's not something I'm naturally good at though, so any ability I have at ping pong slips away really quickly when I don't play. 

I also play center and defensive line in flag football (I'm also the captain). Last year was our team's first season in the league and we almost made it to the finals. Lost in the semis to a team whose QB started in college and I managed to sack him a few times in the game. 

None of those are really accomplishments though. Like @Golfingdad I can pick up just about any sport and be okay at it (shoot a basketball, throw a spiral, hit a topspin forehand, etc.) but I'm not amazing at any of them.

Oh you reminded me - I’m pretty darn good at ping pong these days as well (thanks to playing 3-4 days a week at work at lunchtime). I have my own paddle even.  ;)

[Shot 1]

Like many of us I played multiple sports in school and after. 

High school:

I received a Div 1 football scholarship 

Played outfield on State champion baseball team

Wrestled 174 lb. class and finished 3rd in state sophomore yr. 

After college I ran around with a car racing crowd and was in Sports illustrated, Feb. 1974, working the pits at the 24 hrs of Daytona. I met Carroll Shelby at Road Atlanta and Richard Petty at Talladega speedway one morning.

As of late, I was on tv in a few team photographs in "The Color Orange", which is a story of Condredge Holloway, 1st colored QB in Div 1 at Tenn.. He and I were teammates during high school.

Play golf often and carry a single digit handicap.

Started playing Pickleball this Jan. and plan to play in some local tournaments.  This is a GREAT sport for us ole farts and young-uns too.

Edited April 2, 2018 by Shot 1

[Patch]

All the usual stuff in Jr high. I still have a school record in the 50 yard dash. 

Highscool I was a 4 year, 3 sport lettermen in football, basketball, and baseball. Would have lettered in track too, but my baseball coach wouldn't let me do the two sport thing. 

Earned a college scholorship to play baseball. Did really well until a snow skiing accident sidelined that part of my life. I took up golf after that. 

Played alot of slow pitch softball off and on. Taught my daughters to play fast pitch. 

My biggest claim to fame however was winning two bass boats in bass fishing tournaments. Sold one to help  pay for my soon to be wife's college.  The second one basically rotted in my garage due being consumed by golf. 

[rehmwa]

Not much there.

1 - skydiving - medaled in the US Nationals (4way intermediate division)  missed silver by only 1 point

2 - karate - handful of trophies

3 - bicycling - a few century rides

[CaddyCarl]

Back in the 90's, when I was still a police officer, I wrestled SAMBO with a club from Millersville University. I had the opportunity to compete in the 1999 World Police & Fire Games,  the SAMBO comp was held in Kaunus, Lithuania. I was the lone American. Boy, what an experience! The fellow competitors were virtually all central and eastern europeans, and couldn't have been more welcoming. I wrestled guys from Lithuania, Russia, and Tajikistan, and came in 4th in my weight class, at 193lbs! My first and only international competition. 

[Edsland]

3-300 games, qualified to bowl some PBA tournaments in the 70's 

[nevets88]

I could run a 19 minute 5K. Not anymore now.

[Slim_Pivot]

I mountain biked the C&O canal in 3 days (200 miles) on 2 different occasions. Biggest feat came the second time.

It was late June and it decided to be 45 degrees and poured down rain. All we had were shorts and a t shirt on...had to make it 70 miles to the pick up point. We pushed ourselves to the limit that day. Everyone made it.

[colin007]

1 hour ago, nevets88 said:

I could run a 19 minute 5K. Not anymore now.

 

On 2/27/2018 at 11:20 AM, nevets88 said:

I am not athletic at all. I got down to a sub 19 5K. That's all I got.

Just wondering, how fast could you run a 5k back in the day?

[nevets88]

34 minutes ago, colin007 said:

 

Just wondering, how fast could you run a 5k back in the day?

It's a guestimate and a long time ago. While the official time here is 22:25, I started behind a big pack and could not build up speed until the pack broke up, so guessing I lost a minute, a minute and a half. I've run two laps of Central Park Reservoir in 20 and change, which I've never been able to get a gauge of exactly how long that is (3.25 miles, somewhere around there), so have always guessed it's somewhere around 19, maybe less.

[billchao]

1 hour ago, nevets88 said:

It's a guestimate and a long time ago. While the official time here is 22:25, I started behind a big pack and could not build up speed until the pack broke up, so guessing I lost a minute, a minute and a half. I've run two laps of Central Park Reservoir in 20 and change, which I've never been able to get a gauge of exactly how long that is (3.25 miles, somewhere around there), so have always guessed it's somewhere around 19, maybe less.

Whoosh.

Pretty sure @colin007 was just poking fun at you for posting the same thing twice in the same thread 😀

[nevets88]

17 minutes ago, billchao said:

Whoosh.

Pretty sure @colin007 was just poking fun at you for posting the same thing twice in the same thread 😀

Oy vey, I've said it before, I don't have a good sarcasm detector. 

[Eric C]

I'm not the most athletic, but did play SS on my high school baseball team - I was not very good.  More recently I spent a bunch of years focused on skydiving before taking up golf for the second time, this was more about the people than competition for me though.

My one "sporting" achievement is playing Foosball at the professional level in the early 2000's.  I spent quite a bit of time traveling (and drinking) to these tournaments, and won a bit of money.  I played in a national tournament twice, making the quarterfinals once in two-man, and won two state tournaments playing singles - Kentucky and Texas.

[colin007]

2 hours ago, billchao said:

Whoosh.

Pretty sure @colin007 was just poking fun at you for posting the same thing twice in the same thread 😀

Yeah, this. I should've put a smiley face....

For me, it would be dunking. I used to love put backs, I had one reverse two handed put back that was pretty much AWESOME.

[hoselpalooza]

once caught a building access card (on the sidewalk, while holding the girlfriend's hand) flung down to us from a 3rd story balcony without breaking stride. to be fair, it took a pretty accurate flick to get there, so maybe i should only get 2/3 credit for this. nevertheless, girlfriend was impressed.

separately, i hit my head on the backboard during a basketball game in 8th grade. thank god for padding.

[boogielicious]

When I was a freshman in high school, I had to get glasses. The very day I got them I had my candlepin bowling league. I got five strikes in a row and won the league high single. 

[Casualgolfer]

Long time baseball player. Won AAU national championship, won just about every high school award at the time, D1 all American in college, first team all conference, and was elected for the college home run derby although I didn't get enough votes... And I can smash a golf ball lol