Strategy

Last week's post was too deep. Back to shallowness. :-D

I got to thinking about how I play sports. Those of you who know me best understand that I am a fierce competitor out on the playing field. And you also know that I am not the best at IM sports. :-D But I play hard. And I play according to strategy.

Take the following sports (IM and non-IM) for example.

• Flag football. Defend the QB. That's my only job ever, simply because no QB ever trusts me enough to catch his/her throws. There was only one QB who had the guts to do it (and I scored a touchdown on it!), but it's too much of a risk to have me get open and catch. I'm much more effective beating up/wearing down people who are coming at the QB. And then when on defense, my job back in middle school was to blitz; I didn't really have a constant position when I did IM's here.
• Basketball. Shooting is out of the question. My only job: FOUL. Foul like mad but foul strategically. I'm like J. Manuel (UNC basketball player): get like no points per game, but foul out every time. I guess it works - they're NCAA champions!
• Volleyball. Serve underhanded and play back row. Yes, I took a volleyball gym class, but even that couldn't teach me how to serve overhanded properly. I can't get the timing/power right. And spiking? Forget it. I can jump, but I can't hit or block to save my life.
• Floor hockey. I usually play defense, but I've been told by a couple of outside observers that I should really do more on offense. I do have decent passes, but I'm usually not in the right place at the right time for scoring. Anyhow, stick with the ball like it's your best buddy, and find ways to run it past your opponent.
• Softball. A smart coach will put me in right field (this has been true since 7th grade). Nothing ever happens there. :-D I can do second base too. Basically, you do not want to put me in a high pressure spot (i.e., first base, center field) because I do not perform well when there are expectations. And when hitting... I always hit down the third base line - I can usually outrun the third base throw. Once I get on base, it's a cakewalk. ;-) McKenna used to say this about my hitting game: "She always walks up there and acts like she's swinging at it with all her might, but then it's this little bunt that I have to chase down and she's on base already." What McKenna didn't know was that I was swinging at it with all my might and the bunt was the end result. Oh well. I think the reason for that is that I am so accustomed to hitting stationary objects (i.e., golf) that when I hit a moving one, I fail to follow through because I am still dealing with the shock of having hit an object with momentum.
• Golf. Ahh, now HERE is the sport. :-D Look relaxed, but stay focused on your game - don't let the games of opponents change how you play. Warm up on the putting green beforehand - short chip and putting drills. My pace: two practice swings before each shot (one practice swing when it's later in the round). I used to not take practice swings until Palmer was like, "I notice that you don't take practice swings. Maybe you need to slow down." Oh, and if playing Dow High (our cross town rival), beat the living bejeebers out of them and then show Uncle Frank (the Dow High coach) your score at the same time you show Palmer. For some reason, that strategy worked - I always shot my best rounds when playing against Dow. :-)

So there you have it. Now that you have my secrets, some of this may change, haha. But most of you know I play like this already. :-D Mess with me if you dare! ROAR! >:-o