10 on the 10th: August 2022-Good Sports!

10 on the 10th is a monthly series hosted by Marsha of Marsha in the Middle, Leslie of Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After, and Gail of Is This Mutton? They present us with 10 questions about a common theme and give their answers in an effort to share more information about themselves. Anyone is invited to join and answer the questions yourselves. It is a really fun way to share interesting information about ourselves that we may not have otherwise thought to share. And it is a great way to start new conversations and make meaningful connections with new people.

I usually don’t even look at the 10 questions until the 10th of the month when I sit down to write my answers so I found the sports theme for August to be a happy coincidence since I just shared about our trip to Olympic Stadium in Lake Placid, New York.

Since this post is all about sports, I dug up some ancient photos of myself from my swimming days, including a few where you can see my bald shaven head. Yes, you read that right. Your eyes are not deceiving you. I shaved my head three times during my competitive swimming career…the first time was my sophomore year of high school when I shaved my head for state championships. I remember getting really irritated that all the boys shaved their heads but it wasn’t acceptable for the girls to for some reason. Well, I broke right through that barrier and shaved it all off leaving just a thin drape of bangs in the front…because I’m a weirdo.

My reputation followed me to college and I shaved it again my freshmen year for our league championships. That spring, my father was diagnosed with lung cancer and he asked me to shave his head when his hair began falling out during his chemotherapy treatments. As an act of solidarity and support and since my hair was only about two inches long at that point, I shaved my head for a third time with my father. I have a photograph of my father and me with our bald heads hidden under baseball caps and I can’t seem to find it. It’s my favorite photograph of us so I hope it turns up soon!

By the way, that is me swimming in the cover photo sometime during college.

Anyway, let’s get to these questions!

1. Were you good at sports in school?

I was really good at sports during my school days. In fact, sports defined most of my existence from the age of 4 until I was 21 and retired my goggles and swim cap for good.

I tried various sports during elementary school from cheerleading to basketball and I always was one of the top two girls in the Presidential Fitness tests. My friend Shona and I always seemed to go back and forth between first and second place in elementary school. We were both really shy and socially awkward and have shared a lifelong mutual respect and admiration for each other. She still rocks and is way more athletic than I am as we approach our half century birthdays. She might disagree but I see her on social media being cool and fabulous as ever!

I discovered swimming when I was just 4 years old and wanted to do what my big sisters were doing. So I joined the summer swim team at our local community pool after I doggy paddled for 25 yards to prove that I was capable. Honestly, I have a million memories that I can share but that would make this post way too long. There are so many funny recollections about my first swim coach, Mrs. Brain, who I swore was about 80 years old when I was 4. As it turns out, she is only about 80 years old now which means she was younger than I am now when I thought she was 80! I also had a coach for many years who was appropriately named Joe Fish. We turned a game of “Go Fish!” into “Joe Fish!” and we would play it during our down time at summer swim meets. And, of course, there is Coach Reik, one of the most important men in my life to this day. I met up with him in February for dinner and drinks for a little catching up!

See how long this is getting already and I’m only on the first question!

Anyway, I fell in love with swimming at 4 years old. I began competing year round at 8. I was competing and ranking on the national level by 12. At 14, I had my right shoulder pretty much reconstructed due to swimming injuries but went on to win my district meet that same year as a high school freshmen. Then I defended my district title in my sophomore and junior years. I got second place my senior year to an amazingly talented freshman, Casey, who I taught how to swim! She qualified for Olympic trials when she was only 13 years old. I finished in the top 12 in my state championships every year of high school. I have a bunch of district medals and two bronze Pennsylvania state medals.

My high school career led to me being heavily recruited to colleges including West Point, the Naval Academy, Johns Hopkins, and Princeton. I ultimately chose Lehigh University because I was just a little scared to venture too far from home and they offered me a full scholarship to swim for them. Lehigh was just 4 miles from my house which gave me the luxury of never having to use a laundromat during college! I broke my college record in my freshman year which stood for 17 years before being broken again. I also won various league and conference titles during my college career. My father became ill during my freshman year and died during my junior year. I was so grateful that I stayed close to home, but my swimming career peaked during my freshmen year of college and completely fizzled out after my father passed away. I retired after my junior year due to injury and burnout.

So yes indeed, I was good at my sport in school! Here are some photos…

2. What are your three favorite sports to watch on television?

I love watching swimming, of course! And gymnastics and figure skating. Although I get the very best feelings of nostalgia when college football is playing. I don’t really watch it because I don’t really get it, but I love the sound of it in the background.

3. Do you regularly watch any live sports?

I do not but my husband never misses a Penn State Football game so college football is regularly on in my house but not necessarily with me watching it.

4. Does the Olympic medal ceremony make you emotional when your country wins a gold?

Yes, absolutely. When any athlete is performing at the Olympic level and we get to see them making their dreams and goals happen, I get emotional…regardless of the country or the medal won.

5. What sport or fitness activities do you enjoy now? 

I enjoy my daily yin yoga practice and when I get motivated enough I also enjoy HIIT workouts that are geared toward women in middle age…easy on the bones and joints!

6. Did you ever have a sporting hero who was your pinup?

I never had sports related pinups at all but I was completely obsessed with Johnny Weissmuller for a long while. He was an American swimmer who set various world records and won 5 Olympic medals in the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympic Games. After his retirement from swimming, he played Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan in 12 feature films from 1932-1948. In 1930, he published his autobiography, Swimming the American Crawl. I had a first edition copy of this book when I was teenager but it got lost over the years.

I also idolized American Olympic swimmer Anita Nall who was a breaststroker like me. She was just 16 years old when she captured three medals in the 1992 Summer Olympic Games. I was 18 at the time but I was mesmerized and inspired by the talent of this young girl.

7. What’s the most memorable sporting occasion you can remember?

When Julie Moss crawled across the finish line in the 1982 Ironman Triathlon, I was only 8 years old but I was already very goal oriented in my sport. So this moment of watching this young woman struggle to the finish as her body was completely shutting down on her was so inspirational to me and remained a significant event that kept me motivated to push through all the things!

8. Is anyone in your family outstanding at sports? 

Yeah, that would be me. As far as I am tracking, I am the only one. I have been told that my father was a gifted football player but he broke his elbow during his sophomore year in high school and it was never tended to properly. This ended his football career which also ended his schooling career. Without football, he stopped going to school, earned his GED, and joined the Army instead.

9. Name three sports you try to avoid on TV.

I really don’t like professional football or professional basketball. I much prefer amateur sports. And golf isn’t really my jam either.

10. Who’s the sports personality you admire most in 2022?

That would be American swimmer Katie Ledecky. At 25 years old, she is the most decorated female swimmer in history and is widely regarded as one of the greatest Olympians and the greatest female swimmer of all time. In addition to her extraordinary success, she is humble and kind in a way that most people struggle to maintain when they reach success at her level.

Now it’s your turn to share! Tell me about your relationship with sports. And if you write a post, be sure to link it with Marsha, Leslie, and Gail!

Keeping it on the edge, 

Shelbee

Joining these Fabulous Link Parties.