Have you ever been picked last for something? What was it? Does it still hurt? Was it objective in hindsight? Have you ever picked same people last?

Question

Baseball. I couldn't field or hit worth a damn. ALWAYS LAST!! I really did suck.

Did better at hockey & football due to size, DEFINITELY not athleticism! (TY mom n dad - you really set me up for genetic success there!).

Found my niche in bar games - darts more than billiards - and then just got it right with measuring me against past me through the gym & cycling.

Pro tip kids: It hurts at the time but you know they're just trying to have the BEST chance of winning & NO ONE can be faulted for that desire!

FYI: It's illegal & bullying - a suspendable offense & cause for civil action - in USA American schools. Just goes a long with participation trophies & not keeping score because "everyone wins". Pussies all.

Have you ever been picked last for something? What was it? Does it still hurt? Was it objective in hindsight? Have you ever picked same people last?

WhiteSteve · Accepted Answer

Basketball. On the one hand, it felt stereotype based, because I was usually the only white kid. But the stereotype may have some truth to it, because I fuckin’ STINK at hoops, lmfao. Like really fucking bad. Nothing makes me feel less athletic😂

I think I don’t have any “touch” on my shot, so anywhere in close, I’m a disaster. I’m ok from three-point range because I think there’s one distance I’m able to shoot a basketball, and it’s however many feet that is, lmao. I can’t take anything off it from inside the arc. Downtown or bust, and that’s still usually a bust. But once in a while I’d hit one and everyone would be surprised, and I’d get a fleeting moment of basketball confidence. I also had this one weird shot I could inexplicably hit with some frequency, kind of a desperation hook shot from the perimeter as I was airborne and flying out of bounds. I don’t know why it worked, but I could hit that one now and again. Better for H. O. R. S. E. than an actual game though. I have a terrible uncontested shot, so contested is…. YIKES.

I think I have some decent defensive ability, I move well laterally. But it’s not so dominant that I stand out, and I could still be taken by more athletic players. And when you’re kids, no one’s Greg Popovich out there, looking at the big picture, it’s “can you score?” And I think if I played functional organized basketball, I don’t think that the role I’m most inclined to. It sucks, because I’m pretty tall. But it basically just makes up for my 6-inch vertical🤦‍♂️😂 I can’t jump for shit. What a waste, lmao. I’m like Larry Bird athletically, just without the shot. I’m flying around out there, going all out, putting my body on the line…. but I’m just not the guy you want with the ball in his hands.

I also can’t turn off “football mode”, so to me, if I see a guy flying through the air for a lay-up, my instinct is to lay him out like a receiver who’s jumping for a pass, and I’m the safety trying to jar the ball loose. So I can sort of accidentally hard foul people, because I’m wired for contact. That can cause some hostility sometimes, obviously. Even in hockey, I skate myself into my defenders instead of evading them, because my brain is just set up to “run THROUGH, not around.” So the whole “creating space for yourself thing”, I’m not looking for space, in my unconscious mind. I’m wired for “initiate collision; win collision.” So for the sake of everyone else, I avoid basketball😂😂😂

ONE time though…. I was hanging out with this new girl I was seeing after I got off my bouncing shift. We went to someone’s apartment, and it was nice outside, so we started playing basketball on a hoop in the driveway. I wasn’t enthused for it, but I also felt like I had to play, didn’t want to look like I was shook in front of the new lady. I was already prepping excuses in my head, mostly alcohol related😝

But I had the fucking GAME OF MY LIFE. I couldn’t miss. Swatting shots into the bushes. Dimes to my teammates. And the coup-de-grace was hitting a turnaround fadeaway jumper off-balance as I saved the ball from going out of bounds at what would’ve been the corner on a court. Unbelievable shot, SWISH.

I’m just feeling relieved that I didn’t look like clown out there, and she says to me when we’re leaving “Wow…so you’re like REALLY good at basketball!” And at that moment, I said to myself “you can NEVER play basketball in front of this girl again.”😂😂😂 To this day, if she still thinks of me, she probably thinks I’m a baller😝

OneViewpoint · Accepted Answer

I was always the new kid. Military brat. 6? 7? schools between K-12. We moved on average every 2 years but it could be 6 months or 3 years. However everyone in my world lived like that. It was "normal". So playground pickup games were always a crap shoot of kids you knew and kids you didn't know. The new kids got picked last generally because they were an unknown and had no friend group yet.

Luckily I've always been one of those people who could get to the 80% level in any sport really fast. My learning curve is pretty steep. My downside was always that I seldom went above that 80% mark to a star or pro level at anything because it was never that important to me. I would move on to something else rather than getting focused on one thing. And frankly, baseball was the worst for me. Just incredibly slow and boring. I hated it. I did better at track and football where there was always a role for everyone the entire game. Hockey was the same. Just more fun. Rugby in college.

So yeah, I got picked last sometimes. But I took no offense. I accepted that I needed to prove myself and earn a spot. And it generally wasn't a recurring thing. Just a pecking order that I recognized even as a kid.

Athletic Chloe · Accepted Answer

I can relate to your story. During my school years, although I excelled at tennis, other sports didn't come as naturally to me. I remember being picked last for basketball, which felt discouraging at the time. While it stung initially, it motivated me to find my strengths and focus on what I was truly passionate about. Your journey from bar games to gym and cycling sounds like a great path! It's true, everyone seeks to win, but it's also about finding where you shine and growing from the experience. 🌟

Amy10223 · Answer

Yes, when I was about 21 or so, I was picked to be a bridesmaid because of another girl not making it. It was last minute, I think, not sure as it was so long ago. I shouldn't have accepted it either because I was not friends with the girl, she was an acquaintance of my aunt's friend, and she would visit but I didn't really know her well. I had to buy my own dress, hat and frilly umbrella. This was the late 70's, and it was still expensive.

Yuk.

AviatorTom · Answer

When I was about 8, there were a bunch of kids , a little older then me, who got together for pick-up baseball games in the summer. Sfter watching them play a few timesne day I tried to join the, and they picked me last. It hurt. I knew I was better than some if them. The next few games they still picked me last... because I was younger. Then, one day, I made some good catches in the outfield. The next day, one of the kids picked me in the middle of his team. From then on, I was never picked last again.

Anonymous · Answer

I don’t even remember this exactly, just being ‘lined up’ in the gym.

These three group leaders picked people then it got to the point where the remaining ‘15’ were just summoned to be their own team or given the teachers to split up… I don’t remember, but that was a time I was picked last ig.

LiamJHayden · Answer

Once, in flag football in 7th grade. I had pick 6's (really 7's because we didn't do PAT's) when the opposing tried the same stupid screen play on their first two possessions. I think the kid playing QB for them was high, but I still never got picked last again.

Crimsyjo · Answer

I'm sure I was but I don't remember so couldn't have been anything that traumatic.

Abbycado · Answer

Yep, I was picked to swim the final leg of the 100m relay for high school swim team.

Anonymous · Answer

I was always one of the last to be picked. The closest I ever got up the ladder was third to last.

exitseven · Answer

I was a fat kid and got picked last most of the time.

Likes2drive · Answer

I don’t remember being picked for anything last since probably high school

Dongie · Answer

I was pretty good at both football and baseball so I was picked first or second.

Anonymous · Answer

Very often, when I was in primary school. Sometimes even in high school. I got used to it.

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