Everybody: Hey, did you see the game last night?” Me: “No”
Sound familiar?…
Throughout my 27 years, I proudly labelled myself as “not interested in sports”. While my family cheered for Liverpool, I cheered for anything covered in chocolate. While peers wore their team’s jersey, I was dressed in comfy knits and converse.
Two years ago, I went on my first hike and I didn’t die. And last year, I started running and I’m still going. I own multiple gym leggings that are not just pretty but also very functional. I own two pairs of gym shoes that actually get worn. I have “sensible” jackets for long walks AND I own season tickets for our local rugby team.
… Does this qualify me as the “sporty type”?
I think it just might!
Often, we are too quick to pigeon-hole ourselves into self-defined labels. Because those many moons ago, I decided I wasn’t sporty, it meant that growing up, that was my automatic response and reaction to anything that fell under that category.
At the start of this year, I wanted to make a little more effort to learn about this very unfamiliar world and came across 3 pretty great books that not only deal with the topic of sport but more specifically; women and sports.
Running like a girl: Don’t let the sexist title fool you.. This book is all about those motivational girl power vibes and will get you itching to get your running shoes on.
Everybody Yoga: Looks at the stereotypical idea of the “type” of people who can or should do yoga (petite, skinny girls) and completely turns it on its head.. literally. Just try and read this book and come up with an excuse not to yoga.. I dare you!
Eat Sweat Play: One of my favorite books of the past year; it looks at women’s place in sport and calls for a change in the many stereotypes surrounding it. Anna Kessel has become my new icon.
Having read these books, its opened my mind to the world of sports and how much opportunity there is for somebody like me to enter it. I may not be going to “bend it like Beckham” anytime soon but I have officially labelled myself as the “kinda into sports type”…..
A Tiny Slice Of Kate 