Business Sports

I encourage my children to participate in sports whenever the opportunity arises.  I don’t have them in hockey lessons because I think they will someday be in the NHL or because I am hoping for a college scholarship.  I have them do it because I want them to be a little more athletic than I am.  If someone wants to start a pick-up game of some sport, I would like them to be able to join in without all kind of fear of not knowing the rules or not having any athleticism.

They need all the help they can get, because they come from a long line of brains over brawn.  You will be shocked to know, that I am not very athletic.  If they are lucky, they will get their father’s athletic build, but even at 6’3” the height of his athletic endeavors was 7^th grade football and adult beer league hockey.

In general, I know that I will very seldom win any sort of game or sport, but many of them I can have fun and participate in.  It has taken me a lifetime to acquire these skills, but if someone asks me to tag along on the following activities, I am in.

• Volleyball
• Badminton
• Ping pong
• Bowling
• Frisbee
• Pool

I was thinking of these the other day because most of these these are the types of activities I have experienced as part of team building activities at the office.  I will never win at one of these activities, but I can at least have fun, hold my own, and participate.  Unfortunately, it is currently golf season.  No one has asked me to golf, but there are some groups of coworkers that have gone out golfing together.  I think that is a great way to bond and network.  Those sorts of relationships are how you get to be a big wig.  But, alas, that will never happen for me. 

I think if I ever went golfing with big wigs I would get demoted.  I can’t even hit the ball off the tee.  How many times would they let me try before they got tired of waiting for me?  I would have to volunteer to drive the cart, and then they would double hate me because driving the cart is the best part.

I was telling this to one of the fellas, and he suggested that not knowing is ok, because that allows the big wig to give you golfing tips and feel like a really good golfer.  I don’t think that is the way it works for women.  Every movie or tv show I have seen with women learning to golf involves a man coming over and putting his arms around her to help her with her grip.  I told this to the fella and he assured me that is not how it works when men go golfing together.  Sure, it isn’t.  I don’t blame them.  That is a HILARIOUS move.  In fact, if I ever play pool with anyone, I can’t help but cuddle up behind everyone and try to help them with their shot. 

In conclusion, a career tip for me is to not try to team build at work by either playing golf or playing pool.  Each of these would lead to inappropriate cuddling.  Therefore, I will stay with my amazing skills at volleyball and ping pong.  Maybe someday I will even join the ping pong league at the office.  There is very little cuddling in ping pong.