Your Sport passions......

Being such a mixed community here on the forums I'm sure we have people who are really active - or follow and involved in their kids sports - or attend their favoured sport barracking them on - armchair critics ? sure we are all experts post away.

My passion is the Real Football - coming from Nth Italian parents the round ball was thrown in my cot then family picnics ended up kicking the ball around, those days you wouldn't have dreamed of any other shape of ball.
Pop registered me into our local club at 5yrs and to this day I just can't get enough of it.
Fortunate enough to have had some skill and having played Div1 since my teens in Championship winning teams then onto Reps/Prem League have had a great time and made life long friends importantly much like our car community.
Marriage came along at 30yrs and as you do your whole life gets changed due to kids/house/renos and I reluctantly retired for 10yrs !!
At 40 after getting my balls back I told the boss thats it I'm going back to play - many of my fellow football mates had kept playing but now in the vet stage of O35/Div1 - whooohooo back to having a great time having fun on the pitch, win some lose some and importantly enjoying the beer at the end and the storeys grow taller by the minute going over phase's of the game LOL....during this time I suffered a ruptured achilles tendon, if you haven't exprienced this you don't wish to trust me, went under the knife within a week - rehab missing the entire season BUT back on the park the following season, Div1 has many excellent players (even ex socceroos in my comp) and agressive at the same time especially at park football where the reffing isn't as scrutinised as the pro leagues so injuries are a given, next head clash split my bald head open as did he, 8stiches, next last game before playoffs slide tackle dislocate shoulder held off op to date. Each call to my wife from the emergency room is not like having a beer after the game, don't know why she keeps telling me to retire !
At 48 I had to step down from Div1 playing against these whipper snapper 35+ up starts LOL and demoted myself to play with a club locally where we moved to after 37yrs with my previous club !
Div7 - dragged a couple of mates over to bolster the team won the comp LOL - went to Div5 last season bit out of the depth for some of the players just missed out on play offs.
So now at 52 I am stepping down again to O45Div1 Geriatric league at its finest - far out sounds old fhuck I am getting foolish and old my wife can't wait for the day I hang up the boots !

Part of the reason getting back into the game was influencing my 1st son now 20 - naturally it did and now he's a pretty fair player and just love going to his games, have coached his squads through teen years and really enjoy the guys having a go and watching the training drills pay off during games.
He's not as passionate as I was but just thankful it keeps him active and so far not many injuries.
My No2 at 12 is a chip off the ol block, lives and breaths it, gets up for 4am live games be it EPL/LaLiga/CL etcetc, I have always kicked with the boys and due to No2 being far more passionate have spent much time with him on the ball and started playing Div1 last season with additional coaching added, good luck to the little fella anything can happen.

My sport has always been shooting although I did compete in MotoX and flat track back in the day. I have been a bit slack in the last few years but getting back into it now.

Hey can relate to the MX/SX F6 - you got to get back into it, this is the thing you tend to get trapped into work or wife/families etc that slowly pushs away your passions which is understandable but the passions especially sport is great for the mind/body especially as you get older its gets harder to get back on the wheel.
My wife I can understand gets upset over the years for I have had many passions, one above was yours dirt bikes.
My brother and I got CR125's back in the day of the first 2strokes, gawd I love that smell, we went riding plenty but he took it on far more and became a top private (not pro) rider - he went onto managing Team Honda for some 10-12yrs and his prodigy was Glen Bell if anyone knows of his riding career, Oz MX/SX Champion many times over - still a good mate of ours. Bro is in MA (Motorcycling Australia) and still very close ties with Honda to this day which we leverage getting to PI motogp/Supercross's etcetc. He's going on a 2wk ride for his 50th from Cairns to the centre with about 8 dirt bike industry friends incl Bell would be a hoot !
CRF400's are the choice today mad machines those 4stokers who would have ever thought this back in our younger days !!
Yer get back on the bike great fun especially for the fitness.
Shooting eh - being a city slicker never had the pleasure though some down here use them for the wrong game !

Well my main sport/passion is Basketball, ive been involved since i was 10, and of coarse GYM, but I've participated in a hell of allot of other sports competitively over the years including Aussie Rules, Cricket, Bodybuilding, Karate, Boxing, Motorcross and Wakeboarding.

Most of those i no longer do, but Basketball and Gym still are my main passions!

Strength training/power lifting is my mine focus, I train by myself as I like it that way (I'm a loner) but I have a few mates that I can thank for alot of my progress and sucess, one of which (mad man Jason Coulson) has won numourous tittles in the National Australian Drug Free Power Lifting Championship's and he himself was trained by a well respected power lifter in the bussiness (John Clow), I really enjoy lifting weight's and have gained so much from it, it is a pleasure time for me when I lock myself in my room and train.

My other sport is BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitzu), a good mate of mine is a master in this feild and has been all over the world competing, in fact he was coached and trained by the founder's of the UFC, he is a great bloke and one of the nicest people you will ever meet, here is a little article about his sucessfull carear.

http://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/...px?storypage=1

Great thread Maurie. Awesome read. My passion in sport has always been racing and anything Australia competes in Lately i have concentrated on ticking boxes of wish list events , the latest being the boxing day test match. Bathurst this year and perhaps heading to texas next year an ambition. Daytona, a monarco gp, lords test match, world cup soccer final, all events on my bucket list.

That was a good read, thanks for sharing, Maurie. Great to see your young bloke doing so well at the world game. For me it's more satisfying to watch than it is to play.

My career in soccer started at 8. Whilst playing in the trials in year 3 I kicked the ball from halfway - a half-volley - and scored! That instantly secured me a spot in the team. But seeing that it was a fluke of a kick and that I didn't do too well in my first game my career also ended right then and there.

League, on the hand, I was pretty good at, but unfortunately I wasn't interested in anything more than park football, where breakages, fractures, concussions, biffs, spear tackles, head-highs and elbows were the order of the day. I called it quits at about 17. Made a comeback appearance for a one-off, and epic, "State of Origin" - Wogs Vs Aussies.

These days it's mainly getting the kids in the rhythm of being more active at a much younger age than where I started, and that helps me keep fit, too. I let them watch me work out, they now want to do the same. The 1.5 year old only knows squats and push ups (he cheats with the push-ups), the 3.5 year old wants abs, I say "one will do, like daddy".

Other than it's mostly swimming but also wrestling and a little boxing.

Norm Wakeboarding is one thing I wished I did - few GYM addicts I see, I'm a wimp now used to do it regular in my late teens and all my 20's loved that pumped feeling.
Mentioning GYM I used to visit Paul Grahams City GYM if any of you recall or know his name, I suppose one of the pioneers Aussie body builders early 70's, Arnie used his gym back in the days.
Really helped with my football feeling solid shoulders and chest but also another passion I had from 12ish till 30 - surfing !
Parents took us to the beach alot up here - northern beachs.
My cousin got right into it so this influenced me to the point of spending any free time in the surf, travelled the east coast down to Bells to Sunshine coast, ended up living in Narrabeen then down to Queenscliff (north end of Manly) did Hawaii and Bali for 3mths, some epic experiences and an amazing sport to master. One passion I have no time for anymore.
Galaxy mentioning Brazilians - came to meet many here over the years, my wife is Portugese and one of her sisters got involved with one, Capuera I think that how you spell it, what a flexible excercise/fight method in a way if you know of it.
Youssef one hit wonder LOL hey good record though - I was similar with League, tried it at school 1 or 2 games forget it worked out I already had a ugly head didn't need it to get any worse ! thought wog ball for me haha

Cars/races has been a large one since 10ish as well I suppose - the ol man worked in the Parts Industry and some of the brands sponsered speedway and sports sedans etc hence ended up getting blooded in at Amaroo Park and Oran Park, thats where my love affair started with the oval - Moff and the Coke Mustang. Followed him right through to the RX7. Luckily have met him a number of times over the years due to me being in the Parts game, I feel very much for the man having been let down by Ford and left behind and to this day as he is used by FPV its sad very sad imo but thats another storey.

Next I never thought I'd get into it but again due to work I started playing golf to do my business visiting clients around the country from my mid 30's.
Hit it hard and practised and got to a respectable 14HC but I let it go until recently back into it before the office as many Fridays as I can, hardest sport I can imagine imo but when you hit them sweet for a few holes its like wow buzz of a feeling.

Got to thank my wife of 21yrs LOL - others wouldn't have put up with so many interests as well as bringing up 3kids reno/s the house etcetc you only live once and Ian as you mention the Bucket List and you have some goodies I have on the agenda we better talk hehe lots more to do before I end up 6' under !

there's not many sports i don't like watching and i'll have a crack at playing them too but only down the park with family/friends. that involves cricket, kicking the footy, bit of tennis etc. thats it for me. nothing serious like most of you guys. you make me tired just reading it:D