Should I do what gets me far?

Question

I am a sophmore in Highschool I play football and wrestle. I am good at both but there are 2 problems here. 1) I am on the urge of losing my spot because of height...2) Im not feeling happy playing football anymore.. Its somewhat a bother to go out on the field but itll get me into college if i can get height and work hard but it wont be something that I love.. If i quit id look like a pussy and my coaches would be dissapointed my families friend would be dissapointed.. I feel as if id be looked down upon. I also dont get the greatest day but i love wrestling. Let you also know I go to one of the top football wrestling programs in the state of IL. I just need advice from someone other then friends and family I cant talk to them Thank you for all ur help

I am 5'7 190 pds I play defensive tackle
I wrestle 189 For wrestling on Sophmore And JV

Answer 1

Peer Pressure is tough to deal with especially when it comes to family and sports. Both of which can be very intense to deal with.

The best advice I can offer would be to follow your heart. It sounds like you already have made up your mind but you just cannot approach everyone and make the decision final, which can be the hardest part of the process.

You are a sophmore so still pretty young and learning and reguardless of what people say, you do have your whole life ahead.

My advice would be to stick it out a little longer to make sure that the decision you make would not be one in haste and quick thinking. If you quit now and feel as though it is a mistake it could haunt you for a long time, however if you stick it out and find out you could hand it or learn to enjoy it then it will be worth it ... only time will tell.

Stand by what ever decision you make, aside from that just remeber to have fun and be a kid.

Answer 2

I say if you feel like football isn't worth it, drop it. You can then spend more time training for wrestling. The "dissapointment" will be temporary. I believe utimately that your family and friends will respect your decision. just tell them that you don't feel football is your thing, and you want to focus on becoming a good wrestler. They may be a bit confused by it at first, but they will get over it. This is ultimately about YOU.

Height isn't something you just "get" I'd say focus on wrestling. You may become good enough to earn a college scholarship for wrestling.

**Had to come back to your question, cause it stuck with me. On the other hand, if you've only played one year (freshman) how you really know it's not what you like? I'd say go out this year and play hard. If you still think it's not your thing, you can focus on wrestling as a Jr. or Sr. My experience playing football was great. You get to just absolutely go after guys, beat the tar out of them. I was O-line, so you have even more fun :-)

I'll tell you another story to add to the other on here. When I was a junior, we had this guy, a senior, play nose tackle for us. He was an animal, strong, quick, the guy would just rip into people. I think he earned All-Conference, and All-State HM that year. Also, he won the state championship in wrestling at 130 POUNDS!!

Size isn't what matters, it's your drive, and your heart. If you are getting discouraged about your size on the team. Go twice as hard as the guy next to you. I think you're unhappy because you're now being faced with adversity. You are being faced with a challenge on the football field. Get used to it, it's what the world is full of out of HS.

I see two options for you:
1) Don't answer the challenge to be the best football player you can be, quit the team. It tells people a lot about the kind of person you are if you run away from something difficult.

2) You answer this challenge, and you work your A** OFF! prove to everyone that you are never one to back down when things get tough. Stick it out, and give 100%, and I GAURANTEE that you will have fun playing football as you go into years 3 and 4.

PS - this is it for you, if you give up football now, you will never be able to play it again as an organized sport. no college chances. I played for 3 years, and I miss it ever fall. Think about it, but again, it all comes back to YOUR decision.

Sorry, this got kind of long.

Answer 3

You don't give us position or stat's, so it's hard to say whether your evaluation of your status as your position is realistic or more of a reflection of your dissatisfaction at football.

If you still really like wrestling, would it be so wrong for you to take a year off of football and focus on getting a varsity slot on the wrestling team? Why would someone look down on you for that? Particularly if you don't have to keep your weight up for football and focus on being strong and durable at your preferred wrestling weight. (You didn't say this, but there are an awful lot of football players who gain weight for football and then drop for wrestling - this alone can cause some people to pick one or the other).

Like everyone else has said, do what is best for YOU and your peace of mind. Also, try to find at least one friend you can open up to about your feelings. It might help you to sort things out and reduce the pressure you feel to please other people rather than yourself.

Answer 4

YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE, ALWAYS DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY. SOMETIMES THERE ARE THINGS IN LIFE THAT COME ALONG AND YOU JUST GOTTA SUCK IT UP THOUGH. THINGS THAT ARE A PASSION WILL BE MORE SATISFYING, IF YOU WONT BE ABLE TO WRESTLE OR IF THEY CAN'T GET YOU WITH A NEW HEIGHT GROUP THEN IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU DON'T HAVE CHOICE IF YOU'RE WANTING A FREE RIDE THROUGH COLLEGE. GOOD LUCK.

Answer 5

Keep being aggressive, and make inventive ways to keep it fun!! Usually, woking HARDER when I am TIRED, and seeing greater success works for ME!

About quitting. Did you know who the great Panamanian boxer was who whipped Sugar Ray Leanard in their FIRST fight? Leanard got another fight with him, and in the SECOND fight, the Panamanian, in like the 7th round of the fight, said to the ref,"NO MAS! NO MAS!!" meaning he didn't want to go any more. And did you know that THAT Panamanian NEVER won ANOTHER FIGHT??
SO MANY people quit RIGHT as they are PEAKING!! And you haven't even PEAKED!!

Have you ever heard of Doug Flutie? HE was the Boston College QB that threw the famous,"HAIL MARY" to win the game for BC at the END of the GAME!! And do you know how TALL he was? ONLY 5'9"!!! And he played PRO ball into his 40's!! MAY be STILL playing somewhere as BACKUP!!

NEVER QUIT! EVER!!