Male, 29, seeks minority sport

So, at uni, some of us are being gently reminded to write about subjects other than football. Yep, it's in my best interests. Understood. Crystal.

Don't get me wrong, the course I've been on this year has required us to write about all sorts of topics. It's just that when we get a free-choice assignment, there's always four or five individuals clambering towards the beautiful game.

It's not a crime. It's what we know. But I acknowledge there's no harm in being able to write indepthly about another of the sports I like to keep one eye on.

So what's it to be then?

Here's three potentials, with their justification.....

Golf

Hopefully it's only a matter of time before I start playing golf. Maybe this summer actually.

I flirted with it mid-teens before entering a ten year period of taking nothing more than a fleeting interest in who won the majors.

But the dormant golf volcano within me is rumbling. The last two or three years have seen me closely follow the sport and I find watching it on TV both enjoyable and relaxing. Can't beat hearing the bird-song in the background at Augusta.

Pangs for the fairways and greens only multiply when playing putting in Portpatrick.

Portpatrick Putting Course - where friendships are put on hold

So, golf's a serious front-runner.

American Football

Aged five, I sat my parents down for a chat and decided education was the best route for me. Enrolment at Bothwell Primary was a formality.

There I developed a real aptitude for eating Quarterbacks, the 10p cheeseburger flavour crisps. A love for American Football was born, and I especially liked this American Football lark when I got a small broken crisp from the bottom corner of the bag which had an over-abundance of flavouring.

I stuck with my studies. Primary 1 became Primary 2, which became Primary 3. It remained Primary 3 for six years until I was ready to cut it at Primary 4. But, the graft was worth it, and before I could say 'touchdown', I was in Primary 7 with responsibilities like 'monitor'.

In Primary 7, I think I was the only person in Scotland to have a stab at completing the Panini NFL sticker book. I soon soaked up a solid knowledge of all the teams, colours, crests and players. Having no-one to swap with was the collateral damage.

Since then American Football and I have been complete strangers. Almost awkward at times. It'll take a lot of patience and hard work but I reckon we could be ready to pick up where we left off.

A good friend of mine supports the Chicago Bears. They're from Chicago.

Cycling

Used a bike for paper-rounds. Rode around Millport within 24 hours. Can sometimes cycle one-handy. Only needing the single stabiliser these days.

So that's a start.

Couldn't work out why this one didn't work, so took it back to the shop

The Tour de France has turned my head. July dinner times are enhanced by the catchy tune of the one hour highlight show - I had it as my ring-tone for a three year stint.

The tactics, the teams, the sprints, the jersies, the crashes, the scenery. No complaints writing about that. Click here to see an infamous crash from the 2011 Tour.


Now that's just three potentials. I must say I'd be open to bringing cricket, motorsport, tennis, snooker, darts and rubgy into the mix too, but you folk must have homes to go to by now.

Where do you think I should channel my writing energies then?

Better out than in

"Every hour a child spends outdoors each week reduces their chance of becoming short-sighted by two per cent."

In between blinking duties, that was a newspaper article my eyes saw over this past week.

I’m genuinely grateful for Waitrose quality sight to date. If these Cantabrigian scientists are correct, then my childhood supports their theory – I played outside at every available opportunity.

(Cantabrigian means 'from/of Cambridge'. I hold my hands up, it was new to me too.)

Anyway, I began to recount some of the outdoor activities that may have contributed to my virtuous vision.

Here’s a selection:

Football

This was always going to be recalled first.

Squint trees or jumpers for goalposts. It’s hard to express the clarity with which the memories from hundreds of evenings at ‘the field’ are seared into my mind.

Mainly fraught doubles tournaments, sometimes sides. The reputation of our Bothwell set-up went before it. Friends from Uddingston thought nothing of cycling three miles just to be a part of those matches.

A special shout goes out to Adam Armstrong here, for all those afternoons and evenings hitting and saving long range shots.

Survival-hunt

You know the drill.

Required the following: 1 x housing estate; 1 x cold evening where you could see your own breath; 2 x ‘het’ participants; 15+ ‘not het’ participants; 1 x unathletic type to suffer the ignominy of being caught first. Could also be played on bikes.

Footy-down

Only played on bikes, with multiple cyclists.

A large square was selected and you had to remain on your bike within that limited space. Competitors interweaved, trying to make opponents ‘put a foot down’ without getting in a tight spot themselves. Proceedings gradually whittled down to one winner. Tactics, psychology, balance and skill.

In my opinion it was never played as much as its ingenuity deserved.

Go-karts

Of the pedal variety. And maybe not so much in my teens!

Kettler anyone? It’s only fair that I be quiet here and give you a moment to reflect. Some of you might be smiling.

Rope-swings

There was always one of these kicking about somewhere.


I'm keen to hear your memories of incredible childhood outdoor gaming......