I believe that I have already mentioned that I don't catch. This is not a matter of preference as some people seem to believe. It's not I'd really rather not catch, thanks. I CAN"T catch. I have an actual medical condition people. It is called very little depth perception. And it means that when you throw a ball at me, I have no idea how far away that ball is, making it damn near impossible to catch. This also makes volleyball a waking nightmare.
My former roommate Vicki shared this inability to catch. In fact, we thought maybe we should buy a beach ball (large and yet unlikely to cause injury) and play a game we called Try to Catch. If we ever needed to throw something to each other, such as the remote or a Rollo, there was much warning and a soft underhand throw. My current roommates and I also share this understanding.
And yet, all last weekend, I kept having to convince various people that I couldn't catch, and no, I didn't want them to teach me. I've made it through 28 years of life and 13 years of public school PE without ever obtaining this skill. It's not about technique, folks. I've accepted my inability to catch and moved on. Join me, won't you?
The sporty people are perpetually convinced that you really want to play whatever sport they're playing and you are just waiting for them to beg, cajole, and mock you into it. Yes, sporties, we know that you'd be bored out of your mind just watching the game and that you'd want nothing more than to get in there. Good for you. The rest of us, on the other hand, are perfectly content to watch. I will even cheer for you and marvel at your ability to hit a quickly moving ball with a skinny little bat or to catch that ball as it drops from the sky directly toward your face.
Despite your assurances that no one cares how badly we play, we know that there are always one or two of you who take the game WAY too seriously, no matter how casual and not-mattering it may be, and will get seriously upset with our inability to hit/kick/bump/catch/throw the ball/frisbee. And you will yell at us. And we will ask if we can please go back to sitting in the sun and possibly reading.
So let it go, people. I can't catch. I've never been good at any sport ever. And I'm fine. This has not held me back in life as much as you might suspect. You have a good game though. I'll be over here, working on my burn. I mean tan.