I did not play team sports as a kid.

Growing up, my siblings and I were encouraged to participate in at least one extracurricular activity per season/semester. While my sisters did swim team, karate and soccer, I did not. I didn't really see myself as an athlete and wasn't the fondest of team sports. (I knew I wasn't a stellar athlete and felt the pressure of performing well for my team.) So, I tried piano, flute, private swim lessons, ballet, jazz, hip hop and gymnastics. Oh, I guess I did powderpuff football too, if that counts. I do have a few experiences playing team sports...

1. I was on a softball team as a second grader. I remember hitting the ball (this was my strong point), running to second base, and then realizing I didn't have my mitt! I felt naked. I sprinted back to the dug-out as the spectators and team looked on, probably laughing. I can take credit for naming our team the "Purple Angels" though.

2. As a high school freshman, I played on a YMCA soccer team. I played center forward in my first game. I was surprised when my teammate didn't pass me the ball. After all, I was standing right in front of the opponent's goal line. Pretty soon, I learned what offside meant. I also figured out pretty quickly that players couldn't run off the field during play to get a drink of water...

After those attempts, I stuck with my other talents.

Although I didn't participate in team sports, I finally realized that I really liked sports. I just chose to stick to non-team sports like running, wake boarding and dance. (Yes, dance is a sport.)

Over the past couple of years, I found a love for tennis. My husband and I enjoy playing and several of my friends play. I've improved exponentially over the past two years. Tennis is the perfect sport because I get to be an athlete without the pressure of playing on a team!

But, this morning I was reminded why I shied out of playing team sports as a child. Before work, I played a few doubles games for my BYU intermediate tennis class. My doubles partner was really good. I don't think it was a coincidence that both opponents continually hit the ball to me and not her. We lost and I felt like it was my fault.

In public relations I have learned to be a better teammate. I just have yet to apply that to athletics. One day.