I HATE GYM CLASS!
(We hear you. And we're here to help.)
(We hear you. And we're here to help.)
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Advice - from Actress Danica McKellar
When Danica McKellar ("TheWonder Years," "How I Met
Your Mother") was in middle school,
there were two classes she
definitely did not look forward to:
math and gym. But when she grew
up and decided to try snowboarding
for the first time, she also decided
to rethink her attitude about her
abilities in sports. After all, by
that time, she was a mathematician and author of two books on the subject (Math Doesn’t Suck and Kiss My Math). Maybe there was a connection.
“I thought, ‘Why not me? Why can’t I be a good snowboarder?’” she recalls. “’I’m a reasonably fit human being. I can hold my own.’”
Sure, she could have stood on that snowy hill and reminisced about the time she scored for the wrong team in gym class (yup, it really happened). But why dwell on the past? Instead, Danica learned to snowboard just fine—though her favorite sports these days remain yoga and dance.
“Think of yourself as someone who can do it,” Danica advises girls who worry they can’t do math. Turns out, that kind of thinking will help you get ahead in sports, too.
For actress Allisyn Ashley Arm, gym class used to go something like this: The teacher might toss out a bunch of soccer balls. Then, the other kids would run and kick like crazy. Balls would fly everywhere (those kids didn’t seem to know what they were doing!), and all Allisyn could do was duck and cover. “I didn’t really like P.E. that much,” she remembers. “I’d show up and say, ‘OK, which part of me is going to get bruised today?’”
True, she had some fun times in gym class, too, like during “free” time, when the teacher let them make up their own games and play in smaller groups. “I loved doing jump rope,” Allisyn says, explaining, “That’s a sport where everyone gets a chance and there aren’t balls flying in your face.”
Since winning the role of the zany Zora on Disney’s Sonny With a Chance (also starring Demi Lovato), Allisyn’s gym class days are over. Now, the lucky girl is home schooled and she gets to choose her P.E.-type activities herself. So far, she’s enjoyed soccer, swim classes, hiking and rollerblading.
That’s right. She chooses to be involved in sports. Allisyn’s one girl who won’t let a few bad experiences knock her out of the game.
SHE'S SUPER RICH AND FAMOUS...
BUT CAN SHE THROW A BALL?
Provo, Utah July 4-Miley Cyrus performing as herself at the Stadium of Fire in Provo, Utah
Miley Ray Cyrus has said in the past that she tried to play sports, but wasn’t very good. Guess she doesn't count cheerleading as a sport - and she should! Before she took on her famous Hannah Montana persona, Miley was an award-winning cheerleader. She cheered for seven years and won more than 10 national titles with Premier Cheerleading, in Nashville, Tennessee.
Cheerleading may not be your typical game with balls and goals and all of that, but it’s definitely a fitness activity and a real sport. Miley has said cheering gave her the confidence to do what she does today: perform on stage and on T.V.
