By Martin Shore
This is the story of my life and my relationship to sports. I was born in Argentina in 1987 to a family of musicians, journalists and doctors who were far from being athletes. The only sport my father ever played was chess – so, as soon as I was two feet tall, he made sure I learned how to play every sport out there. In an effort to make up for his own lack of athletic abilities, he sent me to swimming, tennis and soccer lessons, which gave me the opportunities my father felt he missed by not investing time in exercising.
The results were immediate. Overnight, my timid nature gave way to an extremely physically active little boy who ran around his mother’s living room, kicking everything in sight. Through my parents’ failed attempts to keep me still, they recognized I had acquired the physical freedom and expression they had never had themselves. They instantly saw the consequent benefits of my extensive physical activity – such as balance and coordination, and they felt a huge sense of pride.
With my growing abilities in sports, I eventually became the captain of the teams I played for, and my confidence grew. But I was a late bloomer. At 12, I was shorter than my classmates and my metabolism failed to keep up with my appetite, causing me to gain weight quickly. Though I was still playing as many sports as I could, my body reflected otherwise, and I was just as quickly losing self-assurance.
I arrived at adolescence with an upsetting distaste for my own reflection in the mirror. The common milestones of that time period struck me as difficult, if not unattainable – dating girls, socializing and having friends who valued and respected me seemed out of my reach. These negative feelings, however, had no place on a court, field, tatami, or in a pool. When practicing a sport, I was the best version of myself – I was confident of my success and proud of my abilities. I felt certain that I could accomplish anything I set out to do.
My achievements included a gold medal for Judo, a silver trophy in tennis, and playing for two different soccer teams. Although my exterior image was slow to change, I believed in myself and used this belief to focus on developing myself as a person. This mental shift led to an improvement in my performance at school, to the point where I was at the top of my class.
At 16, my body finally caught up with me and my small, chubby frame transformed into a tall, skinny young man. My confidence also grew and I was able to socialize with much more ease. My previous self still haunted me, though, as cruel classmates called me, “Fat Martin,” a label that caused me much pain. My parents suffered with me, feeling powerless against the sadness I brought home from the bullying at school.
I completed my studies with high marks and was accepted to the university I wanted to go to. I entered adulthood as a 6 ft. 2 man with a new body and I could not wait to work on my physical abilities and expand my skills in sports once again. A restored self-esteem followed me to college, and the ghosts of my teenage years stayed behind me.
I realized that playing sports was the platform that supported the person I wanted to be. I became a social person who enjoyed all human interactions and exercised a positive outlook on life, characteristics I maintain to this day. The days when my self-image was so misconstrued that I did not want to go back to school and deemed myself incapable of making friends or achieving my goals are far behind me.
I just moved to the city in which I always dreamed of living and am working in something that means a lot to me: bringing sports into the lives of children. I watch all these little athletes in the making, running from one side of the field to another during soccer classes, and I know that in a few years they will be as proud and happy as I am to have a passion for sport and, above all, to feel capable of reaching every goal they set out to achieve.
Martin is the Market Research Analyst for Super Soccer Stars. He has been playing soccer since the age of three, is a licensed tennis coach as well as a Super Soccer Stars coach.
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