Advice

I am not really what one would call athletic, at least in the traditional sort of way. I enjoy running very long distances and the occasional game of badminton, but the appeal of most sports has always eluded me. I do golf, but if you have been to a golf course I think you will agree that being athletic isn't required.

When I was younger I played some baseball derivatives such as tee-ball, and something where a machine shoots a hard, large, yellow ball at you. You are then expected to hit the ball with a bat.

One time our coach was trying to teach us (I think mostly me) to catch something he called a pop fly. His advice was to stand directly beneath where the ball was going to land and then catch it in your glove. I was unable to grasp why anyone would consider placing themselves in the path of such a projectile. It's just a game after all.

So, he would hit one of these pop flys and shout my name indicating that I should catch the ball. My natural instincts took over and I would watch the ball land softly on the grass from a safe distance. It just seemed like the responsible thing to do. Eventually I was forced to at least look like I was trying to catch the ball, but there was no way in hell I was going to place myself in a situation where if I failed the ball would hit me in face.

He keep shouting "Don't be afraid of the ball!"

It was like suggesting to a crazy person, "Hey have you tried not being crazy." Or suggesting to communist Cuba, "You guys should just stop being Communist." There just wasn't anything practical I could do with that advice.

Also the evidence at hand suggested otherwise. Have you seen the kind of bruises those machines can leave?