Hyperactive klutz, here. Really, really lousy at coordination things... hated loathed and despised p.e., but needed exercise. On swim team in the summer and then year-round when I turned 13, but always, always bringing up the rear. Swam with younger age groups so I wasn't dead last all the time. However, got *lots* of support and positive feedback for working hard, got lots of good instruction, and learned how to learn difficult things (took five years to figure out butterfly, and now I could teach anybody).

So... after 40 *years* of always being "okay, I like sports and exercise, but it can't be really about winning unless there's a *lot* of strategy" (that co-ed v-ball team was fun for that), a few sportsmanship trophies and twice (count them) coming in just ahead of somebody else in a competition, albeit nowhere near first place but he, *we* were racing, and I'm not sure but one of those the judge might have given it to me... do you *know* how sweet it has been to actually *win* the indoor time trial? It took a long time for me to believe that no, I was pretty good at this (they weren't just being nice)... and I only got convinced when I thought about how long it takes to convince some of my students that they are NOT stupid... they keep saying it... now I understand how hard it is to *believe* it when so many years of not-being-good have laid that groundwork