Dave Ball tells his tale …

Sports: Dave Ball in training

I was never a keen sportsman in those days. Some kids just seemed to be natural gymnasts; ball players and athletes. The only sport I could say I excelled in was growing. Up, not out. So whilst sports periods and playtimes mostly revolved around ball games and various other energetic pursuits, I used to concentrate on becoming tall. This might well have conveyed the impression of my being somewhat aloof, my nose permanently straining into the air, but I was in fact training, straining hard against gravity and hormones in my attempts to grow ever upwards. I saw running around as totally counter-productive and would, I believed, have just compressed my bones and made me like all the other short kids. So I adopted the slightly taut, upright posture that I still have today.

So if you spot a tall kid looking somewhat distant and standing on their own, do not disturb them. They will be in training.

Dave Ball's page at BtP

More excerpts of the Ball autobiography