People you hate join your sports

I am a coach, and if I saw someone on the team picking on my athletes, I would squash them like a bug. Perhaps your coach has a lot of athletes to watch and isn't aware... I would make him/her aware.

Also, it is normal for freshmen to get "joshed" a little bit... but that's different than being picked on and singled out repeatedly. If you think it goes beyond just kidding around, tell the coach. If and only if the coach won't do anything, you can have a guardian go to the athletic director, but if the other athletes find out, you might get picked on worse.

This doesn't excuse the coach, but next time you get picked on, come back at the dude. Say something like "Why don't you worry about running half-decent JV time for a girl in the 200 before you worry about me and my times." Then just ignore him.

Training a lot will make you a better runner, but won't make this guy any less of an jerk. Kids like him usually quit eventually anyway.

If you beat him by 10 minutes in cross country, and everyone else still puts up with him being an ass, I would be shocked.

But yeah, freshmen usually get made fun of for asking too many questions or being annoying in general, so if you don't do any of that, I'm pretty sure the rest of the team won't be making fun of you.

Every time he says something just reply "Thank you for being an a--hole" and then ignore him or walk away.

Bang his gf.

I get annoyed more when a popular kid who does football and basketball joins spring track and then acts like its his sport and stuff.. I also agree that you look forward to track and cross becasue your friends on that team are usually your very good friends, so it must suck to be in the "safe" environment with an a-hole that makes fun of you. Don't you have friends that will back you up?

He's obviously in love with you. All the attention he gives you...and also look at the lengths he went to to get on your team to be near you.

Just tell him you're flattered and you appreciate everything he's done to show you his feelings despite the obvious roadblocks and potential embarrassments, but he's just not your type. I promise, he will be very appreciative that you told him and things will be much better between the two of you in the future.

&nsbp; wrote:

He's obviously in love with you. All the attention he gives you...and also look at the lengths he went to to get on your team to be near you.

Just tell him you're flattered and you appreciate everything he's done to show you his feelings despite the obvious roadblocks and potential embarrassments, but he's just not your type. I promise, he will be very appreciative that you told him and things will be much better between the two of you in the future.

OP, if you go this route, please update later with his response.

Just give it right back to him and make everyone laugh at him. If you're reasonably smart and funny, it's not too hard to outwit most bullies. The guy runs a 33 second 200m. If he ran that pace for the 800m, he'd still be about 14 seconds too slow to make my high school 4X800 team. If that doesn't provide you with sufficient rhetorical ammo I don't know what would.

wed keeper wrote:

Bang his gf.

Funny you mention this because there's a guy who runs in my club (I'm a masters runner) who I recently discovered is dating my ex-girlfriend who broke up with me. He's very talented and faster than me. I have nothing against the guy otherwise but it does really bother me. Here I was trying to get over her and now there this guy I have to run with all the time who is faster than me and is banging her too. I really would like to beat him, just to have some self-respect.

Everyone has weaknesses and insecurities. Find his and pounce all over them. Everyone knows the only way to stop a bully is to stand up for yourself. Running faster than him won't help because you aren't stopping the things he is making fun of you for.

Bullies usually bully because they are insecure themselves. Is he ugly, fat, or stupid?

Also, if you act not bothered by him it should stop eventually.