DR. WALLACE: I'm not a naturally good athlete, but I try hard and have at least reasonable coordination at most major sports. I've tried out for the football team, and I've tried out for the basketball team, but both of the coaches "cut" me in the past because they each said I lacked the talent necessary to compete at the high school level.

Now with COVID-19, there are no sports anyhow, but next year, in 2021, I've decided that I do want to go out for sports once again and try to make one of the major teams at our high school. Do you have any advice on how I can best prepare so that I'll have at least some chance of making a sports team? I'll be a junior in high school next year.

How am I ever going to get better if I can't practice and improve my skills on the team? Do you think coaches should just automatically cut players who lack advanced ability? — Hopeful Athlete, via email

HOPEFUL ATHLETE: A coach's job is to get the best team together that they can to win games, but it is also part of a coach's responsibility to teach and develop players to become the best they can be. In addition, a coach should strive to build a sense of team loyalty, camaraderie and character.

Basketball coaches must drop unskilled players because only five players constitute a starting team, and the bench is usually only another seven to 10 players maximum. Football has more players, up to about 40, so potentially, any player trying out might have an opportunity to play some position on the team — if the individual is decently athletic. Baseball teams fit in between in terms of size and usually have a roster of 25 players, with roughly 10 being pitchers.

There are, of course, other sports as well! Choose one you feel you have an interest in and might provide you the best opportunity to succeed, but by all means, feel free to try out for multiple sports since you do have a great desire to be part of a team.

My advice for now would be to work on developing your body in terms of overall athletic ability. Use the offseason to work on your strength, stamina and agility. Find other like-minded friends to work out with, as it's always easier to stick to a workout schedule if you are accountable to a buddy or two who will meet you to work out together. Plan to do some long-distance running, some sprints and some weight training, too. Set up an obstacle course to develop agility, which is a very necessary skill to have in the fast-moving world of high school sports. Finally, seek the advice of a trainer before you start. Good luck!

19 IS TOO OLD FOR 15

DR. WALLACE: I'm almost 15 years old, and the guy I like a lot is 19 years old. He's a great guy. He went to my same high school, and he came back to help work on the sports fields as a maintenance worker. He is very sweet and makes me feel like I am somebody when I am talking with him. The problem is that my father has stopped me from seeing him or talking with him. My dad saw me talking with him once, and it made him so upset that he forbade me from even speaking with this guy in the future.

My father is a very strict person. He thinks he always knows what is best for me, and he has many rules that I must follow. One is that I can't date until I am 16, and another is that I can't date anyone more than two years older than me once I turn 16. Do you feel this is fair? I really want to start dating soon, and since my 15th birthday is in January, I feel I should be ready by then. — Ready to Date, via email

READY TO DATE: Convincing your father that you can date a 19-year-old maintenance man once you turn 15 will be an extremely difficult request to be granted.

Many fathers, not just yours, have mindsets and related rules that are, in almost all cases, nearly impossible to change. This is simply part of the parent-child experience that those children fortunate enough to have fathers involved must learn to navigate and deal with.

Your father loves you and feels he is looking out for your best interests. He might not have the smoothest way of showing it or explaining it, but that's where he is coming from all the same.

For now, my advice is to count the days until you turn 16! This day will come about sooner than you think. And for the record, I would also have forbidden my daughter, when she was 15, to date a man of 19. The age and experience differences are simply too vast, and in this case, your father is right.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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