Kid Vs. Pole

To play tennis, you usually need a net. For this net to stay vertical, there are two poles over which some cord keeps the net taut.

As the title of this post alludes to, I would be the kid in "kid vs. pole." Yep, one of my top three embarrassing moments there. I was messing around and running to spike a ball that was already out of play. I looked down a few times to make sure I didn't run into anything. Apparently I didn't look enough times. End result: I ran almost full speed into a stationary pole. Said pole slammed into my upper abdomen. (Later, I found it was the right upper abdomen, according to the smallish bruise.) This was then followed by a minute of curling into a ball on the ground.

Having a basic knowledge of anatomy, I was kinda worried about what the pole may have done to me. My entire upper abdomen hurt, and I started thinking about my spleen and liver. As a relatively young and healthy kid, I wasn't seriously worried. But in the back of my head, I still thought of what it may have hit. Fast forward two days later, and it still hurts when I run, bend over, and get up from laying down. Guess those obliques took most of the force...and are still complaining about it.

I've taken kicks to the gut, chest, face, and back when I was training in Tae Kwon Do. But back then I was at least able to divert some of the force coming at me. Not so much this time. At least I only got the wind knocked out of me and will only be sore for a few days or so. I'll get that pole back next time. Either that or I won't run straight into it.