When I last made an entry around this, it was in late June of last year not long after my arrival at ASB.org and the establishment of the That Traditional Schoolboy tumblr and we were looking more at school and more casual play clothes.
One area that not much had been done around due to the malaise and generally feeling off I was going through around the time I established that Tumblr was my sports clothing
Much of what I had was getting on in years showing wear and also it has to be said some was more unisex that I really felt comfortable with then and a long way removed from I now at
The start point for my selections were they had to be what I feel comfortable with being in accordance with what other boys of my era would of worn, clearly designed for men and boys only.
These are Adidas Mens Parma Shorts which are manufactured in CLIMALITE technology to keep the body sweat free and comfortable by allowing maximum air circulation and protecting the body against excess moisture and overheating.
According to Adidas these football shorts should improve the passing game and offer real ball control but we'll see if I can put that claim to the test!
These white ones are Umbro sport polyester jersey football shorts and it says something about how ailing I been feeling that the last pair of Umbro footie shorts I bought was in the early 2000's from a sportswear shop here in Staffordshire in our city region centres shopping mall before footie shorts got longer.
In addition, I did pick up a more traditional bottle green polyester pair of PE shorts of the 'unbranded' variety as a 'spare pair'.
To go with them I picked up two pairs of these Samson (r) football/hockey socks which apart from being thick do help to keep my regular grey school socks clean in the event I'm moving around on grass.
When was the last time I had a 'proper' footie shirt? A long long time so I thought that could be put right with what should be in as a staple of a British boys outfit by getting this Sans Maracana 2 Short Sleeve Football T-Shirt I can wear with my new shorts and socks.
For non footballing purposes such as general PE and running around, I bought a few plain fruit of loom t shirts in red like this one, sky blue and light pink, the latter is now more accepted than it was when I was much younger even featuring in some boys/mens football strips.
It's been a long time coming but finally having sports clothing that replicates that of my original boyhood that I'd of felt happy to have been in the company of other boys and their dads in is great thing for me.
I did get somethings that were not sports related that fit more around smart casual and schoolwear.
I had noticed my underwear was starting to bobble a bit which wasn't so surprising as it was bought around a year ago and has been through a number of wash cycles so I found these Marks and Spencers cotton briefs which are the sort of white Y fronted ones I grew up and am happy to be back in being sold as old stock with the label cut out to prevent store returns so I bought several pairs.
Something else that has been missing from my wardrobe for a long time have been polo neck T shirts so I bought two mens cotton ones in blue as the only other option was black and I don't do black tops.
Finally, I did get another pair of Grey school shorts in a sturdy fit that works right on me as believe it or not I've hardly been in longs at all this year so a good spare pair is worth having.
Something that was hard to avoid when I was at school was team sports cos you'd know before even getting as far as picking the team positions if anyone was missing and there was spare kit about so the old rouse of leaving your stuff behind wouldn't cut it.
Team sports are one of the most gendered activities in school which amounted to if you were a boy you HAD to play soccer which had a full kit that you needed to change into which is taxing if like me you have dyspraxia struggling with pull over, fastening and tying things.
First on over your vest would be a thick red football jersey with long arms and white ribbed cuffs which is different than most today and did help keep you warm in the winter months.
Next on were your shorts which were next to your skin to prevent your school ones from get damp and muddy.
It was always taken by our headmaster.
Our shorts in the 70's and especially early 80's were short being cut high in the thighs with contrasting ribbing along the hip seams and my last pair worn for soccer were just like these.
Personally I preferred them cos it was it more easier to move in than the longer ones which started coming back from the mid 90's onward.
Then came on your thick stripped socks cos you just NEVER wore your regular socks cos again they'd soon get damp and muddy which is no good for regular lessons afterward.
Then came you dedicated football boots with studs to help deal with muddy fields like our school ones but were laced up so I had to beg other boys to fasten mine up for me and in that era we didn't have elasticated laces that could be pre-tied and you were inspected before team selection.
Team selection if like me you were physically disabled always had the potentially to be very humiliating as one of two teams of boys first of all had to have you - and often they'd sooner not - and then find a position in whatever team formation they chose to play and usually they put me in defence and the odd time in goal so you'd hope you didn't let anything in you could just about stop.
Defence could prove a taxing cos they'd long periods of nothing much happening when my attention could drift off to passing aircraft or traffic as the school field corner passed a major road with trucks passing along it that interested me more and that was when my tackling didn't result in a yellow or red card being issued that is if there's didn't leave me on the ground for minutes being unstable on my feet at best.
Afterward we had to clean ourselves up as we had no proper change facilities, just a cloakroom with water and towels and get changed for regular classes.
Looking back on it I do sometimes wonder just what my attempting to play the game was about as later on I moved to school that played disabled sport which while taxing was more suited to me.
The conclusion I came to was it was about learning to have a go at anything and about trying however imperfectly to integrate me in non disabled gender norms for boys, to give me a space I might let boyish things out and join other boys doing the same.
While I was more open to playing sports across the genders and of preferred to chosen sports I felt more at one with, ultimately I believe in its own way it was another example of my headmaster caring for me by treating the same as all the boys providing an identity which while not being perfect was at least an identity and a space 'to be'.
For that I'm grateful.
