---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In those days I was terrible at athletics…"
description: "\"In those days I was terrible at athletics and never made a team, but quite easily led my class in academics.\" — William Standish Knowles"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/william-standish-knowles-33956_academics_in-those-days-i-was-terrible-at-athletic_2858381.png"
---

#  In those days I was terrible at athletics and never made a…

![“In those days I was terrible at athletics and never made a team, but quite easily led my class in academics.” quote by William Standish Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/william-standish-knowles-33956_academics_in-those-days-i-was-terrible-at-athletic_2858381.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/william-standish-knowles-33956_academics_in-those-days-i-was-terrible-at-athletic_2858381.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/william-standish-knowles-33956_academics_in-those-days-i-was-terrible-at-athletic_2858381.png)

> “In those days I was terrible at athletics and never made a team, but quite easily led my class in academics.”

[William Standish Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-standish-knowles/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He was weak athletically but excelled academically, leading his class.

**In simple terms:** Athletic weakness, academic strength.

Key Takeaway

Leverage intellectual strengths.

Themes

education selfesteem achievement

Mood

inspirational proud

Type

educational motivational

When to use this quote

- career counseling
- school mentoring
- personal development

Key Concepts

academics leadership selfdiscovery

Questions to Reflect On

- How did you build confidence?
- What advice for others feeling inadequate?

A Different Perspective

May undervalue physical health.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Academics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academics/) [Athletics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/athletics/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Sports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sports/) [Team](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/team/)

## Related quotes

> [I never got picked for the athletics team for about three years. I was in my third year, and I really wanted to join,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malachi-kirby/i-never-got-picked-for-the-athletics-team-for-about-three-years-i-was/)

[Malachi Kirby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malachi-kirby/)

> [“There have always been ignorant people, but they haven't always had college degrees to make them unaware of their ignorance. Some people imagine that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/there-have-always-been-ignorant-people-but-they-haven-t-always-had/)

[Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/)

> [We academics - I am an academic - we love complexity. You can write papers about complexity, and the nice thing about complexity is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-m-whitesides/we-academics-i-am-an-academic-we-love-complexity-you-can-write-papers/)

[George M. Whitesides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-m-whitesides/)

> [I've always been the type that's more about academics and technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-baldwin/i-ve-always-been-the-type-that-s-more-about-academics-and-technology/)

[Doug Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-baldwin/)

> [“Just as no monkey is as good-looking as the ugliest of humans, no academic is worthier than the worst of the creators”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/just-as-no-monkey-is-as-good-looking-as-the-ugliest-of-humans-no/)

[Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/)

> [If there's one thing that 'No Child Left Behind' has proven, it's that more academics don't make for smarter children - or even higher…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darell-hammond/if-there-s-one-thing-that-no-child-left-behind-has-proven-it-s-that/)

[Darell Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darell-hammond/)

> [At home, our focus has always been academics and playing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicky-kaushal/at-home-our-focus-has-always-been-academics-and-playing/)

[Vicky Kaushal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicky-kaushal/)

> [“The lives of scientists, considered as Lives, almost always make dull reading. For one thing, the careers of the famous and the merely ordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-b-medawar/the-lives-of-scientists-considered-as-lives-almost-always-make-dull/)

Peter B. Medawar

> [“I think her favorite thing about our . . . collaboration was her actor and musician friends rubbing shoulders with my academic colleagues, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/i-think-her-favorite-thing-about-our-collaboration-was-her-actor-and/)

[Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/)

> [I excelled in my academics. But, I also was a cheerleader and I ran track.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rubi-rose/i-excelled-in-my-academics-but-i-also-was-a-cheerleader-and-i-ran/)

[Rubi Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rubi-rose/)

> [Anyone can write an academic piece directed at other academics. To write something that delivers an argument and a gripping storyline to someone's granny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/anyone-can-write-an-academic-piece-directed-at-other-academics-to/)

[Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/)

> [“Knowledge was scattered treasure, education organized it into art, commerce and science.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/knowledge-was-scattered-treasure-education-organized-it-into-art/)

[Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/)

> [Academics are not necessarily nice people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/academics-are-not-necessarily-nice-people/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [“The Nazis had been one thing. The communists were another. But now there were academics crawling all over the palace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magnus-flyte/the-nazis-had-been-one-thing-the-communists-were-another-but-now/)

[Magnus Flyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magnus-flyte/)

> [Growing up I did commercials and things like that, but nothing serious. As I got older, my family is really hardcore into academics. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-doubleday/growing-up-i-did-commercials-and-things-like-that-but-nothing-serious/)

[Portia Doubleday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-doubleday/)

## More by William Standish Knowles

> [I was born in Taunton, Massachusetts on June 1, 1917, but I actually grew up in nearby New Bedford.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-standish-knowles/i-was-born-in-taunton-massachusetts-on-june-1-1917-but-i-actually/)

[William Standish Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-standish-knowles/)

> [I'll never forget the fall colors on the Berkshires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-standish-knowles/i-ll-never-forget-the-fall-colors-on-the-berkshires/)

[William Standish Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-standish-knowles/)

> [I was particularly good at math and science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-standish-knowles/i-was-particularly-good-at-math-and-science/)

[William Standish Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-standish-knowles/)

> [At the time my dog had a fungus on her chest that wouldn't heal and resisted treatment. I made an ointment with our product…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-standish-knowles/at-the-time-my-dog-had-a-fungus-on-her-chest-that-wouldn-t-heal-and/)

[William Standish Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-standish-knowles/)

> [My family background was heavily slanted toward business and seafaring matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-standish-knowles/my-family-background-was-heavily-slanted-toward-business-and/)

[William Standish Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-standish-knowles/)

> [At this point I was strongly advised that I was too young socially to go to college so I took a second senior year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-standish-knowles/at-this-point-i-was-strongly-advised-that-i-was-too-young-socially-to/)

[William Standish Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-standish-knowles/)

> [In those days industry would hire any chemist that could breathe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-standish-knowles/in-those-days-industry-would-hire-any-chemist-that-could-breathe/)

[William Standish Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-standish-knowles/)

> [Later in the fifties I got involved in kinetic studies using my long forgotten math background.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-standish-knowles/later-in-the-fifties-i-got-involved-in-kinetic-studies-using-my-long/)

[William Standish Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-standish-knowles/)

> [At Harvard I majored in chemistry with a strong inclination toward math.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-standish-knowles/at-harvard-i-majored-in-chemistry-with-a-strong-inclination-toward/)

[William Standish Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-standish-knowles/)

> [My family gave me the best in education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-standish-knowles/my-family-gave-me-the-best-in-education/)

[William Standish Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-standish-knowles/)

> [To my father, business was the highest calling, but to my mother, medicine was the top profession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-standish-knowles/to-my-father-business-was-the-highest-calling-but-to-my-mother/)

[William Standish Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-standish-knowles/)

> [I was one who liked to work with my hands as well as my brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-standish-knowles/i-was-one-who-liked-to-work-with-my-hands-as-well-as-my-brain/)

[William Standish Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-standish-knowles/)

> [I can't think of any relatives that ever went into science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-standish-knowles/i-can-t-think-of-any-relatives-that-ever-went-into-science/)

[William Standish Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-standish-knowles/)

[Explore all 14 William Standish Knowles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-standish-knowles/)

## More Academics quotes

> [Growing up I did commercials and things like that, but nothing serious. As I got older, my family is really hardcore into academics. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-doubleday/growing-up-i-did-commercials-and-things-like-that-but-nothing-serious/)

[Portia Doubleday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-doubleday/)

> [“The Nazis had been one thing. The communists were another. But now there were academics crawling all over the palace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magnus-flyte/the-nazis-had-been-one-thing-the-communists-were-another-but-now/)

[Magnus Flyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magnus-flyte/)

> [Academics are not necessarily nice people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/academics-are-not-necessarily-nice-people/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [“Knowledge was scattered treasure, education organized it into art, commerce and science.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/knowledge-was-scattered-treasure-education-organized-it-into-art/)

[Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/)

> [Anyone can write an academic piece directed at other academics. To write something that delivers an argument and a gripping storyline to someone's granny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/anyone-can-write-an-academic-piece-directed-at-other-academics-to/)

[Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/)

> [I excelled in my academics. But, I also was a cheerleader and I ran track.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rubi-rose/i-excelled-in-my-academics-but-i-also-was-a-cheerleader-and-i-ran/)

[Rubi Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rubi-rose/)

> [“I think her favorite thing about our . . . collaboration was her actor and musician friends rubbing shoulders with my academic colleagues, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/i-think-her-favorite-thing-about-our-collaboration-was-her-actor-and/)

[Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/)

> [“The lives of scientists, considered as Lives, almost always make dull reading. For one thing, the careers of the famous and the merely ordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-b-medawar/the-lives-of-scientists-considered-as-lives-almost-always-make-dull/)

Peter B. Medawar

> [At home, our focus has always been academics and playing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicky-kaushal/at-home-our-focus-has-always-been-academics-and-playing/)

[Vicky Kaushal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicky-kaushal/)

> [If there's one thing that 'No Child Left Behind' has proven, it's that more academics don't make for smarter children - or even higher…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darell-hammond/if-there-s-one-thing-that-no-child-left-behind-has-proven-it-s-that/)

[Darell Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darell-hammond/)

> [“Just as no monkey is as good-looking as the ugliest of humans, no academic is worthier than the worst of the creators”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/just-as-no-monkey-is-as-good-looking-as-the-ugliest-of-humans-no/)

[Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/)

> [I've always been the type that's more about academics and technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-baldwin/i-ve-always-been-the-type-that-s-more-about-academics-and-technology/)

[Doug Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-baldwin/)

> [We academics - I am an academic - we love complexity. You can write papers about complexity, and the nice thing about complexity is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-m-whitesides/we-academics-i-am-an-academic-we-love-complexity-you-can-write-papers/)

[George M. Whitesides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-m-whitesides/)

> [“There have always been ignorant people, but they haven't always had college degrees to make them unaware of their ignorance. Some people imagine that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/there-have-always-been-ignorant-people-but-they-haven-t-always-had/)

[Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/)

> [“... I succeeded at math, at least by the usual evaluation criteria: grades. Yet while I might have earned top marks in geometry and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ouellette/i-succeeded-at-math-at-least-by-the-usual-evaluation-criteria-grades/)

Jennifer Ouellette

[Browse all 86 Academics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academics/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "In those days I was terrible at athletics and never made a team, but quite easily led my class in academics.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "William Standish Knowles"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-standish-knowles/in-those-days-i-was-terrible-at-athletics-and-never-made-a-team-but/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Academics"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-standish-knowles/in-those-days-i-was-terrible-at-athletics-and-never-made-a-team-but/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/william-standish-knowles-33956_academics_in-those-days-i-was-terrible-at-athletic_2858381.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/william-standish-knowles-33956_academics_in-those-days-i-was-terrible-at-athletic_2858381.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/william-standish-knowles-33956_academics_in-those-days-i-was-terrible-at-athletic_2858381.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“In those days I was terrible at athletics and never made a team, but quite easily led my class in academics.” — William Standish Knowles",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "William Standish Knowles",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-standish-knowles/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "In those days I was terrible...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-standish-knowles/in-those-days-i-was-terrible-at-athletics-and-never-made-a-team-but/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-standish-knowles/in-those-days-i-was-terrible-at-athletics-and-never-made-a-team-but/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```