Size Doesn't Matter

                Size doesn’t matter; at least not in amateur sports. Yet, on almost a daily basis, I hear parents and coaches telling kids that they’re not the right size to play a certain position or a certain sport.

                From parents, it unnecessary discouragement, and from coaches, it’s a copout. Parents at their best when they’re encouraging kids to compete for what they want, and coaches are at their best when they’re explaining to kids what’s expected and helping them cultivate the necessary tools to get where they want to go.

                The truth is there are no specific size requirements for any position or role in sports; certainly not at the youth level. A touchdown is worth 6 points. Not 4 for short kids and 8 for tall kids. A goal in field hockey is worth 1 point. No asterisk for a girl who scores that happens to be five inches taller than the rest of the girls.

                But to fully embrace this concept that there are no specific sizes to play specific positions or sports, we have to embrace two facts.

1.       Sports at the amateur level and sports at the professional level are, at best, somewhat similar.

2.       Your kid is not preparing for the game you see on television when he’s 13 years old.

What is more accurate and more applicable to amateur sports is that positions or roles on a team require the display of a skillset that gives a coach confidence in the kid to perform during the game and a result during the game that backs up the coaches opinion of the kid’s skillset.

                Imagine a group of adults looking at another adult and saying, “She should be a school superintendent. She owns a great pair of reading glasses, and I know a superintendent who has that same blouse.” Ridiculous, right? But those same adults would likely not hesitate to look at a tall kid and say, “Wow, I bet she’d make a good basketball player.”

                So, as a parent, how do you chose what sport is right for your kid. It’s simple. You don’t.

                Instead, take a look at what’s offered where you are. Of those organizations, which ones have your kid showed an interest in? Next, look into the organizations. What do those organizations offer that will benefit your kid’s recreationally and developmentally?

Of course, if your child doesn’t show an interest in any sport and it’s important to you for your kid to exercise and compete regularly, you can help steer the decision a little. But forcing a kid to play a sport they don’t like is a quick way to give a kid a lasting negative memory about you. Don’t believe me? Ask any kid who was forced to play a sport because their dad loved it. I don’t care if that person is 100 years old. Somewhere in their mind, there’s still a little resentment toward their dad about it.

I’ve even heard coaches telling kids that they’re “wasting their size” by playing or not playing certain sports. What’s wrong with being a 6’3” violin player who collects comic books? Nothing, if the kid likes the violin and comics. But I guarantee there’s a coach at that kid’s high school that has considered that kid a “waste.” And, if that kid is devoted to his music and not particularly interested in sports, why did that coach think he would help his team?

When a kid loves participating in an activity, encourage it. Activity is good. When you notice a kid possesses a skill that helps with that activity, recognize it. Praise is good. If you see that the kid has a deficiency that can be improved upon in that activity, challenge them and give them the skills to improve. Personal growth is also good.

Size does not factor in to any of this.