So, I think it is pretty clear that I am taller than most people, and this helped me a lot throughout my life. Specifically, I had an extreme advantage in sports. Now, I was not 6’7” when I was 8 years old, but I was still significantly taller than most of my teammates and opponents. Obviously, height is a crucial factor in most sports; thus, I was able to achieve some awesome things during my athletic career. Nonetheless, it was not all sun and flowers, so I will talk about the downsides as well. Ready. Set. Let’s go.

Throughout my life, I played every sport the continent had to offer: baseball, soccer, volleyball, football, tennis, basketball, wrestling and swimming. So, I am not exaggerating when I say that I played every sport. In this post, I will only be talking about basketball and volleyball because these two sports were the most prevalent in my life. During middle school and high school, I played basketball every night of the week. I wasn’t the best player, but my height certainly made up for it. I was on the school team, the club/travel team, and the intramural team. I truly loved basketball because 1) I dominated the court, and 2) it was a fun sport to play with my friends. In middle school, my team won the championship two out of the three years. *Sidenote: we got robbed on the third year, but I’m not going to get into it. Nevertheless, my team and I dominated in the middle school years. However, high school was a different story. Here, basketball became more competitive and less fun. Yes, winning is important and it is the point of the game, but I still wanted to have fun. But, what I wanted “did not matter.” Coaches became strict, and I slowly began to dislike basketball. I played to have fun and make friends while enjoying the amazing sport; I did not play to be yelled at and criticized for every mistake and error. The passion that I had for basketball rapidly deteriorated, and I ended up quitting basketball forever.

This was very hard for me. I was an athlete, and quitting the thing that I loved was difficult. Although, I knew that it was no longer for me. People had unrealistic expectations for me. I was tall, so I had to be “amazing.” And, I wasn’t. I couldn’t stand the unrealistic expectations for me. People wanted me to be Lebron when I was 13, and I just wasn’t. I constantly heard “the scouts are coming today” or “if you wanna play in college, then…” In the end, I made the call to hang up the jersey. I had a great basketball career, made many friends, and dominated the court. I have a lot to be proud about, and I am still happy with my decision.

A year later, I was still craving a team. I loved being apart of a team and bonding with my teammates. At this point, I have been out of action for a while, so I was no longer in the superior shape that I once was. In my sophomore year of high school, I was recruited by the volleyball coach to tryout for the team. I knew this was the perfect chance to fulfill my craving and lace up the shoes again. Besides, I have always loved volleyball, so I thought why not. This time, I found the sport that was for me. I loved everything about volleyball from the high pace action to the close-knit team. I was also decently good at it, so it was fun to play and spike the ball hard into the ground. I spent the last three years of my life playing volleyball, and I still love it. During my senior year, our team went to the playoffs for the first time in school history. We had a packed home playoff game, and I was so proud to be apart of that moment. I’m happy that I returned to sports because it is something that I would truly have regretted later in my life if I did not go back. Nonetheless, I experienced some of the same criticism as basketball, but I was happy and found my thing. No one was going to take it away from me this time.

Overall, my height definitely helped me succeed in sports. At the same time, my height led to unrealistic expectations and added a level of pressure to my athletic life. Yes, I was tall and good, but I need to be tall and a “star.” And although I know I am a star off the court, I wasn’t always one on the court. Nonetheless, without my height, I would not have found one of my greatest passions, and I am grateful for everything that it has brought me.