Graphic by Yujin Kim ’23 /The Choate News
Have you ever doubted your athletic ability because of your height or weight? Do you ever question how you can compete at a high level when your size feels like a disadvantage? There are quite a few athletes here at Choate who feel this way, posing the question: what is the significance of a student-athlete’s size and its impact on one’s athletic experience?
When asked about the advantages and disadvantages of his height, weight, and physicality in basketball, Payton Garcia ’23 said, “Being that I’m about 5’6 and weigh maybe 130 pounds, a lot of what I have to do in basketball involves skill work, especially with dribbling, getting crafty under the basket, and getting to my spot when I’m shooting.” Garcia understands that he has to work hard at mastering his skills when it comes to height differences, “Otherwise, I’ll get a lot of my shots blocked. To be capable on the court, I have to be the best at my height.” Garcia tried to focus on what he can control, which is his desire to succeed. There are obvious disadvantages to being relatively shorter in a sport like basketball, and Garcia acknowledged these obstacles and got around them by excelling where others lack.
Ryan Villano ’23 (5’9, 175 lbs) had similar ideas on his size and its importance on the football field. “You obviously cannot control size in sports, so when you’re smaller, especially in a sport like football where size is a big part of the game, you have to focus on what you can control, like being pound for pound. Strong.” Villano played wide receiver for Boys’ Varsity Football this fall. He was competing for spots with players that were all six feet and taller, including Jack McManus ’22 (6’3, 230 lbs), Cobe Crews ’22 (6’2, 175 lbs), and Vincent Drolet ’23 (6’5, 220 lbs). Villano continued, “Just because you’re smaller doesn’t mean you can’t have that strength… Also, a big thing is speed. Being faster than others both physically and mentally is important because a lot of the time you can’t rely on sheer size to win your matchups.” Villano added that although size is a significant factor in the sport of football, it is certainly not everything, and one needs to focus on those other aspects of the sport. “Don’t sit there saying ‘if I were bigger this’ or ‘if I were bigger that’ because you’re not gonna get anywhere.” Villano, similarly to Garcia, acknowledged the disadvantages but worked through those obstacles to be at the level needed to compete in these demanding varsity sports.
Sachi Mehra ’23 (5’4, 114 lbs) also recognized many disadvantages in her size while playing football. Mehra emphasized that there is a limit to how much hard work and personal strengths can help you. “You should focus on your strengths and not on what you can’t control, but there will always be a limit to that. Especially in football season, I realized that I’m shorter, smaller, not as fast, and not as strong as basically the entire team. As much as I wanted it, there was a point where I was saying, ‘What can I do to get better with all of these disadvantages?’” She asked this to Coach Cliff Ashley, the special team coach on the Varsity Football team, and he replied, “You can work on catching, route running, and knowing the plays, but to an extent, there is nothing you can do to get that much better.” Mehra then found a sport that was stripped of favoritism towards natural size/physicality — wrestling. “But then, I found that it really catered to you with wrestling. It wasn’t like you had to fit a mold, everyone had a place, and everyone could wrestle and get better. Unlike in football, where you are trying to fit into this mold of being tall, everyone is on equal grounds.”
Like Sachi in wrestling, some athletes see no disadvantage in possessing a smaller size and view it as a complete advantage in their sport. Three student-athletes on the Girls Varsity Hockey team at Choate, including Caroline Holm ’24 (5’2, 113 lbs), said, “Being small is an advantage for me. If I was bigger, I don’t think I’d be the same player. I use my speed as my strength, and I rely on that in my games.” Similarly, Norah Morris ’24 (5’2, 111 lbs) said, “I don’t see being small as a disadvantage…Especially now, with hockey developing, it’s more of a skill game and not really about physicality. Specifically, you have to be a skilled player, smart, and a good skater in girls’ hockey. I think that is more important than size.” Nani Keyes ’25 (5′, 115 lbs), spoke on the differences in rules between boys’ and girls’ hockey and how players can use these rule differences to their advantage. “We’re lucky in girls hockey that hitting isn’t allowed because I feel like if it were it would be a disadvantage to be smaller than most players. Still, since that is a rule, it is an advantage in girls hockey because you can use your speed more often without worrying about getting hit.”
As the three athletes emphasized, there is more to the game than size. In order to make the most of your physicality you can hone your skills, improve your IQ, and add to your craft. You should embrace yourself physically and use it to your advantage, no matter the sport.
