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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]DS just joined a year round swim team and was really excited for it. I was chatting with a relative about it and her response was that I was putting him at a disadvantage because swimming is for tall kids and he wouldn't be able to ever win races if he was a head shorter than everyone else. DS just turned 6 and he's only 44 inches, which is okay, DH is 5'7 and I'm 5'8, we're not expecting our kid to be tall since we aren't tall. He's usually the smallest boy in the room but we picked swimming for him because he likes it and if he wants to do basketball next year I wouldn't hesitate to sign him up for that. I don't particularly care if he ever loses at sports as long as he does his best, but now I'm second guessing myself a bit. Did you ever put a short child into a "tall people sport"? Or a tall child into a sport like gymnastics? How did it go? Does it ever make much of a difference unless you're gunning to be a professional athlete?[/quote]

So, is your kid turns out to be 5’8” (He could well be a lot taller) then he will not  be winning gold at the Olympics in the 50M FS or playing in the NBA. Height and wingspan really do matter.  Read Sports Gene by David Epstein if you want to know more.

But does it matter for now? No. Our average height 6 year old regularly beats older and taller kids in the pool because he has better technique and endurance.  And even if he didn’t it would not matter to me at all, so long as he is getting exercise and having fun.

Also, if your kid loves swimming and ends up average height there are other options, distance swimming and triathlon for example.[/quote]

Muggsy Bogues, an excellent NBA player, was just over five feet tall. [/quote]

Sure, there are exceptions.  But the [b]average[/b] height of players on the 2019-20 NBA roster is 6’ 6”.  So...[/quote]

Talent is talent, if you’re born talented and work hard and get lucky with opportunities, you can become anything you want. [/quote]

No, generally not.  You need to read David Epstein’s books. Genetics (height, reaction time, wingspan, eyesight, etc) are the biggest keys to success. Of course you need to work incredibly hard too.[/quote]

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