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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, I also understand how you feel. One of my boys is a great athlete and loved sports from a young age. He is also barely on the growth charts. Before most boys hit puberty, his natural athleticism, hard work, and competitive mindset kept him competitive in multiple sports. However, starting in sixth grade, things went downhill. Because he loves sports so much, these years were brutal. He lost his confidence and became depressed, which impacted all areas of his life. I remember one day in middle school, he was playing basketball and could not get a shot off that wasn't blocked. After the game, he got in the car, curled up in a ball, and sobbed for about 30 minutes, repeating, "I just can't anymore." It was heartbreaking. He quit basketball shortly after that.

He also plays soccer, which had its ups and downs. After his freshman high school season, he wanted to be done with club soccer because he felt like his hard work wasn't getting him anywhere with his current club, where he was getting little playing time. He told his coach why he was leaving and found another, much less competitive team where he could play the entire game. The team was terrible, but at least he was playing.

Before I talk about his size, I should mention that DS goes to a small private high school, so he had more opportunities to play than he might have at a larger school. Still, despite his extremely small size and late puberty, he is a good player. He was good enough to make the varsity team his freshman year and to earn significant playing time off the bench. Unlike some of the stories about NBA athletes or how their 5'4 inch son is now a six-footer playing a D1 sport, my son's story is probably a more realistic inspiration. When I say he was small when he started high school, I'm talking small. As a freshman, my son was 4'9 and around 80 pounds. He hit so many roadblocks in multiple sports during the middle school years through freshman year that he was ready to give up sports altogether. He did try an individual sport for a few year, but he was late to start and didn't excel.

Fast forward to junior and senior years of high school - after quitting high-level club soccer and playing on a middling team, my son grew and finally started to hit puberty. He was a starter on his high school team junior year, playing every minute of every game. His senior year, he hit what is probably his full height (only about 5'6) and he still weighs 120 pounds. However, he has gotten strong enough now that his exceptional skill yields greater results on the field. He was a captain and was selected as the team MVP. Once he started feeling more powerful as he grew into his adult body, he became a more effective and confident player. A tiny player with a huge heart giving maximum effort might not always be recognized by awards, but he can boost his teammates and earn respect from coaches, teammates, and opponents, even with limited playing time. Over the years, I've watched the best and often biggest players on opposing teams (and coaches) come over to talk to my son and compliment his play. He learned to play bigger than his body, but it was a struggle. He had so many reasons to give up, starting with coaches who never gave him a chance, despite his good work ethic. With his personality, I think that keeping him in his old club team would have provided better training but would have led to him quitting the sport entirely.

If your small, late bloomer loves a sport, try to find a place they can play without becoming too discouraged. Exploring an individual sport is also a good idea. Encourage your son to be the absolute best player he can be in the body he has regardless of whether anyone else believes in him. That persistence will serve him better in life than any sports accolades. Good luck.

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Love this!

It mirrors my son's experience as being late to start growing and being the smallest in 7th, 8th, 9th grade.  His first love was basketball, and that got to be a real challenge due to his size.  Although like PP, he was in a small private high school and had the opportunity to play on his HS team.  If it had been our public school, there was no question it wasn't happening.

Fortunately DS also played and enjoyed soccer.  For a while, he was up against other boys who appeared to have shaved that morning and driven themselves to the game, even though they were 13.  They were taller, faster, and were already well into developing an adult man's musculature.  DS stuck with it and we found as time went on, that he developed true skills (and already had the tenacity) where many of the larger players were just relying on their size and not really developing as players.  When size greatly evened out in 11th, 12th grade, DS was a step ahead.

I agree that the persistence and persevering will better serve OP's son in life, than being the star player.  My DS is in college now, he's playing intramural sports, so nothing "big time", and still on the small size.  But he has a a healthy confidence where  he will really put himself out there, try new things, meet new people, and seeks out opportunities.

Good luck to your son, OP!
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