I watched, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and was reminded of the time I attempted to learn to surf when I was about 13 years old. This seemed like a good idea... but, no... it was not that great of an idea. My center of balance has never been great, and to pop up on that board (which by the way, seemed to shrink to about 6" wide the minute it was in the water) seemed impossible. I did manage to get up once or twice, but really, surfing was not my sport.
I know a lot of tall people who surf. I. am. not. one. of. them. Any sport requiring a very good center of balance (like surfing or gymnastics) pretty much didn't work out for me. But, I'm glad I tried them. Some tall people I know don't even try because they've been told they can't. I, personally, would rather try something and then figure out if it works for me. So... I tried surfing and gymnastics, and will try other things to.
So, what have you tried?? Maybe I'll get some ideas for new things to try.
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I have two friends who have commented on this and my own experience.
ReplyDeleteOne friend is a professional beach volleyball player. She is one of those people who is good at almost any sport she tries and was her school's star in basketball, volleyball and baseball. In college she was an All American volleyball player. She says height is good for anything that involves throwing something like a ball or where reach that is higher than the other person is important - like basketball and volleyball. She is not particularly fast at changing direction, so beach volleyball means she needs to team with a short player who is very fast.
The other friend in a physicist and I've talked to him about it - I'm checking some old emails we had. He said that it is harder for long limbs to speed up or slow down, so sports like gymnastics strongly favor short people. Short people are better at sports that involve balance, but have less total strength everything else being equal. In theory a shorter slalom skier is better. but a taller skier has more muscle and can power through the turns better, so it is a balance. A short and incredibly strong skier would have an advantage.
He also said swimming is for tall people, diving for short. The best swimmers have very long torsos and long arms and relatively short legs.
Bicycle racing and long distance running favor people of medium height.
But both of them said that, except for the extremes like basketball and gymnastics, the level of training and coordination you have is much more important. Height becomes more of an advantage when you are at the highest levels of the sport. So just find something that is fun.
I love running and bike riding. In theory I'm too tall, but I don't compete so it doesn't matter. I'm not good at throwing things. My arms are long, but they aren't that well muscled and I never really learned the right way to do it. So I basically suck at games with balls in them even though they favor tall people. The gym teacher in high school hated me - she expected me to be good at basketball and volleyball.
Surfing or skate boarding are way beyond my balance skills. Basically I just love to be moving