“You’re too short”
Have you ever had somebody tell you you couldn’t do something and then they point out a specific deficiency on why you couldn’t do it. Mine was “you’re too short,” or “you’re not strong enough”, or “you’re not big enough”, well you get the idea. They’d tell you you will not be able to do it and give you that specific reason (excuse)?
When I was growing up, I loved baseball. As a Cub Scout, they’d take us to Yankee Stadium and we would sit in the 25-cent bleachers in the outfield. I got to see Mickey Mantle, Bobby Murcer, Mel Stottlemyre, and Thurman Munson play. Like every kid, you dream of playing in Yankee Stadium one day.
I was a pretty good little leaguer and yes, I was always the smallest, shortest player on the team. I was always the leadoff batter, because I could get on base. My favorite way to get on was either a walk or a bunt. You don’t see the bunt utilized too much in today’s game, but I made a living off of it. I would bunt and always get on to first base because I was fast.
While on first base, I’d go and steal second. The next batter would get a hit and the score was already 1-0 as I’d be home before the outfielder could throw it. I had a very high batting average, usually had the most runs, and the most steals. I wasn’t only fast, I was smart. I studied the game.
Growing up, I learned to play from my uncle. Left-handers were rare so he got me a right-handed glove. I am pretty sure I was a natural righty, but I had to throw with my left-hand because of my glove. Because I was a lefty, the only place I could play on the field was the outfield. Lefties don’t play the infield because they have to twist their body to throw to first base.
When I got to high school, I tried out for the baseball team. The coach cut me, and I asked him why? He said since I was too small and too short, my throw to second base from left field had an arc to it. That throw needed to be more like a laser, a straight line to second base. So then I tried out for the basketball team.
I made the cut the first day. I made the cut the second day. I made the cut the third day. On the fourth day, I got cut. I asked the coach why. He said “honestly you’re too short.” I told him I was the same size on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, but today I’m too short? You could have saved me a lot of time and aggravation. My good friend John said I should try out for the soccer team.
I excelled at soccer because I was fast and smart. I was a good passer and got a lot of assists. I also scored plenty of goals; not because I had a strong leg, but because I was a smart garbage picker. I’d hang around the goal, pick up all the leftovers and stick ‘em in the back of the net. I went and tried out for soccer in college, but once again, I was too small and too short.
When I became a Dad, I was armed with all these experiences. At three years old, we knew Tyler was going to be a soccer player. Even though he was always the smallest, shortest player on the field, he was fast, he was smart and he had skills. Tyler ran into the same road blocks I did. Coaches were looking for the tallest, the strongest, the biggest players out there. Here’s the thing, you can’t fix short. There’s no way to add six inches to your frame. So we came up with a strategy.
We would have a sit-down with the coach and ask him who was the best player in the world? We would say we think it’s Lionel Messi, wouldn’t you agree? They would. Then we would point out that Tyler and Lionel Messi have a lot in common. They’re both fast, they both score a lot of goals, they outwork everyone else, and yes, they’re both short. Don’t look at the negatives, look at the positives. We quickly left teams where the coach didn’t recognize the advantages of a smaller skilled player.
We then went looking for coaches who understood the game of soccer and dismissed those that thought bigger is always better. It took some work but we found them. They were all really great coaches. Dominique Thenard, Amb Henry O Abiodun, Stuart Brown, Mike Moltzon, Jeff Negalha, and his college coach, Eric Alsop. These coaches understood the game and understood how to utilize a player’s skills.
Don’t ever let someone tell you you’re too short, or too tall, or too slow, or you’re “_______.” Just because you don’t have what they’re looking for doesn’t mean you can’t deliver results. They just can’t see it.
You can’t change short, but you can outwork them, out smart them, dribble past them, pass to a teammate where they can’t see them, score from multiple places on the pitch, and be strong under pressure. I know this to be true because Tyler just won a Championship with his team in New Zealand. I also saw Lionel Messi win the World Cup last week. They looked past their “shortcomings.” Don’t tell them what they can’t do because they’ll show you what they can.
What about you? What have you done that people said you couldn’t? Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!
