Hey there, tall teen girl—yeah I was a tall skinny teen and I don’t want to make you scream or anything but . . . how sick and tired are you of people saying you should turn out for basketball?

Oh, all right—go ahead and scream if you have to.

“You’re a tall teen! You should turn out for basketball! Why aren’t you on the basketball team?”

“Because I don’t—”

“Because you don’t what? You’re a tall girl, aren’t you?”

“Thanks for the reminder, I almost forgot since five minutes ago when the last person wanted to know why I don’t play basketball.”

“And look at those long skinny legs of yours!”

“I do, every time I put on a pair of pantyhose and the crotch splits as soon as I pull them past the knee.”

“But they don’t wear pantyhose on the basketball court. Now come on, you’re a tall girl. What else are you going to do with all that height? You’re too tall to be a jockey, so you may as well play basketball. YOU MUST BE A BASKETBALL PLAYER!”

“Maybe, but right now I’d much rather wield a baseball bat.”

“Baseball? What do you want to hit a ball with a bat for?”

Only it’s not a ball you want to hit.

What’s the deal with tall teen girls and basketball? Don’t people know it takes a lot more than just height and long legs to play basketball?

It takes athletic ability. Not all of us tall girls are gifted with that. I certainly wasn’t. Sure, I was tall and skinny, with long skinny legs to match—but I still couldn’t get the ball into the hoop. I couldn’t even run and dribble at the same time. That takes special coordination, almost like rubbing your stomach and patting your head.

I’m not even interested in basketball, or most sports for that matter. But during the Olympics, do you know what I really enjoy watching? The gymnastics.

I love women’s gymnastics. I can’t do cartwheels, and I can barely do a single somersault—but as I was flowering as a tall skinny teen, I loved watching the not-so-tall teens flipping forwards and backwards and wheeling effortlessly through all their gymnastic routines, whether they were on the balance beam, the uneven bars, or the floor exercise.

The women gymnasts always look graceful and feminine—and more often than not, they become the heroines or “sweethearts” of that particular Olympic competition. Every four years, the whole world seems to fall in love with one particular gymnast at the Olympics.

Yet I’ve never sensed that same lovin’ feeling toward any of the tall girls on the Women’s Olympic Basketball Team.... Hmmmmm?

Why can’t tall girls compete in gymnastics? Is it because the uneven bars would have to be raised higher? Would they need a longer balance beam? Not enough room for a bigger mat in the floor exercise? Or is it unfair that a tall girl with long legs doesn’t have to run as many steps to spring over that vault?

There’s something else I wonder: Are any short girls you know tired of always being asked, “You’re so short! Why don’t you turn out for gymnastics?”

And if you do ask them, I’ll bet they’ll look at you as if you’re nuts and mumble something about not being able to do a back flip.

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