The size of an athlete is a very important factor in determining their athletic potential. If you want proof, all you have to do is watch the NBA pre-draft camps. All the athletes who get a big ‘buzz’ at these events are usually the ones with ridiculously large wingspans. For some reason, scouts and general managers love athletes with long arms.
Why is this?
Well, in basketball, the longer your arms are, the greater the advantage you have. This also applies to other sports that require the use of the arms, such as volleyball and American football. On the other hand, your wingspan doesn’t matter at all in a sport like soccer, where you can’t use your arms.
A longer wingspan means a more usable “length”. In basketball, your height really isn’t that important. In fact, your standing reach and wingspan are better metrics to use. All else being equal, the longer your arms, the more rebounds, blocks, steals, and pass deflections you can get.
An average wingspan is one that matches your height. So if you are 5’10” tall and your wingspan is also 5’10”, you have an average wingspan. On the other hand, if you’re 5’10” and have a 6’8″ wingspan, you have an extremely large wingspan and NBA scouts will LOVE you 🙂
Of course, other things are important in determining your athletic potential. Your skill level, work ethic, determination, speed, and vertical jump all come into play.
Unfortunately, your wingspan is entirely genetic. There is nothing you can do to increase it. That said, your skills, work ethic, determination, speed, and vertical jump are all things you CAN improve on.
If you have a large wingspan, GREAT! You have a huge advantage over your fellow athletes. If you have an average or below average wingspan, don’t despair. Just train to improve your vertical jump and improve other areas of your game.
In conclusion, both span and vertical jump are important in sports. You can’t really do anything about your wingspan, so focus on training to jump higher if you want to get an edge over your competition.
