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Tall girls can gain confidence through sport.

Abby Frank is fairly modest, even conservative in her appearance.
So imagine the Park Tudor high school senior's surprise when she was called out for wearing a short skirt before playing in the school's orchestra concert.
Indecent exposure was not her intention. It's just that Frank is 6-4 with a 37-inch inseam. Fitting her frame is problematic to say the least.
"Yes, occasionally my skirts are short," chuckled Frank, who tries to find skirts that flair out or buy a larger size and use a belt. "I just have to angle away from the audience I guess."
Where once a teenage girl Frank's size might have found embarrassment, she laughs. Tall girls are finding their size-15 shoes more comfortable than ever these days . . . in no small part because they're often sneakers. Frank may have to tuck her legs away as not to tarnish the prestige of Park Tudor's orchestra, but she gladly exposes them on a stage where size matters: as a member of the school's volleyball and basketball teams.
"People pay attention when I walk into the gym; I just love that," Frank said. "It's where I feel most comfortable."
There are at least nine female athletes in the Indianapolis area who are 6-3 or taller. It includes members of the 16U national basketball team, and girls who have led their volleyball teams up the state -- and national -- rankings. Most have secured Division I scholarships.
Each will tell you her story of the impact of sports on helping her embrace her height, but Lindsey Blom, assistant professor of sports psychology at Ball State University, said first it must be acknowledged that society, including high school peers, is becoming more accepting and even more respectful of tall, athletic girls.
"In the past, women used to be stereotyped as too masculine if they looked too athletic, tall, or strong, and now I think that both men and women are less judgmental of these characteristics in a woman," Blom said.
That, combined with the confidence these tall girls gain on the court has created an invaluable combination.
"We, as humans, feel more confident when we experience success," Blom said. "So if young, tall and athletic girls are getting positive attention -- which may come in the form of attention from the coach about how to learn the sport, media attention, or encouragement from their parents -- they are more likely to try activities, take risks and value their role in the sport, which helps them feel successful and confident."
Shelbi Chandler -- a 6-3 post player for Pike's basketball team -- knows how much her sport has helped her accept and now value her size.
"If you're not comfortable with who you are," said Chandler, who has signed with the University of Cincinnati, "then you can't advance to the next level. I didn't start getting comfortable with my height and my body until this year and now I'm like, what's up? I look good. I'm good with what I've got."
Chandler has been doing more workouts and admits she has better strength and gets down the court faster. And she has what everyone else wants: height.
"In basketball you have the biggest advantage with being tall," she said. "That's the best part."
Still, if you've never walked in the aforementioned size-15 tennis shoes, one can never know what it's really like to be a tall girl. Chandler was approaching 6-0 by the end of grade school. The boys hadn't hit their growth spurts yet and wearing larger shoes and longer pants than everyone else can turn the tallest girl into a shrinking violet.
For Chandler -- "The other day someone actually asked me how the weather was up there," she said -- self-acceptance was an evolutionary process with elementary school her most trying time. She really started to grow in the third grade.
"I'll never forget one day we had recess," she said.
"I always wanted to play basketball. The boys picked me up, but they just wanted me to stand there and put my hands up. My feelings were hurt. I thought they wanted me to play."
That she can recall this memory so clearly is a testament to how painful the ridicules can be. Eventually she found a way to deal with it.
"I'd just say, 'Look, I'm big, I get it, now shut up,' " Chandler laughed. "I had my days where I was called to the principal's office."
Frank leaned on her friends. Going to the same school since kindergarten, there were rarely new faces to amaze with her stature. Still, Frank's eighth-grade year was difficult. She grew a staggering five inches, from 5-10 to 6-3.
"Everyone was so shocked," she recalls. "I don't really remember noticing it. I just remember I was starving all the time and by the end of the year my parents had to buy me a new wardrobe."
Brooke Kranda was a towering 6-5 volleyball player by her sophomore year at Westfield and more than familiar with the growing pains of being a tall girl, literally.
"I had a problem with my knees," said Kranda, who is committed to Michigan State to play volleyball after high school. "Growing so fast and not developing enough muscle, my knees weren't supported."
A trainer advised she work harder to develop her leg muscles to compensate and all was well.
Though no studies have been done on whether the number of tall girls is increasing, and the average height of girls and women has only risen an inch in the past 50 years, it's likely girls' increased willingness to embrace athletics -- and, perhaps more importantly, vice versa -- has raised the visibility of these athletes.
"I believe girls are starting to focus on sports sooner or at an earlier age and therefore becoming stronger and faster sooner," said Pike girls basketball coach Bob Anglea. "Also, women athletes are starting to train from a physical aspect much earlier to compete at the highest levels."
For some, the image of these girls has never changed.
"(My parents) have been good about telling me I'm beautiful," said Frank, whose parents are both taller than 6-0. "And there's nothing worse than a tall girl who slouches."
Frank will always struggle with finding shoes that fit and skirts that disappear when she sits, but she'll never struggle with who she is