'It's great being tall'

Patrina Pink, Gleaner Writer

The Pechon Street terminal is sparsely populated with just a few students sheltering under its zinc roof. Seventeen-year-old Jake Dacosta is one of them, but he certainly stands out among his peers.

Dacosta is almost seven feet tall. At 15, the Kingston High School student was already an impressive 6ft 4 inches, but by 16, he would shock friends and family by stretching another four inches to tower over his peers. Even more incredible, Dacosta grew by three more inches in his 16th year to reach his current standing of 6ft 11. Eighteen years old in April, Dacosta could grow to seven feet before he becomes a man.

"It's great being tall," he said. However, he wishes he could wear longer pants.

Dacosta says that generally, he is happy about his height and has a great network of friends at Kingston High. The young man dreams of a career as an architect and loves to sketch and doodle. His favourite subjects are technical drawing and art.

Predictably, his height gives him an advantage in sports like football and basketball. Jake's size and reach make him a formidable goalkeeper when he dons his spikes. Basketball is where he gets the ball going best. He played for Kingston High's team last year, but he says financial constraints have kept the team back in recent months. He is eager to get back into a jersey and says he will start playing for his community church, Tower Isle Baptist's basketball team.

In Tower Isle, he is a celebrity.

"A lot of people notice me and dem a seh, 'Yow yute, you tall inuh!' Everybody know mi." He revels in the attention.

Works in his favour

Dacosta says his height often intimidates, but that works in his favour at times.

"Yeah, because mi real tall, nobody nah look nuh conflict. It threaten them in some way."

That doesn't stop some from bullying him verbally though. Every now and then a rogue classmate will throw words like 'light post' and 'giraffe' his way.

"Mi nuh like when dem call me that. It get mi ignorant. Mi prefer dem to call mi by mi right name," he said.

Dacosta says he doesn't mind being called 'Tall Man', however, as it is a source of pride for him.

"Him was the tallest boy in basic school; a very long baby," said Dacosta's mother, Audrey Williams. Williams said her son's height was a challenge.

"The doctor did a wonder if him have a growing disease and we still a do some checks," she said. Dacosta's rapid growth began after he performed surgery to correct his scoliosis, or curvature of the spine, in 2009. Williams believes her son is growing naturally and is comforted by his absence of medical complaints. His next growth check has been set for December 2011.