Size doesn't matter.

Nick Ayres, an incoming senior at Slippery Rock High School, has certainly proven that.

Ayres stands 5-foot-2 and weighs 125 pounds. He is a three-sport athlete with the Rockets, participating in golf and wrestling, and is a catcher on the baseball team.

He is currently weighing options for wrestling in college.

He also works three jobs — involving landscaping and greenhouses — and is a volunteer firefighter in Slippery Rock. Ayres' father and grandfather have been firefighters as well.

The point of all this?

There are no excuses for not going after things in life.

Yeah, it's a cliché, life is what you make of it, you get out of life what you put into it, all of that stuff.

But how do you not be impressed — and motivated — by a kid like this?

Maybe a kid isn't tall. Maybe he or she isn't fast, maybe not strong, quick or agile. Maybe a bit on the heavy side.

None of that matters.

There is an activity out there for everyone.

In Ayres' case, there are several. He's made it that way.

The only reason this kid doesn't play football is because the potential weight gain might affect his wrestling season — and wrestling is his primary sport.

Ayres took up golf his freshman year simply because he wanted to participate in a fall sport.

This kid puts himself out there.

Sports options are increasing all the time at the youth level. Lacrosse continues to grow. Bowling is a viable option for anyone.

If your school doesn't have a swim team, swim independently. That's worked for some Moniteau kids. North Catholic had an athlete wrestle independently.

Girls wrestling is an option as well. A movement is going on throughout Pennsylvania to form girls wrestling teams at high schools.

Any kid — regardless of physique — can participate in athletics for their respective high school if the desire is there.

Nick Ayres is proof positive of that.

Donning a jersey in any sport and representing your school is a privilege as well as a beneficial extra-curricular activity.

Being part of a team, working together for a common goal, is a microcosm of life. The discipline and responsibility learned from playing a sport can be invaluable for years.

I'd like to see where Nick Ayres is 10 years from now.

Chances are, it will be in a very good place.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle