Natural talent vs. Gained skills

How much of HS-age athletic success is natural abilities compared to kids that must work extra hard to attain the same?

 

This is an interesting thread. It's late so I'll comment later, but good topic for discussion

 

This really could be debated several ways, from a number of different perspectives. I would say that the natural born gifts obviously give you a leg up on others in the beginning, but developing skill is what really sets one apart.

 

I agree with Souther. What's nice is when that gifted athlete decides to work at it. Then you got something. I haven't seen many of those that I know personally. Probably the only one I know is Toney Baker, the football player at NCSU.

In our area we have a couple of talented players that have 'made' themselves vs. a couple that are gifted yet have not fully applied themselves. I've always wondered what the upside potential is for a kid that has 'made' themselves. Have they peaked? For the kid that is the gifted athlete you ask what they could be when they work at it. We all know talent without hard work is usually wasted talent.

 

Think it is a combination of both. You cannot be gifted with all the tools needed to play the game. Example: You can be the fast things on two legs but if you cannot hit or catch. You better look for a career running track. You have to work hard to improve the tools you have and work hard to keep them and learn new ones.

 

It takes years!

As a baseball guy I have to argue that it takes years to truly become a baseball player. Consider this.........

The basketball coach sees a 6'10" kid walking around campus and brings him out to play. Within a short period of time he's gained some proficiency rebounding, blocking shots and maybe even scoring.

The football coach sees a 300 pound kid eating double cheeseburgers at the hamburger stand and he's well on his way to making a lineman out of him.

The baseball coach, however, is paying close attention to the local youth travel teams to see what he's going to get in the coming years. If the kids haven't learned how to play by the time they get to high school there is only so much a coach can do.

It's pretty tough to teach a phenominal athlete to play baseball in a few months. Take Michael Jordan for example! Baseball is an aquired skill that requires years of muscle memory.

You football and basketball guys, please don't tirade against me here. I love both those games! Played basketball in high school and watch football all winter long.

 

Combination of Both

It's definitely that rare combination of both. Someone can have the natural gifts, but you need the hard work to go above and beyond. Plus for some, having that intense competitive drive isn't just about "deciding to work at it", but it's is also another natural gift that sets one apart from the rest. People sometimes think only about natural, physical gifts, but the mental competitive drive and extra-ordinary knowledge of the game are also part of the natural skill set required to set yourself apart. These extra-ordinary individuals can't "be created", they are just wired completely differently. That's why the most success comes to those who have that very rare combination of all of these pieces.

 

You're dead on. Baseball is definitely a learned activity. Football probably the least. But I'm still curious in your opinon of a gifted athlete that already plays baseball vs. a kid that has learned to baseball through hard work.

 

We had a young man at my son's high school that at age 12 was no better then average. During his freshman year he decide he wanted to play college ball. You know where to find him on afternoon and weekends, taking ground balls and hitting off a tee at school. He worked his butt off and started many games last year at a D1 school here in NC. While he was not born with great skills, he worked on them daily. I agree that being born with the skills is great, a combination both is better.

 

In general, this is a different day and age. At one time, most athletes played the 3 major HS sports (notice I said athletes). They didn't have the time to devote to one sport; so the gifted athlete stood out.

With the advent of specializing in a sport, most athletes decide on one sport and spend their time developing and improving in that. It has dramatically increased the talent across the state.

You don't see as many "gifted" athletes that don't commit the time and hard work that is required. Many of them (at least in baseball) are the hardest workers. But every now and then you will come across an extremely gifted player that does not work hard. I can tell you that the few that I have seen during the years, always fall down...................and can't get back up!