Why athletes with average talent succeed...

Saw this today and thought it was worth sharing...

Hard work beats talent that doesn't work hard.

Snotbubbles said:

Hard work beats talent that doesn't work hard.

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My oldest was on a team that had shirts that said "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard." And I think some people misinterpret and think that "hard work" means "more work." Some seem to think that if the other players hit 100 balls off the tee, my DD will hit 125. Or if the other players have two pitching lessons per week, my DD will have three. I've seen girls hit 50 balls off a tee in rapid succession without really working on their form or technique. Are they working harder than someone hitting 20 and being methodical about it and really working on their form? Sure, but who's getting more from the work?

Not to discount what you're saying, yes, you have to work, and some have to work harder than others to get to a certain level. But it seems that I've noticed an uptick in the "hard at work" or "putting in work" or "working hard" parent brags in various social media, forums, gatherings, etc. for younger girls (8U - 12U).

Some of the "hard work" parent brags do not seem like very smart work. Not when your kid ends up injured with soft tissue injuries from improper technique or overuse. My DD's team has a player on her team whose parents brag about all the "hard work" she does. FB post after FB post. Multiple hour long lessons during the week. Multiple gym type workouts during the week. Games on weekend. Then posting on FB Monday morning about how daughter is crying because her arm hurts and they are in the doctor's office with overuse injury. Now we have to pick someone up for the next 2-3 tournaments. And my DD is picking up for a team in two weeks that we know the coach very well because they are down two players - one injury caused by overuse from "we work harder than anyone" type parents.

Key is finding the quality vs quantity balance for the individual.

Always a fine line IMO.

We lost every game this year but everyone came to all the games and we were getting better and better. Just needed another month of games.

I love this!!!

We've been lucky with DD on her journey she has been surrounded with excellent coaches over the last 8 years. Some have not been the best from a technical standpoint but where they lacked that skill they more than made up for in teaching DD to be a good teammate.

Working hard, and doing it the right way, tends to be boring for most.

I live in Chicago and the Bulls Sox Academy has a presence.

I am not sure what they are doing but the strength and condition program looks impressive, they work there *** off. If nothing else they can charge the mound.

Minimizing it a little bit but the players I have seen look good.

Snotbubbles said:

Hard work beats talent that doesn't work hard.

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No. Talent wins the majority of the time even when it's lazy.

You can work as hard as you want. You can have "heart" and "chemistry" but in the end talent wins more than it loses.

Good message, although we should remember that it applies to everybody, not just those with 'average talent.' Everybody eventually will reach a level where they must out-work or out-think people to continue to get ahead. It's all relative. We hear of professional athletes with average talent, but very, very few people with truly average talent will become professionals in major U.S. sports. People always say hard work pays off, but only to a point. In our culture, we have a hard time accepting sometimes that certain goals are beyond our reach, no matter how hard we work. That's not to say there isn't honor in having the courage to find out how far our hard work will take us.

DD is 4 feet tall, HC decided she should play center in basketball ball. Did not work out well.

She was intentionally fouling opposing center, she did not even notice.