Talent vs. Practice

[starsnuffer]

Here's the reality:

Let's first define "talented athlete". This is a person who, at a natural level, possesses superior balance and reflexes. She/he will very likely have a higher twitch muscle percentage increasing limb speed and reaction time. She/he may even have genetic irregularities such as extra height, longer limb to trunk ratio, superior eyesight, long fingers, ect. This is not something that can ever be trained or taught.

Now, if you take athlete A, who is a "talented athlete" as defined above, and athlete B, separate them, but put them through the exact same training and practice regimen for their entire life, expose them to the same levels of competition and the same coaches/trainers, which do you think will possess the superior performance in the end?

Surely extra practice, strong will, and better coaches can help the non talented athlete achieve higher degrees of success, however the talented athlete also has access to such things. This being the case, the stronger athlete will be the one with the most access.

What we end up is a situation where society does its best to increase the skill level of the general populace in order to provide enough competition for the talented among us to prove their worth and emerge. Without raising the baseline, there would be no reason for the talented to try harder. Everyone benefits in the end.

-W

 

[Greenmonsters]

So jealous. Just had 2 grand daughters born in the past month and both of their hands are so little they can't even hold a softball yet.

Two words of advice. Duct tape.

Enjoy!

 

[LAdad]

Several posters make the assumption that talented players have a poor attitude or a poor work ethic. That's just prejudice.

Rotten people can be found in all walks of life. If you see more talented players with a poor attitude, then that is because the untalented players with that same attitude were already booted off the team. That doesn't mean that talent itself leads to a poor attitude.

There also seems to be an assumption that hard work is a goal by itself. Why? I thought the goal was to play good softball; why would it matter how much hardship you have to go through to achieve your playing level? Plus, maybe the talented player who can afford to spend less time throwing balls, instead uses that time to study harder in school - you can't object to that.

 

[LAdad]

If you think you're good at motivating your players, there's a good chance you can make the talented player better by motivating her to work harder. But you can't motivate the hard-working player to become more talented.

 

[EP Dad]

If you think you're good at motivating your players, there's a good chance you can make the talented player better by motivating her to work harder. But you can't motivate the hard-working player to become more talented.

I think that's true. I think what I was looking for was how much can hard work make up for talent. Sounds like not as much as some of us would like to believe.

 

[Ivy's Dad]

I think that's true. I think what I was looking for was how much can hard work make up for talent. Sounds like not as much as some of us would like to believe.

For the talented player, it is always up to them to lose the position. A talented player that works hard is tough to beat, and most desired. The skill/value of a player is always a combination of talent and hard work. The talented player has a head start, but is not guaranteed the win.

 

[joemcq51]

Here is my best guess

Super talented hard worker- Upper Level D1
Good talent hard worker or Super Talent avg worker- D1-D2
Good talent avg worker or super talent poor worker- D2-D3
Good talent poor worker or avg talent hard worker- Lower D2-D3
Avg talent good worker- D3
Avg talent poor worker or below avg talent- High School and done

I am sure there are exceptions to this. Just my opinion on what I see. Any categories I may have missed?

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

If you think you're good at motivating your players, there's a good chance you can make the talented player better by motivating her to work harder. But you can't motivate the hard-working player to become more talented.

What people observe as "talented" is more often than not the result of the hard work and dedication leading up to it (the stuff they didn't see). For example, when you saw Michael Jordan play in the NBA you thought "wow" that guy is incredibly talented at basketball. What you didn't see was someone who put in a tremendous amount of hard work and had a competitive drive to excel at the sport. Of course he also had an athletic build for basketball but that only tells part of the story. I believe his biggest "talent" was the will and desire he had to be the best and then he went out and worked at it, over and over and over again. Remember, this player was cut from his basketball team in high school! Then he started to get serious about what he wanted to accomplish.

 

[Bishop]

So this talent thing you are all talking about is some innate physical ability that it's impossible to teach to a motivated hardworking girl who loves the game?

Quickness and reactions? That can be trained.
Speed? That can be trained.
Eye quality? Er...sorta. Provided it's not a vision defect the neuromuscular elements of the eyes that allow for tracking and focus can be trained and improved upon.

I'm confused. What physical skill set simply cannot be improved upon that will remove the weaknesses of these supposed 'inferior athletes' you guys are writting off.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Here is my best guess

Super talented hard worker- Upper Level D1
Good talent hard worker or Super Talent avg worker- D1-D2
Good talent avg worker or super talent poor worker- D2-D3
Good talent poor worker or avg talent hard worker- Lower D2-D3
Avg talent good worker- D3
Avg talent poor worker or below avg talent- High School and done

I am sure there are exceptions to this. Just my opinion on what I see. Any categories I may have missed?

Super talented hard worker, academic/career focussed - D3 or D2 or a D1 w/ no athletic scholarships

This is the super athlete/super student/super kid who IMO has the greatest potential positive impact on society after SB.

Personally, I occasionally have to remind myself that while it would be a proud and memorable achievement, I'd be upset if the highlight of my DD's life was playing college softball. If she can't play college SB, but later uses the work ethic and social skills she learned playing SB in the future to help improve herself and achieve her life goals, whatever they turn out to be, I'd be very happy.