How to groom talent
Ifind myself fascinated with the TV show UK, America has Talent as it is one of the talent shows which showcases talent to the world. The audience can really get behind an act, and if you are amazing enough, you could have the whole theatre at your feet, praising you for a brilliant performance.
For 99.9% of the population, the only thing that matters is the end performance. Having trained a few thousand athletes over the years I tend to see things a little differently. If you are a coach, an athlete or a performer who has been in the game for a while, you learn to appreciate the performer more than the act.
The sum of that performance that you gave is the sum of years of pain, doubt, drive, obsession, successes, failure, highs, lows, lies, achievements and countless hours in the pursuit of perfection. It is typically the iceberg effect. What you see on top is so beautiful, but the mass of the iceberg lies beneath the sea, unseen by most. All those occurrences I mentioned above are located below the sea.
The two questions one should ask is, “how do I identify talent” and then “how does one groom the talent”
The answers to the questions are not easy. Neither are they simple, because if it were that easy and simple then coaches would be rich and would produce stars all of the time.
On a higher level of thinking, if everyone is a star then are they really stars and how do we avoid them becoming “average”?
Talent is never about just one attribute, like being able to kick a ball through the poles consistently, it goes beyond the obvious because let’s say you are the top kicker in the country, but have a bad negative attitude and love to party; there is no coach in the country who is going to allow you near his team. The risk of you influencing the team in a negative light is too great a risk for the coach and his short career.
In order to want to work and develop talent, the above can be weighted into importance and, yes, the athleticism, balance, injury-free, and great handling skills are a priority but if you find the other attributes are lacking, then you need to dedicate time and quality training in these areas.
Another important skill that was not mentioned is having “life skills” This has to be taught. Suppose a gem of an athlete comes from a rural area, he will not know how to live out of a hotel most of his offshore career besides living out of a suitcase, what social manners, social behaviours and the way he conducts himself in front of people, team-mates and the media has he been taught? Developing talent is a holistic approach and goes further than the sport.
Also, remember it doesn’t have to be someone from a rural area. I remember a young athlete coming from a working-class family getting an opportunity to play football at a big European club for their reserve side, with a succession plan in the first team but threw it all away due to girls, status and poor decisions abroad.
Football was a priority here in South Africa and his lifestyle was regulated by his father and family but the minute he got some freedom and his own money, he made some bad choices subsequently ending his journey overseas.
I see parents every day, and their children who have big hopes and dreams of playing abroad, but it is important to understand, there is more to nurturing talent, and the sooner parents, coaches, athletes and scouts start incorporating a holistic approach, the more our athletes will be prepared for when success comes knocking.