The main difference between talented and less talented kids is that talented kids need a very short amount of time to go from seeing/hearing something to actually doing it correctly. When we learn new skills at practice, some kids look at me showing something one time and are able to copy it 100% correctly. Other kids can practice a skill 100 times and still struggle to do it. The kids who execute new skills correctly on the first try are relatively more talented than those who need 100 tries.
This is most likely true for all things in life…
But soccer talent is not just being able to do things technically correctly. It is also being able to focus, deal with losing, and especially make the right decisions on the field—plus athleticism with skills like being faster, taller, or stronger than others.
All of these things are trainable, but some kids will always be able to improve their skill level faster than others.
What matters more: Work ethic or talent?
The theory that work ethic matters more than talent is simply false.
If the maximum talent score is 100 and the maximum work ethic score is 100, a person that has 100 talent points and 10 points for work ethic will still play better than a person with 9 talent points and 100 work ethic points.
Of course, if you are very talented and work harder than anyone else, you can outwork a person who is slightly more talented, but saying that anyone can become a professional soccer player if they work hard enough is simply not true.
Well, my child is not talented! Why try?
Talented or not, soccer is one of the most amazing ways to learn to improve at new things. Solving a problem, overcoming a struggle, learning to win and lose, and communicating with teammates are skills that soccer teaches naturally while having fun. As long as your child is enjoying themself, it doesn’t matter in the slightest if your child is talented or not.
Talent is relative:
Of course, you also have to consider that your child is most likely more talented than you think. If you only pick from kids that play soccer competitively and train daily, it is easy to forget that this is already a very niche and not representative group for telling you if your child is talented or not.
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