The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible
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IDENTIFYING AND MOTIVATING TALENT
So, you’ve got a promising young talent, that’s a great start. Now how do you manage that talent, their entourage of coaches, academies and teams?
Let’s look deeper into the facts and myths of talent. There are a lot of myths surrounding the word “Talent.” If sheer natural talent was gifted to an individual, then the naturally talented would drift to the top without effort. Unfortunately, by the time a junior reaches the competitive stages of the game; their sheer physical talent isn’t enough. Why? Because at the high performance level, most of their competitors are also solid athletes, but with great work ethic, deep desire and a deliberate, customized developmental plan.
I know… many of you reading this may be thinking:
“Yeah but…My kid was endowed by my superior gene pool; they inherited my awesomeness …so they are obviously destined for greatness.”
While that may be true, success at the higher level demands a bit more than genes. It takes years and years of applying a customized deliberate developmental plan.
Talent is considered by most to be a genetic predisposition, a sense of natural ability handed down through the family gene pool. Expert educators in various fields agree that every decade one truly gifted individual walks through their doors. Does this mean that most truly successful people aren’t genuinely talented or does it mean that talent is more than merely good genes?
“Junior talent is only a foreshadowing of future greatness.”
Talent is a kid with potential. No, it’s even more than that. It’s a kid with potential with parents who were deeply involved in the development of skills and the stimulation of passion. So, what does this new definition of talent mean for the rest of us mere mortals? It means that if a child has parents who are determined and passionate about the game and extremely patient and persistent, they’ve got a real shot at greatness!
In every field talent is a learned behavior. What do Wayne Gretsky, Yo-Yo Ma, Bill Gates, Bobby Fischer, Tiger Woods, Mozart, Miley Cyrus, Bruno Mars and Michelangelo have in common with tennis greats? They were all children who developed a remarkable talent from an early age. A spark became a flame as they persistently developed their talent. What seems now like a god given natural gift is actually a deliberate, customized learned behavior.
In my opinion, most of the ATP and WTA professionals you watch on television did not demonstrate early phenomenal promise. You can YouTube most of today’s stars playing tennis at the earliest stages. Guess what you’ll see? A bunch of average looking kids enjoying the process of learning. They simply were solid athletes, with potential who were nurtured the love for the game.
“Talent is determination, passion and persistence.”
A question often asked during my tennis parent workshops is, “How do we motivate our athlete?” When it comes to instigating the hunger, it may prove wise to understand what “buttons” to push as you encourage your special athlete. There are two very powerful psychological forces, extrinsic and intrinsic that parents and coaches should identify when motivating their athletes.
Extrinsic Motivation: Implies being motivated by outside forces. Examples include: Praise- and lots of it! Belief in their abilities by the entourage, trophies, awards, playing for a D-1 NCAA squad, ensuring a better future, money, and/or fame.
Intrinsic Motivation: Implies being motivated by inner forces. Examples include: a love for the mastery of the game, the need to win or the hatred of losing, keeping up with a successful siblings, seeing someone just like them succeed so they believe they can also succeed, finding the journey challenging and enjoyable.
