In the age of big-time sports and multi-million-dollar athletes and owners, pro sports misses out. This all about development of the future, and development starts at an early age.
Today’s athletes, in many cases, are fundamentally deficient. The great ones ace the fundamentals. They may not be that physically superior to their counterparts, they just are better at the basics.
Let’s use Kobe Bryant as one example. He is not the biggest nor strongest in the NBA, nor is he the greatest leaper. What makes Kobe better than his counterparts is that he is an excellent passer, very good free-throw shooter and knows the fundamentals with respect being in position to put the dagger through the heart of any defender. He also pays attention to what’s going on around him when he is on the floor.
The same can be said for that exceptional student who does well in school to the point everyone is in awe of them.
Albert Pujols is another one that comes to mind, as he shows ability far beyond those of baseball mortals. Reason being he is very, very good at the fundamentals. The common denominator here is that they obviously paid attention at an early stage in life. Hence, being a great player coincides with being a great student.
One thing is for sure, they didn’t do it by themselves. Whether it’s a coach or a teacher, someone got to them early. So if that is the case, why don’t we know the names of these people, instead of Phil Jackson and Tony La Russa?
Or, on a personal note, Richard Bischoff and Alice Edwards – two teachers in my early stages who had a significant impact on my development? So you now know who to blame if you don’t like this column.
My question is this: Why wouldn’t teams and school districts make more of a investment in coaches and teachers at the earlier age, rather than later? In some cases, help arrives too late to get anything out of the athlete or student. It’s too late to break them of their bad habits.
If I owned a pro sports team, I would hire class players, who played the game the right way and lived that way away from the game, to mold my future. The player who busted his butt to just stay in the game and never embarrassed his teammates, organization or family while playing.
As for teachers, by the time they get to high school, it’s too late in the classroom and on the playing surface. Tell me you don’t remember some of those teachers you had in pre school, kindergarten and grades one through three? They had the real impact, and the ones who actually cared are even remembered more dearly.
So if the Cardinals want to have players who are ready to go by the time they get to the majors, get the real pros in there at an early stage so the kids will be ready sooner and for a longer time.
When the Rams draft a player, don’t look at the college, look at the high school – or lower – to see what the makeup of the coaches and teachers were. One thing is for sure: For the future of our society and our favorite sports, if you don’t start early, get ready for the big disappointments, as they will come early and often.