Success is over simplified in sport using the 10,000 hour rule. Please read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.

May be a valid point for sports where skill level isn't as vital as in football.

Which one ;) I remember it from the comics anyways...
Hint:

I used to own one of these before some low life stole it.

That cartoon.

This is the one thing that Chips just does not get. He always talks about the cream being there etc. with out understanding that less = less and more equals more.

Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:
10 points if you know where it comes from ;)

Different point of view on the 10,000 hours principle.

http://www.sportscoachingbrain.com/10000-hours-champion/#more-2354

Interesting article regarding skill competency.

We tend to forget how enormously different our kids lifestyles have become since we were kids ourselves and the difference to 3rd world/developing countries has only multiplied. When child obesity becomes a major health concern, it shows how different things are.

One interesting argument is what happens if a player does 20,000 hours of training in those 15 years? Maradona? Cruyff? Pele?

Will a swimmer get faster by training twice as many hours as his next best competitior?

How many hours of training can any athlete do in a day, a week, a month, a year a life time?

The 10,000 hour rule also takes into account "deleiberate practice" as key part of it. The process of repitition to develop perfection.



We don't have the time or the resources though to train kids every day 2 hours a day.

Which is why we have to work smart. As an example our Head Junior Coach works on the principal that each player should get a minimum 600 touches of the ball each session at three sessions a week 40 weeks a year that 72,000 touches minimum.

Now many will say 600 touches a session is easy to do in a session. Well trust me its not. If you run a session get some one to count how many touches one player gets in a session. For poor coaches a player may get 100 touches per session, even at three sessions a week for 40 weeks that equates to 12,000 touches of the ball. This group would need to train 6 times more to get the same amount of touches.

What we don't have here "street football" which is a problem in first world nations, is that kids learn the game without adult interference.
WHile even worse is that the pool of youngsters with high level "motor skills" is steadily decreasing with our sedantary lifestyles. And this will be the frontline battle for all sports in the comming years.
Of course there is even an argument starting that claims that European Football Acadamies cannot produce World Class players (I would say not enough)because they don't have the kids with the necessary motor skill, playing skills compared to 30 years agao, thus the reliance on African and South American players.

I study coaching and this is still a prevalant theory but has been proven to be no more than just an opinion that will benefit the athlete. However, to become an elite athlete the 10,000 hour rule isn't a must.

FFA should use the ridiculous amounts of money we pay them to play Football and use it for street soccer courts

I agree but there is way too much practice and nowhere near enough play.
International players have often said that we practice too much and play too little.
It was put "we practice to play not to practice."


Edited by krones3: 17/1/2012 07:02:47 PM

I'm not sure it would, Dave. I'd like to think you are right though.

The lure of computer games seems to be a strong disincentive to keep kids inside.

The kids in Africa and South America (Brazil could be changing as it is becoming wealthier quite quickly) may not have the choice of as many other pursuits as Western kids.

Edited by Decentric: 17/1/2012 07:17:59 PM

You'd imagine that hours played would increase dramatically if we had street soccer courts ala Europe (or abject poverty, ala Africa/South America?)

In most pursuits it has been mooted that a person needs 10 000 hours of practice before one is good enough to achieve excellence.

In a footballer's career, one needs to reach this target at a relatively young age, because the life of a footballer is a short one.

If a player plays football from ages 7 to 22, over 15 years, one needs to accrue 10 000 hours practice.

This amounts to 667 hours per year.

Over a 48 week year this amounts to 13 hours per week.



At primary school if one plays every lunch and recess, one can accrue about 5 hours practice per week over 40 weeks - 200 hours.

One coaching session with a club over a 20 week season can amount to another 20-30 hours per year.

Another 50 minutes can be added for a game per week. Over a season this may amount to 16 hours.

Futsal can take up another 10-30 hours.

This is still under 250 hours per year.

Maybe this is why the elite programme model has been conceived by FFA? For players to accumulate 600-700 hours of practice per year.

Edited by Decentric: 17/1/2012 06:54:28 PM