I was the kid who was bad at every sport I tried (softball, field hockey, track) but somehow fell in love with distance running my freshman year of HS despite coming in last in my first track meet running 9:00 for the 1600m race and barely lowering my time to sub 8:00 by the end of the year. The last place streak continued through my sophomore year even when I added the 3200m to my schedule. It took me until my senior year to run under 6:30, and 6:11 was my HS PR. I was a walk on to the indoor track team in college and only then did I start to really improve. After two seasons of cross country at the D3 level and several track seasons I was running times I never could dream of in HS - but they were not competitive at the collegiate level. Eventually I turned into a injured runner, took up cycling, and made it all the way to Cat 1 level in cycling. Along the way I had the opportunity to return to track and road running and I ran my ultimate PRs at age 31 - including winning my one and only marathon with a time of 3:07 off of very unstructured training. I never had a fit mindset, I got so used to being last that I just enjoyed the process of training. I never set mental limits. I turn 50 this year and I am still discovering new strengths. (And I have read all of your books!)
Great stuff and hat tip...Cat 1 cycling is no joke (I peaked at Cat 3!) Well done on never giving up and continuing to seek new opportunities to grow and compete.
Fantastic, as always. Very congruent with the articles you and the Growth Equation crew have been writing about how youth sports are approached in Norway - emphasis on participation, trying different sports, teamwork, skill & fitness development...and most of all having fun with friends. All prioritized well before specializing and winning at all costs.
Imagine how many kids would stick with their activities, sports or otherwise, if the emphasis was on enjoyment and growing proficiency rather than winning...and how many more Jim Ryun's would emerge.
My own definition of talent has to do with enjoyment and not so much with being passionate or naturally gifted at something. We are supposed to like what we are good at, but we are also very good at what we like. Ryun clearly loved training and enjoyed pushing the limits, and that's also why he did what he did.
The point I agree the most you with is that you don't need to be a shower from the get go. I am a professional cellist, and the world of music is filled with examples of this. The most abhorrent one (to me) we find it in Paris, in the CNSM (Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique). One cannot apply to a Bachelor degree in the most popular instruments, such as piano, flute, violin and the cello, past 21. As if older people would never be able to reach mastery and that magic number was the deadline to do so. Legendary bassoon player Klaus Thunemann started playing the bassoon when he was 18 and he became one of the most influential figures in the world.
Thanks Steve - such a great message. It’s another reason why/how early talent ID can get it wrong. We need to keep as many people playing for as long as possible or we lose so many people who could love the game and could maybe even be a Jim Ryun.
Que gran mensaje. Talento vs formación, me parece que el proceso de formación de mejora aplica para todos/as en cada aspecto de la vida. Y el talento viene en una de esas capacidades, pero siempre requerirá de formación en otras áreas. 🧑🎓📚💯
I was the kid who was bad at every sport I tried (softball, field hockey, track) but somehow fell in love with distance running my freshman year of HS despite coming in last in my first track meet running 9:00 for the 1600m race and barely lowering my time to sub 8:00 by the end of the year. The last place streak continued through my sophomore year even when I added the 3200m to my schedule. It took me until my senior year to run under 6:30, and 6:11 was my HS PR. I was a walk on to the indoor track team in college and only then did I start to really improve. After two seasons of cross country at the D3 level and several track seasons I was running times I never could dream of in HS - but they were not competitive at the collegiate level. Eventually I turned into a injured runner, took up cycling, and made it all the way to Cat 1 level in cycling. Along the way I had the opportunity to return to track and road running and I ran my ultimate PRs at age 31 - including winning my one and only marathon with a time of 3:07 off of very unstructured training. I never had a fit mindset, I got so used to being last that I just enjoyed the process of training. I never set mental limits. I turn 50 this year and I am still discovering new strengths. (And I have read all of your books!)
Great stuff and hat tip...Cat 1 cycling is no joke (I peaked at Cat 3!) Well done on never giving up and continuing to seek new opportunities to grow and compete.
Fantastic, as always. Very congruent with the articles you and the Growth Equation crew have been writing about how youth sports are approached in Norway - emphasis on participation, trying different sports, teamwork, skill & fitness development...and most of all having fun with friends. All prioritized well before specializing and winning at all costs.
Imagine how many kids would stick with their activities, sports or otherwise, if the emphasis was on enjoyment and growing proficiency rather than winning...and how many more Jim Ryun's would emerge.
My own definition of talent has to do with enjoyment and not so much with being passionate or naturally gifted at something. We are supposed to like what we are good at, but we are also very good at what we like. Ryun clearly loved training and enjoyed pushing the limits, and that's also why he did what he did.
The point I agree the most you with is that you don't need to be a shower from the get go. I am a professional cellist, and the world of music is filled with examples of this. The most abhorrent one (to me) we find it in Paris, in the CNSM (Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique). One cannot apply to a Bachelor degree in the most popular instruments, such as piano, flute, violin and the cello, past 21. As if older people would never be able to reach mastery and that magic number was the deadline to do so. Legendary bassoon player Klaus Thunemann started playing the bassoon when he was 18 and he became one of the most influential figures in the world.
Thanks Steve - such a great message. It’s another reason why/how early talent ID can get it wrong. We need to keep as many people playing for as long as possible or we lose so many people who could love the game and could maybe even be a Jim Ryun.
Great stuff Steve. You never know when people will shine !
Just listened to the podcast too.
I'm so glad I discovered this blog
So happy to have you here!
Very good, Steve. I particularly like the three takeaways.
What is Substack considered in identifying the source? A website or an app or an online newsletter, etc?
Que gran mensaje. Talento vs formación, me parece que el proceso de formación de mejora aplica para todos/as en cada aspecto de la vida. Y el talento viene en una de esas capacidades, pero siempre requerirá de formación en otras áreas. 🧑🎓📚💯