hard work and determination or natural ability

[DJR]

Made me think....

[Capricorn]

I think people are forever looking for a 'formula', but it's not that simple, it's a combination of factors.

 

there actually is a formula, even taking into account individuality. the problem is, some ppl think there is one formula to rule them all, a panacea as it were. What works for him must work for me, etc etc.

 

Everyone's formula for maximum potential will be as unique as they are unique individuals. Take Darryl Cullinan as example: technically, one of the most gifted batsman to ever walk this earth, but he sure as hell needed a healthy dose of 'shrink' in his diet, because that blonde spin master sure as hell beat him mentally long before the ball hit the turf.

 

Manon herself mentioned going to the shrink as casually as she would mention her next protein shake. She has a good structure built around her to extract her optimal level of performance. her formula is working.

 

Point is, formulas apply and they work. the trick is figure out the one for you, and then you need to pull finger and put in the hardyards. Better to hurt in practice than to bleed in battle.

Edited June 19, 2014 by Capricorn

[NickGM]

You a 2nd child by any chance?

 

hahahaha. They're also really good looking and intelligent, you know.

['Dale]

Ask Mark Cavendish - whilst working in a bank he was sent to a lab by British Cycling only to be told he didn't have the genetic make up to ever become a professional cyclist. 6 years later he won the World Championship.

 

I know its not XC or DH but you need big ones to participate in the sprint for the line.

 

Profound

Didn't know that

 

 

[rudi-h]

by hard training only you can certainly be the best amongst your friends and you can let some heads turn with your performance, but to be the best ALLWAYS involves a large portion of natural ability / talent etc. and its different for every sport.

 

A good example is rock climbing. With rock climbing 99% of what makes a good climber is to be fearless. No matter how much training, I for example will never be able to lead a hard pitch 800m above ground on El Capitan, even if I would train enough to do the same moves blindfolded in a climbing gym. As for Alex Honnold, his lack of fear of hights is almost direspectful to gravity, yet this is the reason why he is famous and why it may take another century for somebody to top his solo climbing achievements!

 

Bottom line is that I think DH racing it to some extent similar to rock climbing as it requires a lot of guts and "no fear" mentality which is something that you are born with. Its less obvious than e.g. with rock climbing, but some of the attributes that you need cannot be learnt.

[NickGM]

Not at all - I think there is a big influence of nurture in the mix too - aside from just genetics. 2nd kids have to fight for everything, and get compared to their older siblings all the time (even if it is unconsciously by parents)

 

I suspect that this happens less for 3rd and 4th kids as the experience of parents increases, and they are diluted by the first few kids.

 

I'm sure there's a lot of truth in that. Interesting stuff.

[Andrew Steer]

Another prime example is Ullrich versus Lance... take the drugs out the equation (they both juiced heavily) and you have a relatively lazy super talent getting trumped by a hyper driven lesser talent.

 

I've long dreamed of what Jan could have achieved with Lance's determination and bloody mindedness

[V12man]

You a 2nd child by any chance?

 

I am - 2nd of 4... but actually that comes from some reading and my experience of how we handle my own kids sometimes.

 

One of my lecturers at varsity was very interested in this - Prof Helgo Schomer - who is on 702 occasionally.

 

He was a lot more interested in how in a class of 10 he landed up with 2 skydivers....

 

Helgo was the youngest ever Phd at UCT at the time - did his thesis on what marathon runners think about while they are racing - interesting bit of work.

[SwissVan]

I'm pretty sure east african genetic abilities in endurance events would shine through if there were even one tenth of the bikes or pools in those countries than there are in 1st world european countries.

 

It's a great scientific debate (nature vs nurture) but for me, genetics is the biggest factor. Until recently, there had only ever been one person to run a sub-10 sec 100m who WAS NOT of west african ancestry, and that was Frankie Fredricks. Since then there was one other, who also happened to be the first white person to ever do it - Cristophe LeMaitre. And you can't say that whitey doesn't have access to good running facilities and coaching. If anything, the average caucasian has much better socio-economic advantages in this regard.

 

It's just DNA.

 

 

Your first para supports my sentiments 100%, bicycles and swimming (just to list my 2 examples) have been around since forever and hardly new to east and west Africans or Jamaicans....There have been and are Africans and Jamicans competing in endurance sports other than running, BUT because of missing variables (other than genes) they don't win.

 

Its not JUST dna, your first para proves that

[Andrew Steer]

Not at all - I think there is a big influence of nurture in the mix too - aside from just genetics. 2nd kids have to fight for everything, and get compared to their older siblings all the time (even if it is unconsciously by parents)

 

I suspect that this happens less for 3rd and 4th kids as the experience of parents increases, and they are diluted by the first few kids.

And surely the parents learn from the mistakes they made on the first child?

The positive effect of this learning curve though wains the moment the child parent ratio increases beyond one

I'm the 4th sibling

Edited June 19, 2014 by Andrew Steer

[Wyatt Earp]

Hard work from me for the next two years and I will take the yellow at the Cramps Eleasy in Paris in 2016.

I believe hard work is all we need, with hard work anything is possible and can be achieved.

Wimbledon for me in 2017 and then the million dollah golf in 2018.

2019 I am signing as a striker with Manchester United and announce my retirement in 2020.

[SwissVan]

And where does that theory leave us "only childs"

[SwissVan]

Hard work from me for the next two years and I will take the yellow at the Cramps Eleasy in Paris in 2016.

I believe hard work is all we need, with hard work anything is possible and can be achieved.

Wimbledon for me in 2017 and then the million dollah golf in 2018.

2019 I am signing as a striker with Manchester United and announce my retirement in 2020.

 

Good point hidden in there

 

AGE counts as well

 

[Andrew Steer]

Hard work from me for the next two years and I will take the yellow at the Cramps Eleasy in Paris in 2016.

I believe hard work is all we need, with hard work anything is possible and can be achieved.

Wimbledon for me in 2017 and then the million dollah golf in 2018.

2019 I am signing as a striker with Manchester United and announce my retirement in 2020.

Sorry man, you're way too old

[V12man]

And surely the parents learn from the mistakes they made on the first child?

The positive effect of this learning curve though wains the moment the child parent ratio increases beyond one

I'm the 4th sibling

 

I think parents just don't have enough time - 2 keep me busy, not sure what would happen with 4... think I might go nuts...

 

There must also be some level of influence on how far apart the kids are too - the 4 of us are 5 1/2 years apart from top to bottom... don't think that a 6 year old has as much of a maturing influence on a 1 year old - my dad is 14 years older than his brother, and according to my uncle he was brought up by his older brother....

[Wyatt Earp]

Sorry man, you're way too old

 

Don't BRAKE me down.