Is talent over rated ?

[Auntie.Gerald]

I love the xmas new year period - I love reflecting on the year what was and the year that will be......I also love reading a few books !

I have read two books over the break of which one was called "Talent is Overrated" written by Geoff Colvin.

If you havent read this book I thoroughly recommend it........it is a very engaging and well written insight into the subject of 'talent'. It also a great reference in my opinion for friends, family and most important your children !

Firstly, what is talent ?

Secondly, nature vs nurture? ie is talent born or is it grown?

Thirdly, next steps to building high performance. Deep practice, effective practice is the difference !

............

After reading the book "Talent is over rated" I had a quick I look at our Swans current structure of staff and management and compared the list to Rugby League and Rugby Union and Soccer we are miles in front in our specialist roles....... See below the copy and paste in RED:

The roles and focus I am interested in after reading the book "Talent is over rated" is Rob Spurrs position "Elite Performance Coach and Chris Smiths position of "Elite Talent and Operations Manager".

Having a full time focus on Elite or High Performance is absolutely critical and this has been acknowledged by the club at many levels. Firstly the Swans developing the Academy is critical for future talent development as talent is developed many many years before reaching the draft or a Senior AFL team. Secondly having Rob's position looking into the future trends and best practice is critical while the key staff members are implementing the current standards. Thirdly,as talent is scarce and as so many winter sports fight for talent we have to be smarter and smarter in our development of high performance and the pathways to our programmes !

any more thoughts ??

http://www.sydneyswans.com.au/people/tabid/12156/default.aspx

Executive:

Chief Executive: Andrew Ireland
Executive Assistant: Janene Thoma


Football Department

Football Operations:

General Manager ? Football: Dean Moore
Football Operations Coordinator: Vanessa Muellner
Football Services & TeamSWANS Assistant: Gina Keeble

Coaching:

Senior Coach: John Longmire
Assistant Coach: John Blakey
Assistant Coach: Leigh Tudor
Assistant Coach: Stuart Dew
Stoppage Coach: Mark Stone
Manager ? Player Development: Stuart Maxfield
Development Coach: Henry Playfair
Forward Scout: George Stone
Ruck Coach: Stephen Taubert

Player Welfare:

Player Welfare & Development Manager: Dennis Carroll

Medical & Conditioning:

Doctor: Nathan Gibbs
Physiotherapist & Rehabilitation Coordinator: Matt Cameron
Dietitian: Lorraine Cullen
Elite Performance Coach: Rob Spurrs
Strength & Rehabilitation Coach: Bryce Cavanagh
Conditioning Coach: Matt Pine
Physical Preparation Coordinator: James Green
Skill Acquisition Consultant: Ben Moore

Football IT:

Football Technology Manager: Anthony Cahill
Football Technology Analyst: Daniel McFarlane

TeamSWANS:

TeamSWANS Manager: Craig Holden

Football Production:

Logistics Coordinator: Glenn Suter

Recruiting:

Manager ? Player Personnel: Kinnear Beatson
NSW - Elite Talent Identification Coordinator - Chris Smith
Recruitment Consultant: Ric Barham

Commercial Operations

Finance:

Chief Financial Officer: Tim Laing
Finance Manager: Lesley McGrath
Assistant Accountant: Jodi Napoli
Accounts / IT Assistant: Paul O?Connor
Payroll Officer: Susan Mills

Information Technology:

Information Technology Manager: Mitch Miller

Human Resources:

Human Resource Coordinator: Scott Dalby

Corporate Partnerships:

General Manager - Corporate Partnerships: Troy Bundy
Manager - Hospitality & Corporate Events: Natasha Browitt
Senior Corporate Partnership Manager: Claire Neylan
Corporate Partnership Manager: Jo Digesu
Corporate Partnership Executive: Anita Murphy
Business Development Manager: Jad Maserow
Business Development Manager: Adam Weinberger

Marketing, Membership & Fan Development:

General Manager - Marketing & Fan Development: Anthony Cammell
Membership & Fan Development Manager: Natalie Fagg
Ticketing Executive: Kate Sutton
Member Services Manager: Jenny Thompson
Fan Development Executive: Michael Martin
Fan Development & Group Sales Executive: David Marsh
Member Services Executives: Phoebe Roberts-Thomson, Arna Hunt, Brett Marvell and Rebecca Donaldson
Database Administrator: Stephen Clissold
Senior Manager ? Events & Operations: Amanda Turner
Events Manager: Rachel Macumber
Events Executive: Dylan Minehan
Manager - Match Day Experience & Sports Presentation: Alicia Berry
Fundraising & Merchandise Executive: Jade Bolton

Communications:

General Manager - Communications: Jenny McAsey
Communications & Media Coordinator: Jonathon Monasso
Communications Content & Website Coordinator: Josh Berriman
Multimedia Producer: Jiva Smith

Melbourne:

General Manager ? Melbourne: Tony Morwood
Business Services Manager: Sarah Anning
Business Services Executive: Ben Allen

QBE Sydney Swans Academy:

Head Coach: Paul Roos
Elite Talent & Operations Manager: Chris Smith
Administration Co-ordinator: Michelle Fricke

[Auntie.Gerald]

http://www.sydneyswans.com.au/tabid/7106/default.aspx?newsid=63047

Lynch !

[Kirkari]

http://www.sydneyswans.com.au/tabid/...x?newsid=63047

Lynch !

?A lot of these guys are pretty focused and a lot weren?t regarded as the best footballers in their age group but I thought what tipped them over the edge was their maturity and application. They are all pretty competitive young lads.?

This is the consistent message from the Swans. Talent is all very well, but the ability to apply themselves in the way they're asked to is also essential.

[Legs Akimbo]

Talent sets the floor but application sets the ceiling...or is it the other way around?

[liz]

Depends on what one thinks talent is. To me it is a latent ability to learn a skill. But it is skill that marks achievement. Some skills can be mastered by almost anyone, though some will take longer than others, depending on that latent ability (eg touch typing, so long as one has 10 fingers). Other skills - eg muscial skills and athletic skills - require a certain degree of "talent" for the skill ever to be mastered. But even with the talent, developing the skill to a level of mastery requires a lot of practice and can be helped along enormously by a skilled teacher.

[aardvark]

But even with the talent, developing the skill to a level of mastery requires a lot of practice and can be helped along enormously by a skilled teacher.

Even then it may never happen.....cough cough Jessie White cough cough

[wolftone57]

I agree with Liz that talent is latent ability. Talent needs to be nurtured for it to develop into skill. Take Fev for instance, tons of talent nurtured into a highly skilled player only to be affected by his nature. This proves that even though you nurture the talent into skill it might not become the weapon you wish. A person's inner nature can effect the way they achieve. Some achieve quickly, some slower and some will never achieve the goals to which they aspire. This is the reason we have Sports Psychologists in AFL to help players overcome the barriers they have either built up in growing up (learned behavior) or in their inner nature.

[Primmy]

Lewis Roberts Thompson. I rest my case

[dimelb]

Talent is nature, work is nurture. But it's complicated by the fact that we don't know how much of, for example, our emotional makeup is given at birth.
So I agree with Primmy, who I think is saying that above-average talent plus hard work (including work on oneself, not only physical training) can produce a valuable player. And I would add that exceptional talent plus hard work is what produces an Adam Goodes.

[aardvark]

At this level talent and hard work are only two thirds of the equation. An innate understanding or feel for the game is just as important if not more so.

[dimelb]

At this level talent and hard work are only two thirds of the equation. An innate understanding or feel for the game is just as important if not more so.

I'm inclined to agree, and would only add that 'innate' means 'talent'.

[Big Al]

My football career was high on application and endeavour but exceedingly low on talent. On the other hand my brother had freakish abilities as a footballer but sadly he discovered girls in his teens and was never saved. It's something he regrets to this day. The football not the girls.

So it's always been my belief that not only do you need the physical talents but you also need the mental ones to make it at the highest level. It's probably why sports psychology is so huge now.

[wolftone57]

I had all the talent but no height and no killer instinct. I didn't have what it took even at Suburban level after I discovered partying. I was invited out to Richmond as a 16 year old by a talent scout but didn't go choosing to play for Hawthorn YCW. I would never have been tall enough for the AFL anyway at 5'4"

[aardvark]

I would never have been tall enough for the AFL anyway at 5'4"

You would have matched up well with James "Nipper" Bradford who at 152cm or 5 feet tall was the shortest ever AFL/VFL player. Jim played 16 games with North and Collingwood and was named in the Camberwell VFA team of the century.

[wolftone57]

You would have matched up well with James "Nipper" Bradford who at 152cm or 5 feet tall was the shortest ever AFL/VFL player. Jim played 16 games with North and Collingwood and was named in the Camberwell VFA team of the century.

James 'Nipper' Bradford played in the 1940's and people were not as tall as when I played in the 1970's. You were expected to be 5'6" if you were a rover. There were a few exceptions, Paul Callary was only 165cm. Anyway it is moot I discovered partying and having fun with my friends and didn't have the dedication of a Paul Callary.