The cliche, “If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is”, does not apply to the recent Olympic Games opening and closing ceremonies. Any attempt to explain what occurred would only diminish the experience itself.
Several observations regarding the sports and the athletes. First, nearly 80 nations medaled in some event, including seven nations who only won a bronze medal, perhaps in some obsucure sport/game. Good for them!
Most of the sports/games would be considered “minor” sports in the U.S.. However, for anyone familiar with competitive athletics, those athletes who had a special skill and medaled had to have trained long and hard to be the “best of the best”!
Second, for the unique athletes, those that “it sounds to good to be true, but it is”. Swimmer Michael Phelps accomplished what no other athlete has accomplished in the history of the Olympic Games. And in swimming, considered a “minor sport” in the U.S. Best of all, he is not done, he will be back!
At age 41, Dara Torres defied conventional wisdom [age] swimming fast enough to be on the silver medal 4×100 meter freestyle relay. How much discipline and effort did that require? There were other athletes I am certain to have missed that equally sacrificed, worked through injuries, adversity and persevered that enabled them to perform at a high level.
And then there was Usain Bolt’s electrifying 100/200 meter world records. At 6?5?, not the prototypical profile of a sprinter, and only 22 years old. How fast are humans going to be able to run?
Now the perplexing part. Even in the country that invented basketball, a “major sport” in the U.S., it’s best professional players can only beat Spain by 11 points, having only a two point margin with eight minutes left! Good, but go figure! What commitment and effort are these other countries and their athletes making to compete at the international level? How about China!
Many of these foreign athletes come to the United States to train, either at a University or private training facility. Not a problem! They train long and hard with the knowledge that most of the Olympic sports/games are considered “minor” in the U.S.. It’s disappointing…think about it!
In order to keep this blog short, I am going to focus on Track and Field, an interscholastic sport considered by most to be a “minor sport”! Have you recently been too a middle or high school track and field meet? In almost all situations, at what level would you consider the coaching? In order to excel, an athlete must start young and have expert coaching, similar to gymnastics, diving, shooting, etc. It seems like only the “naturally gifted” excel. The coaches, if they are engaged, are interchangeable. One suspects this could apply to a majority of other interscholastic sports!
Speed and Power Win in almost every track and field event. Plus the techniques, the mechanics of the event must be mastered. It is not happening……. We are not developing and training track and field athletes properly, which would carry over to other sports in which they participate. It isn’t that difficult. We are going to a help!
Soon to be available on a training CD: SIMPLIFIED-Teaching the Discus and Rotation Shot Put
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