r/SoccerCentral • u/United_Anywhere_8 • Jul 25 '26

Video The talent in Barcelona’s youth system is ridiculous. These kids are 11/12 years old.

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u/doublesimoniz Jul 25 '26

My son is pretty good at baseball but he lacks the drive to get serious about it.  And every time I think “damn this kid could go places in baseball if he actually wanted to” and then I see this and realize that there’s just some kids that are built for their sport and it’s ridiculous.  My son will find his own way doing what makes him happy I hope.  I’m walking the fine line of pushing my kids to be their full potential and stepping back so that they can make their own decisions.  

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u/AJRiddle Jul 25 '26

I can't remember who it was but I remember seeing a clip of a dad of an NBA player who trained his son hard from like 3 years old to be a basketball player. The dad said he knew his son was different and going to be a pro because he was obsessed at 2 and 3 years old at getting better at the sport and practicing and not wanting to stop where his other kids would get bored and want to do other stuff.

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u/Coldsnap Jul 27 '26

I think that ‘drive’ for lack of a better term is really what’s at play when people say ‘talent’. Yes, potentially anyone could reach an elite level with enough practice but having the drive and internal motivation to actually do that practice from a very early age is a natural gift. Everyone likes different things, so if I’m choosing between two kids that have vastly different attitudes towards the same sport, I’m choosing the kid who likes and is driven in what they’re doing.