Are Future Pro Athletes Falling Through The Cracks?
Episode: #013.
Frances & Laura.Your friendly hosts & Almost Pro founders.
Talent may exist everywhere, but opportunity does not.
We’ve all heard the saying: “If you’re good enough, you’ll get noticed.” But noticed by who?
In this AP Bites episode, we’re asking whether talented young athletes are falling through the cracks before they ever get the opportunity to show what they could become.
At 12 or 13, one athlete might be winning everything because they’re stronger, faster or developing earlier. Another might not be getting the same results yet, but they read the game well, learn quickly, compete hard and respond when things aren’t going their way.
So are we identifying the athletes with the greatest future potential, or simply the ones whose talent is easiest to see right now?
We also look at what happens once an athlete enters a development pathway. Better coaching, stronger competition and more opportunities can quickly accelerate their progress. But does that prove we selected the better athlete, or did the opportunity itself help create the gap?
Then there’s everything that affects whether an athlete gets that opportunity in the first place: where they live, what their family knows, whether their community coach understands the pathway and whether anyone can show them which door to knock on next.
In this episode, we discuss:
• Why identifying future potential is so difficult
• Whether pathways reward potential or current performance
• How selection can widen the gap between young athletes
• Why late developers may be overlooked
• The role of grassroots and community coaches
• How knowing the system can become a major advantage
• Why geography can limit access to coaching and competition
• How many potential future professionals we may never know we missed
Stream Episode. 9:45mins.
