acqusition/improvement of skills in relation to age

Other Sports
1

Does anyone have any information concerning the idea that motor skills and other sport related skills are harder to aquire after childhood. Is this true and to what extent? Could an 18-24 year old make up for lack of practice during there younger years with any special tehniques or training concepts etc. This is relating to co-ordination, reflexes/reactions, specific motor skills (eg dribbling basketball), general talent (eg seeing plays unfold before they happen and etc).

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

2

Culz,

I’ve coached many adults, many over 40, how to shoot a basketball, catch a football etc. so that they could play with their children. Some have never played a sport in their life. I have found some to be innately coordinated and needed very little time to pick up the skill regardless of whether they had ever played any sport.

HOWEVER,

(1) As for playing in a league, given you have the physical, mental and psychological talent, that will depend on the sport you want to play, the level of competition and the position you want to play.

(2) Practice repetition and most importantly game experience is crucial for an athlete.

(3) There are athletes who can play one sport and not another.

Whatever the sport you are considering you will need excellent coaching.

Not to throw a damper on dreams because I believe we should all strive hard to attain them, there was ESPN poll that showed 76% of males think they could have been pro athletes had they had better coaching and parent support as a kid. I see pro athletes up close and I can tell you that without a doubt 75.9999% of males are out of their minds.

I’m not saying that is you Culz. I’m saying that I wish more people would enjoy their playing experience at whatever level they are at. While reaching for the stars don’t forget to enjoy your time on earth.

Hope this helps,
Football Coach

3

for basketball just hold a basketball and throw it up and down around the house and while you watch TV, that’s what I did with a football over the summer, when I came back to football season I went from being one of the guys with the worst hands on the team last year to one of the best

4

wrong data

5

Culz,

  1. You’re not too old to reach your potential. To what level you can play will in part be a factor of your genetics. As I posted Professional Sports is another world.

  2. Good you have changed your attitude to 99%. Now make it 100%.

  3. At 17.5 yrs old I assume you are a senior in high school. Therefore, you will have to go to camps and play in a high level league in your area where college scouts can see you play.

You should start a new post on this website under “Other Sports” with the headline including the word “Basketball” so you can attract the basketball players and coaches that come to this website and start gathering information from them on the approach you should take with regards to skill development, camps, leagues and being scouted by the college recruiters.

Hope this helps and good luck,
Football Coach