Watching this, I began recalling the stories in Speed Trap about Ben and Angella I etc.
can’t get it to play… stutters, then won’t play at all?
Update: Restarted computer…played fine…
Thanks ESTI… interesting
Try different computer. Works fine on mine.
Nice presentation.
http://shop.charliefrancis.com/blogs/news/6833000-what-is-talent ( I wrote this piece about my views on talent)
People talk about how certain cultures have more talent as do certain countries.*
The truth is talent lurks everywhere but opportunities are not necessarily for all people.*
There are many components that need to go into the development of talent outside of a one off person who makes a break or a sprinkling of success which is difficult to connect to any one person or organization.*
Culturally sports are significant to certain countries and for this reason the development dollars might reflect an average citizens desire to spend their tax dollars sending athletes to meets in order to compete with the rest of the world. *
Canada deems hockey important as part of their collective culture. Hockey has become embedded into our corporate culture but this came after a long history of participation at a grass roots level.
Fifa has been trying to widen their talent grasp into North America but despite planting one league of note into Canada and the USA , soccer is a long way away from any type of cultural competition compared to Spain, Brazil, Argentina , Italy etc.
There will be a percentage of talent in all populations but the development of talent is not easy or cheap. Someone has to have vision and be prepared to follow through to see that talent manifest into something successful.
I was speaking with a CEO of the Bolton Wanders a few years ago ( Phil Gartside) and he was saying how tough it was to compete with the near by soccer clubs because they are better known teams ( Manchester United, Man City, http://www.sportmapworld.com/map/soccer/england/fa-premier-league/) with huge amounts of capital to lure the best players.
As a strategy he spoke about the club deciding to grow their own talent as one effort to compete. If you follow Premiere League soccer you know that the Wanders have been relegated again but development takes a lot of time, money and the will to understand things can change.*
I hate to say it, but mr francis really looks like he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to comfort… 
As a Jr. in HS our track n field coach had a ‘jump off’ mid season for one of those relay meets…top 3 per event went.
The school I went to had 5 jumpers over 21’ that were in it…they were spiked warmed up and in shorts.
I didn’t jump all year or ever in HS but during my warm up jog around the track I stopped by and asked if I could take a jump.
In flats, sweats and no proper run up I beat them all with only one jump but was still not allowed to jump.
Coach thought it was a fluke I guess and made excuses for the next three.
He did not come back the next year thankfully to see me beating all of them by more than 2 Feet.
If he simply would have talked to me he would have known that I had my eyes on the LJ record since I was in 8th grade and that I use to dominate these same kids way back when.
An injury kept me away from that event for three years. Horse playing on slippery grass led to a messed up knee freshman year. I just needed time to develop my other leg.
Moral of the story is to hear the athlete’s story i.e. passion, goal setting, etc. Using some common sense would have helped in this situation also lol
It’s satisfying to hear you succeeded in spite of an annoying situation. It’s very unfortunate you had an injury which prevented you from doing more during your high school years.
Two issues you are speaking about that really bother me. One is that coaches have incredible amounts of power and control over kids and this can be a great thing when used to benefit the greater good of all. When the reverse happens it’s just wrong to mess with kids in this way.
The other issue is how someone so young might have an injury in high school that lasts 3 years! There is a certain amount of luck if you can stay healthy long enough to find your way and learn more about how to keep your body in one piece. Otherwise , once again kids are reliant on the knowledge , training and skill of coaches who may or may not be motivated to preserve people no matter who they might be.
The Injury only took me out my Freshman year when I didn’t run. However, I lost the explosive power in my left leg for life and couldn’t jump on it with success anymore. There are many that could LJ from either leg at anytime . With a lot of time so could I.
I just had to wait til my right leg was powerful enough…took long enough lol
I still went out for track my Soph and Jr years but I only did so so, I just didn’t jump
That little episode I wrote about confirmed to me that my goal was still in tact and so I trained for it and got it.
Fast Forward 25 years>>> just last week I was talking with some well known coaches in the area and we all pretty much agreed that if the JR College in the City that I live in ever started a track and field team… we would win almost every State Championship both Men’s and Women’s from here on out. That is how much TALENT, KNOWLEDGE and BELIEF there is around here.
There are some big things happening here pretty soon but it is too soon to give the details. These big projects take a long time to get going and completed but it is getting closer and closer.