Is natural athleticism genetic?

[Agent Orange]

Are some people just more naturally built up stronger to be better athletes? I ask this because in every sport there's always someone that sits above the rest of the field. Whether it be Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Dan Gable, Albert Pujols, Lance Armstrong (pre-juice), etc.

 

[MtnRacer]

Yes.

Steve

 

[vato_loco]

Athletes can be created. Just ask the East Germans...

 

[theAmazingKickstand]

Yes absolutely. There hasn't been any doubt about this in many years.

 

[Agent Orange]

Then what chance do us mere mortals have in hopes of overcoming these super athletes?

 

[sanjuro]

Take Charles Barkley.

As a HS junior, he was 5'10" and 220 lbs and couldn't make the varsity team. He did continue to work with his skills which made him one of the most versatile power forwards ever, but when he shot up to 6'5" by senior year, he was a budding superstar.

I subscribe to the 10000 hour rule, which is if you spend 10,000 hours practicing something, you will be an expert.

Before anyone starts scoffing at this arbitrary number, I did coach a 1st NBA draft pick when he was 10 years old. He had talent that no other kid possessed.

But more importantly, he was given opportunity to play and practice which a lesser player would not. He was on every all-star team and coaching clinic until the NBA.

The 12th man on the bench could have practiced by himself, but I think no child has the stamina, physical and mental, to work at his game 3-4-5 hours a day.

 

[Cycle61]

Baseball bat to the knee.

 

[sandyxb]

Athletes can be created. Just ask the East Germans...

10000V in ze arm, and no light in ze head

 

[afm199]

Well, put it like this: 240 pound guys don't win marathons. 140 pound guys do. 140 pound guys don't become pro football players, 240 pound guys do. With enough practice and work, I think most people can become good or very good at SOME sport. That's a huge effort and commitment, beyond that which most people can make. If we could, we'd be pro athletes, or moto racers... The few guys I know who were semi pro or pro worked really really hard to get there. And there's always the guys who just are good the second they touch something.

 

[mike23w]

it's both nature and nurture.

phelps and armstrong are two of the hardest working athletes in their respective sport. same with jordan, kobe and tiger woods. they are also super competitive and hate losing.

the best of the best don't get there by talent alone, they have everything going for them (genetics, brains, killer instinct, mental discipline and hard work).

golfer john daly is an example of talent but missing the other things necessary to be great. talent/genetics is necessary but not sufficient to be the best.

 

[jacksprat]

No, genetics are only a small part of it. Pygmalion and galatea effects have the largest influence. It's likely that almost every sport is 90% mental and 10% physical. You can have the greatest genetics possible, but if you don't have the skill, and more importantly, the mental strength to utilize your abilities at the proper time, game over. Look at Gretsky. Look at Messi as a perfect example of a genetically ungifted athlete who is at the very top in their sport. Then of course there is luck, and politics.


Ullrich was more genetically gifted than Armstrong, yet Armstrong beat him time and again.

 

[littlebeast]

read outliers by malcolm gladwell. among other things, it restructures the question a bit.

 

[Eldritch]

Yes.

 

[Agent Orange]

I did read Outliers. I bring this up because suppose you have two athletes, and both equally put in 10K hours, but person B for whatever reason has a bigger lung capacity than person A. Then that gives him a slight edge no? Also, wouldn't a person's body type be more predisposed to give him a slight edge depending on certain sports that they play?

For example, person B is a scrawny guy whp has 4 years of solid hs wrestling. When he goes to college, Brock Lesnar decides to join for the fun of it with no background in it whatsoever. Wrecks scrawny little kid. Where did those 4 years go?

 

[i_am_the_koi]

Yes

 

[Lovedoc]

I think certain aspects of athleticsm are highly predetermined. Explosive strength and endurance are based on measurable factors like fast twitch fibers and MVO2. They may change some with training, but no amount of training could turn a competitive marathoner into a competitive power lifter IMHO.

 

[Caddywumpus]

golfer john daly is an example of talent but missing the other things necessary to be great. talent/genetics is necessary but not sufficient to be the best.

Golf is not a sport. Any "sport" where you can chain smoke cigars and drink whiskey the entire time is not a sport.

 

[mikev]

Golf is not a sport. Any "sport" where you can chain smoke cigars and drink whiskey the entire time is not a sport.

You could theoretically do that while playing ANY sport

 

[Morphine]

You could theoretically do that while playing ANY sport

Not true. Have you tried smoking cigars while swimming?

 

[savan]

Had a sociology teacher relate saying "its natural talent"as being derogatory because it implies that they dont have to work hard to be good when its definitely not true, its takes a ridiculous amount of effort and time to become great at something.