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| Muhammad Ali |
On the whole, do you think our society underestimates the amount of hard work it takes for athletes--and African American athletes in particular--to succeed in the world of sports? Or does our society wrongly celebrate the exploits of successful athletes--including African American athletes--who are blessed with natural abilities that they were simply born with?
In what sports are natural ability more important than hard work?
Society underestimates the amount of hard work it takes for athletes to succeed in sports. I think this is because society often only sees the finished product. They remember Muhammad Ali winning against Sonny Liston, but probably don't remember of even know about quite how many hours of training he did or how rigorous the training was. The same could be said about other athletes. Society today just sees athletes like LeBron James on the court; they don't see all the training and conditioning he has to do. Certainly body types can contribute to success in sports, like Michael Phelps, but body types alone won't win gold medals and championship rings. I think we would hear less about "natural ability" if society were able to see exactly how much training and effort these athletes must go through.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brayden. I think that fans do not understand just how much time and effort it takes for athletes to get to the point of success that they are at. Dweck makes it very clear in chapter four that you cannot only have natural ability but that you also need hard work to consistently be at the top. Theoretically, people know that success takes effort but as fans, we are so disconnected from the athletes that lots of the time we attribute all of their success to natural talent.
DeleteReally well said Brayden! I think it is hard for us to see or even imagine how many hours and how much effort the professionals put into becoming the best.
DeleteI do agree with both Brayden and Kate, but I would like to add a few things. Many people, when reading this question, assume that the sports being discussed would include football or basketball. While those are important in today’s world, I would also like to discuss other sports, such as swimming and gymnastics. Would Michael Phelps, as Brayden mentioned, have been able to win so many gold medals had he never learned how to swim? Simone Biles, of the USA Women’s Gymnastics Team, is also very successful, but would she be where she is if she hadn’t worked on her agility and flexibility? Some people are born with natural abilities, but not all. I am not commenting here to make people believe that band is a sport- it is- but there are many things that go into being a successful member of marching band that also relate to this question. It takes hard work, dedication, and a lot of practice time, just like any other sport. You also must be able to play an instrument. Music, like swimming, isn’t necessarily something that people are born being able to do. You have to make the conscious decision to learn and practice- much like any other star athlete. That is what makes them great. Finally, to say African-Americans as a whole are naturally better at ALL sports, does not make sense to me. There are outliers -as there are in any ethnic group- who may be better at something than someone else, but that does not mean every member of the group is.
ReplyDeleteI believe that society underestimates the hard work that athletes put in. Like Brayden said, society tends to only see all the games, matches, or medals that athletes have won without really seeing all the long hours of work that they have put in to get to that point. No one is born with innate athletic ability, no matter what race they are or what build they have. Success takes hard work.
ReplyDelete-Kaylee George
I agree with all the other comments that society does underestimate the amount of hard work athletes put into their selected sport. We don’t ever see all the endless hours that these athletes put it. We just see the end result, as we watch from either the sidelines or the couch. Even if a person is born with natural abilities for their activity they still have to work hard to get far into the sport. They are not born already being the best, but have to work towards it. Society would believe less in natural abilities, I believe, if they watched all the training that go into them.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with everyone else on this. There are so many aspects that go into sports, and talent, athletic ability, and body type are some of the contributing factors. A big part of the whole picture are other aspects like: dedication, passion, hard work, time, preparation, mental toughness, studying the sport, technique, effort, focus, coaching, nutrition, flexibility, muscle memory, strength, and hundreds of other things that go into every single sport; and these are all things someone can work on. I believe that natural physical ability is important to sports, but I would also say it is less than a quarter or what makes great athletes who they are. I think that it is easy to point at a person or a group of people and say they are better at sports because of their natural abilities. One reason is we want an excuse for why we aren’t or will never be as good as they are.
ReplyDeleteWe may say African Americans are naturally better at sports because they may possess natural characteristics that our favorable to sports, like speed, or jumping ability. But, they still have to nurture and grow their abilities like anyone else. Having a natural talent for something does help ignite that initial love and passion for the sport, which can help drive someone to work hard and be committed to a sport. I really think that making someone first enjoy the sport is really the most important aspect of natural abilities. Once someone sees that they can be good, or enjoys something because they beat their other untrained piers, it can change their mindset and give them a great drive to work hard and succeed.
This debate is like most others in the regard that it is not a black and white argument. It takes more nuance to be able to fully recognize what is the true cause of something like a professional athlete’s success. I think in this cases that both sides have valid points to bring to the table. There's no denying that an individual’s natural physique plays a large part of their success in a physical sport. If this weren't so, we would see a lot more 5 foot tall professional basketball players. But at the same time, if an individual with an ideal physique does not invest time and hard work to learn the game, perfect their abilities, find their own strengths and weaknesses, etcetera, they will not be able to take advantage or utilize properly what they have. This is why being successful is essentially one half hard work and, unfortunately, one half luck. So, maybe this means professional athletes may not deserve all the praise that they receive at times, but it's not to say that they deserve none.
ReplyDelete- Jacob Talkington
Our athletes are idolized. They are treated as gods in some circles. It is outrageous! The lens of effortless perfection that our society views them through is discrediting the unbelievable amount of training that took place off the screens. Even if some one was born with an over-average talent for a sport, they must refine ther ability into a. Skillful and strategic execution of their talent. If you don't use it(to it's maximum potential), you lose it.
ReplyDelete--Sierra Rankin