Talent is one of the few things that can't be created. It can be enhanced - it can be coached and brought out of people - but you can't deny it.
Talent is important, but how one develops and nurtures it is even more so.
Don't teach talent that isn't there.
It's possible at any time during a player's career to get into top physical shape or to try to win every game! But you can't teach skills to an old player. Youth coaches should keep in mind that individual skills need to be nurtured at an early age. Players who haven't mastered the fundamental skills become frustrated because the game gets too difficult for them as they move into higher levels.
But talent—if you don't encourage it, if you don't train it, it dies. It might run wild for a little while, but it will never mean anything. Like a wild horse. If you don't tame it and teach it to run on track, to pace itself and bear a rider, it doesn't matter how fast it is. It's useless.
I loved playing cricket from my childhood. My dad made me play in the streets, and my interest grew. He put me in a club, seeing this. My habit grew from that point.
Find out what your gift is and nurture it.
It is a natural gift I was born with but it's something I've had to nurture in training.
When one goes to school, you don't have any idea of what you're going to learn. But as each day passes, you learn things. I believe sport is the same way. Some guys are born with a talent. But you have to nurture that talent and continue to learn.
While it's a fact that a voice begins with natural talent, any talent must be nurtured, cajoled, wrestled with pampered, challenged, and, at every turn, examined.
