Brian Lavery

What "story" would you like to tell about your child's sporting career? "He was a star in the under 11s. Scored a record number of points that year. He could literally dance through the defense of opposition teams. Everyone told us he would play professionally one day. A couple of years later, he wasn't so dominant, he lost interest and now at 15 we can't get him off the internet or the couch". or "He was playing at 11. Loved turning up and just enjoying playing the game with his mates. He was also playing a lot of other sports and enjoyed just being fit and active. Had a couple of ok years and improved steadily. Then at 15 he met a great coach - a #coach who really cared about him and the game and who believed in our son. That ignited a passion for the game within him and now he's working hard to be all he can be". My friends...we've all seen this haven't we? The 8 year old who was going to play #GAA professionally. The 7 year old destined to play #football for Barcelona. The 10 year old who we all KNEW would be an All Black or a Patriot or a Laker....we all know this early champion thing is a pile of bull dust. THE FOUR GOLDEN RULES OF EARLY TALENT: Early rise - early fall. Early physical talent is a poor indicator of long term success. Early physical talent is over-rated. Early physical talent is like a purple elephant - harder to hide than it is to find and mostly useless. Make it fun. Believe in them. They keep coming. That's it. PHOTO COURTESY RUGBY NZ - THANK YOU.