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Rugby Union: Pro Dream Still a Big Climb for North Americans
Published: January 31, 2013
The saying comes down to us from the psychologist Anders Ericsson and was most recently examined by Malcom Gladwell, in his book Outliers.
One of the most important and fascinating parts of Gladwell's research, which focused on different groups of people who had reached the peak of their professions, was his findings in regards to pro athletes in the sport of ice hockey.
Gladwell discovered that Canadian hockey players born in the first few months of the year, were far more likely to become professional players than the rest of their peers.
The logic was that players born early in the year were likely to be more physically mature than other boys at various stages in their childhood and therefore more likely to be identified as more athletically gifted.
This, in turn, caused these players to receive more hours of elite coaching and attention. These are the players that went on to benefit from Ericsson's 10,000 hour theory and subsequently become professionals.
If only the issues around pursuing a professional rugby career were so simple.
For ambitious North American rugby players, the very idea that they could accumulate such hours of training so early in life seems highly improbable. For starters, rugby leagues for the very young are a relatively new phenomenon for North Americans, and today's young adults with professional aspirations are likely to have only been in the game for a comparative handful of seasons.
European national unions, as well as their associated professional clubs, all have youth development programs which are specifically designed to identify, acquire and train promising young talent in England, Ireland, ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Rugby Union
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Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.
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San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.
Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.
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