Ok, so your kid can catch, throw, hit, run and jump better than any kid in his school for his "age group." And it's the same for any team he plays on.
Can't miss, you say. Well, I've got news for you. The skills you're thinking about might be quite helpful on his or her way up the ladder of success as a youth athlete. But those physical skills are only part of the battle. Those skills only get you in the door. It's other skills that make the difference.
So, let's talk about sports and what it takes. Let's take a sport like golf. I know, I know. You're saying, "How can you call golf a sport when it in no way compares to sports like baseball, football, basketball, soccer and all the other 'real' sports out there."
For the moment, let me say that if you've never played golf, then I suggest that the next time you go by a driving range, stop and go hit a bucket of balls with one of their rental clubs. If you don't come away cursing about how you couldn't get one ball straight down the middle, or even up in the air, then I'll shake your hand as one of the world's great athletes.
So hold on, I'm getting to the test, but let me get back to golf for a minute.
One day I said to former professional golfer Bob Murphy, "Bob, there are so many young kids out there who are amazing at golf today. How can a young person tell if they can make it to the professional level?"
He said, "That's easy. What you do is have them play on five different golf courses with totally different terrain and if they can break par on all of them, they might, and I mean might, have a chance. If they don't break par then the odds are stacked way against them. But those are physical skills, and while those are important, it's what's between your ears that make the difference."
So with that I leave you my personal test to help see if your kid with all of his or her physical skills has a chance to make it in sports at the next level:
1.They talk about sports all the time. True or False?
2.They love being outside playing some kind of sport. True or False?
3.They hate to lose at anything they do. True or False?
4.When playing a board game they get emotional. True or False?
5.They love to watch sports on TV. True or False?
6.The video games they choose are all sports related. True or False?
7.In a championship game they never choke? True or False?
8.They LOVE to compete. True or False?
9.Most of their friends are athletic. True or False?
10.When you look in their eyes before any competition, the eyes say "I love this."
If you answered "True" to all the above then maybe, just maybe, you have a champion in your house.