Actually the thing which separates the average bloke from a professional sportsman of any

description is the work ethic, dedication, attention to detail etc.

Good coaching won't achieve that end goal unless you have the above. I'm pretty sure a lot of those kids who start at Manchester United, win a youth FA cup or something and ultimately end up as a sub for tranmere are lacking in those things - what coaches refer to as the "intangibles".

However then you need good coaching to fulfill your potential.

The difference between an average and top professional sportsman means they have all those things plus the great athleticism, speed of mind, vision of the game etc.

Different sport but I'm currently coaching the Dutch national team - my third stint after 2002-4 and 2012-2014. Last year I coached pro in the German semi pro league at one of the top four teams in Europe. The German players at that team are so much better than my Dutch players now because they understand what it takes to perform at that level. Last year I also coached the Australian national team at the world championships. Australia has a far greater sports culture and you can see it. They are less talented than the Germans (smaller pool of players) but their ethic is far greater than the Dutch so they pick things up faster.

There is absolutely no difference athletically between the three groups. All three teams picked super athletes. And they had the same coach teaching the same system. But each group is hugely different in how they pick it up and execute it. If I had to make one team out of the three (and was not allowed to choose the Americans from the German team) then there would be only four or five of the Dutch guys in it.

One massive difference I've seen over the almost thirty years I've been involved in this sport, and this might be similar in football, is the growing sense of entitlement amongst players from an early age. They expect everything on a plate. Back when I was playing we had to work hard for everything. Coaching has improved, technology of coaching and game planning has improved drastically, organisation has improved but the players, rather than keep the same ethic as the older guys and be as good as we hoped they would be given all this peripheral improvement, just take it for granted and constantly try to find where they can reduce their effort and own responsibility

Posted By: Steve in Holland, Sep 7, 08:53:29