Kids who make you feel better about sucking at sport

By HarryBalding / Roar Guru

Think back on your glory days as a sportsman. It might be 30 years ago, or it might be just last week. The glorious moments are what we remember.

The chip from the bunker that landed topside and rolled back, directly into the hole when you were 14, playing with your Grandpa.

The time you climbed above the pack to take a mark one-handed with your girlfriend watching from the front-row.

That return ace you hit to win the U12 Maryland Championship.

All too often we forget that we had just as many blinders as stinkers, just as many times being palmed off by the 50kg scrumhalf as making the last-man tackles.

Below is a comprehensive resource to be viewed whenever you need reminding that you probably weren’t the superstar you seem to remember.

This super tall 13-year-old basketballer

This Eastern European teen really seems to have the edge over anyone his own age. He is literally head-and-shoulders above anyone else on the court.

In a sport where height is a precious commodity and becomes something of a prerequisite further down the track, this lad has a bright future.

The Tongan Thor

Most members of the Australian rugby community are well and truly aware of Taniela Tupou by now.

The 18-year-old schoolboy was raised in Tonga, but attended Sacred Heart College in Auckland, where his performances for the First XV made big waves on social media.

Tupou signed with the Queensland Reds in mid-September, where coach Richard Graham will be looking to develop the 135kg prop into a Super Rugby calibre player in the short-term.

This golfing prodigy with a better swing than you

Make no mistake, golf is hard.

Every thing your body does during the swing affects the trajectory of the ball in some way. Your grip, hips, feet, back, head, shoulders and wrists could make or break that approach, should one of these respective body parts’ rhythm be slightly off.

This 9-year-old has got it already. Doubtless he’d been handed a plastic club at a very early age and as such had plenty of time to learn all the necessary skills in his formative years, but hey. His swing is still much better than mine, and I’d be willing to bet it looks nicer than yours, too.

The best 14-year-old footballer in the world

Hachim Mastour cost AC Milan €500,000 in 2012 when he signed from Reggiana as a 14-year-old.

He is yet to make his professional debut, but all signs point to the second coming of Zidane.

Mastour, who turned 16 in June, attracted strong interest from Inter, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Chelsea before signing with I Rossoneri.

Let’s hope he’s not another superstar-turned-failed prodigy in the mould of Manchester City’s Michael Johnson or Barcelona’s Bojan Krkic.

The Crowd Says:

2014-10-23T06:18:56+00:00

SM

Guest


I think a better example would be Kluivert and van Nistelrooy. It always amazed me that those two were born on the same day and yet when van Nistelrooy was banging them in for Manchester United, you could argue that Kluivert was a has been. It was a shame how Kluivert tailed off, he was phenomenal at his best and had a great touch for such a big bloke. Despite that, he was still his country's all-time top scorer until recently, but they'll always be that question of what could have been.

2014-10-23T01:21:01+00:00

Nicholas Hartman

Roar Guru


I remember listening to a podcast once when I was driving past Brisbane Water, and the discussion had turned to potential and growth in young footballers. Specifically what I remember is someone saying that scientifically, there's late bloomers, early spurters and constant-ers. So in terms of soccer, I guess retrospectively it makes sense that someone like Wayne Rooney was an early spurter, whose talents tailed off before he was even considered 'old' in football terms, whereas Rickie Lambert could be considered the opposite. There's also all the problems with recruitment strategies and youth training and early childhood environments, and also things like mental strength, determination, injuries and all that sort of jazz when they're mature and well into their careers, BUT kids who are really good at sport when they're kids are just that. Don't feel bad, there's every chance they'll end up as bad as you or I when they reach the same age.

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