Are we damaging young players?
There is a new buzz-word in football – ‘choking,’ it’s not a new word by any stretch of the imagination, but is one which I have noticed has been used more in recent weeks across a variety of levels (and sports) than it has in the last ten years (by my uninformed reckoning anyway).
I first started thinking about this piece a few weeks ago as I watched on in horror as the 21 year old Rory McIlroy had a nightmare final round in the Masters and a certain journalist on Twitter wanted to know would he be known as a ‘choker’ like he would in football. My response was that the journalist should be concerned more about why football seems to revel in youngsters freezing on the big stage (or simply being outplayed or out-thought by older and more experienced players) than wonder why golf didn’t.
Players of the ilk of Wayne Rooney, Jack Wilshere, and Cesc Fabregas are a rare, rare breed. They seem to have arrived on this planet as fully-formed footballers. Despite the fact that the Jack’s and Cesc’s of this world are in the tiny minority they are, unfortunately, the yard-stick used to measure and beat other youngsters who fail to reach their heights by the tender age of 21.
It is simply ludicrous.
There’s a reason that the Young Player of the Year category allows players to be considered up until the age of 24 – because they are still young, and they are still learning.
This is not an excuse for Arsenal youngsters who have not quite been able to hit their peaks before they reach 21, the club need to take responsibility when they use players who are not quite up to the top level. It is, however, a wake-up call to those who think it is acceptable to tarnish a youngster with the label of ‘choker’ or ‘bottler’ for daring to get nervous or make a mistake when under vast amounts of pressure.
Football could learn a lot from golf. As Rory disintegrated and watched his Masters dream slip away, pundits and commentators expressed sympathy and concern for him. When he stepped back on to the fairway in Malaysia, every one of them were rooting for him to win, to excise his Masters ghosts and put in a great performance.
I can’t help think that had he been a footballer, the first time he made a mistake in his next match, the entire footballing world would have been questioning his mental ability, Loudly.
How is that helpful to the player in any way?
We live in a world where everyone is judged by the best player on the planet (or in the league or of their generation). We endure players being overhyped (see Gareth Bale) while others are slated for failing to reach those mystical heights. It’s madness and it’s damaging.
But, more than that, picking on the kids in the way some do is simply embarrassing.
How about picking on someone your own age eh?
