So You Want to be a Pro Athlete?

And I got a ball #HomeRunDerby2017 pic.twitter.com/0kRHS7zLVp

— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) July 11, 2017

I was a pretty good athlete growing up. I won seven varsity letters in high school. I played in the All-Star Game every year through little league, and I always seemed to make the team in general. At some point in growing up though, I realized I was never going to be a professional athlete- there were some people who just turned into freakish athletes, through size, talent, and work. I could do decent, but I wasn't going to make my money playing sports.

Last night's MLB Home Run Derby provided not one, but two examples of just non-human athletic specimens that kind of make my point for me. I'm 6'1"- a guy my size could never play basketball against Joel Embiid, who's hand is in that tweet up top. That man is simply too large for even a normal large man to play that sport against. Sure, Allen Iverson could compete at 6'1", but Allen Iverson was also an athletic freak that was an absolute joy to watch too. The other example was the guy actually winning the home run derby- Aaron Judge. Judge is 6'7". Aaron Judge can mash a baseball in ways that most humans can't dream of. He's a terror for pitchers. I saw a lot of him when he played in AAA, and he's even freakishly large against other pro athletes.

My main point- a lot of professional athletic talent is God given. Hard work is the difference between an Embiid and many other pros, but it's not the gap between Embiid and the kids in little league. So there's two main lessons I want to put out here:

1. Parents- don't get so excited at little league games. Unless your kid is lucky enough to be other-worldly talented naturally when they mature, they aren't going to make it pro.
2. Kids- Study hard. That's likely your only path to success.

Carry on.