Re:A writer skewered the Formula One scene, then her article...
by aerostable_slug on Wednesday March 06, 2024 @04:24PM
(#39621693)
Related aside: the genius of the Soviet school of finding athletes (emulated by others, like DPRK) is that you don't depend upon a kid trying something like Olympic weightlifting and discovering they have an aptitude for it. Instead, you screen & test the entire eligible population and focus people in the right direction early on (then keep them focused with various incentives and counter-incentives, like a nice place to live instead of a communal apartment).
One might have some incredible Olympic rifle shooters or kayakers or weightlifters or what have you, but because those sports are niche in many countries those talents may never surface (so Madeleine's amazing fast-twitch weightlifting nerves/muscles are 'wasted' on volleyball instead). When you really care about medal count, all sports are important, so you want to maximize your chances of finding the right kids to put on the national squads years in the future. It's really smart, but depends upon political/economic structures thankfully not present in other locations.
The difference talent detection isn't just about money though, but general interest and how difficult it is to detect the talent. I bet there are a lot of people that could be great at baseball in Europe, but surprisingly, nobody there plays baseball. The best possible soccer players in India are probably not playing soccer either... and the issue in those two isn't money. Starting training early at the right thing is often more crucial than talent outside of, say, basketball and volleyball, and when your father is already in the sport, it's far more likely that you'll try from a young age, get good coaching and access to sponsorships. It's more that than, say Carlos Jr's father being rich because of his continued Rally driving. There's a lot of people that are more than rich enough: they just don't try.