'Do you dream of playing with the surface of the Camp Nou underfoot, of lifting the Absa Premiership trophy, or firing a game winner into the net on a glorious night in the Allianz?
If it is your ambition to be a footballer in one of the best leagues in the world, then I'll bet that you are already working hard, training hour upon hour, to achieve this goal.
Hard work is the first step towards excellence. If you were to take two players from exactly the same backgrounds, the better player will always be the one who trains the hardest, rather than the one who is thought to have natural talent.
The belief in natural 'talent' is the most enduring explanation for excellence in sport, despite the fact that there have been many studies taken that prove that even if there is such a thing as talent, the effects are negligible.
In 'Bounce', Matthew Syed explains how skill at any complex activity has a direct correlation to the number of hours spent practicing, as opposed being born with the ability.
Syed states that the true factors that contribute towards success are purposeful practice, and superior systems.
This is true, but only half the story.
There are tons of skillful, hardworking players that never realize their dreams, even in countries like Spain and Holland where the youth system is second to none. Obviously, there are deeper factors at work, that dictate whether you will even get that chance to be in the kind of system that will eventually see your goals become reality.
The key to success is luck, if you are not lucky you will not be born into the ideal circumstances for football.
A good example is Lionel Messi. If you look at his early life, you will see that his circumstances were ideal for a footballer. His father was a coach, giving him a good early start. He was the youngest boy in his family and had two older brothers as well as several other relatives that he played football with and against constantly as a young boy, giving him the advantage of learning the skills needed to play against boys much older and bigger than himself. Messi also lived close to a first division club, Newell's Old Boys, where he played in the youth teams.
Messi's initial luck manifested itself in his circumstances, and gave him the opportunities in life to climb to the top. Working hard all the way was necessary, but circumstances and opportunities made his work effective.
We will not achieve our goals in football if we don't have the right opportunities, and very few of us have the luck necessary to get us through our development to the highest level. But I'm not writing this to destroy your dreams. Instead I want to show you that there is a way to break these barriers.
To make your goals a reality, you need to be proactive, which means that you take charge, put yourself in the driver's seat of your own development and ensure that you get closer to success every day, no matter what difficulties you face.
To do this you need a personal development plan. Considering that no two players are alike, your plan will be individually tailored to your skills and weaknesses in the same way that nobody goes to the doctor to get the same script as the patient that went before.
This is where Joga11 comes in. We give you the tools you need to assess yourself and know where you stand in all aspects of the game. Using this knowledge you can craft a personal development programme that will unlock opportunities and create the 'luck' that will kickstart you on the path to meeting your ambitions. As we grow with your help and support, we will address other issues, especially giving you a chance to train and play with like-minded players.
We are currently working on a comprehensive assessment, which will allow you to discern what your strengths and weaknesses are, giving you the first step towards realizing those dreams that started all your hard work. This 'Joga11 assessment' will be available on our website as soon as both the site and the assessment have been completed.
Joga11, development despite circumstance.
