Player Discussion Connor McDavid Part IV (Nominated For The Calder)

[Bryanbryoil]

 

[KCC]

That's some serious multi tasking skills. Can the brain even distinguish to be able to do both at the same time? I exaggerate, but that looks incredibly tough to do. Crazy.

 

[Asher]

I came across another video of McD doing drills as a kid and thought you guys might like it.

 

[Zaddy]

I came across another video of McD doing drills as a kid and thought you guys might like it.

Funny. I actually just watched that video a couple of hours ago. There's also this one:



It's pretty evident that he hasn't gotten to where he is today by talent. It's consistent hard work (and with a goal in mind) day in and day out. I'd venture as far as to say that he's quite likely one of the most dedicated athletes in the world today regardless of sport. It's not some gift that he has, it's just him putting in those 10,000 hours of training way earlier than most people, and not stopping once he's there. Just incredible.

 

[Asher]

I've seen that video too. There's also the one of young McD and Gagner doing drills.



And while I don't doubt McDavid worked very hard to get to where he is, there's also no doubt he has a lot of talent. You can't master those drills he's doing with a fair amount of athleticism.

 

[Ninety7]

So excited to see how he's improved his game this year. Let the season begin already!

 

[McXLNC97]

I've seen that video too. There's also the one of young McD and Gagner doing drills.



And while I don't doubt McDavid worked very hard to get to where he is, there's also no doubt he has a lot of talent. You can't master those drills he's doing with a fair amount of athleticism.

Poor Gagner, left in the dust by a then young teenager...lol

 

[Soundwave]

I came across another video of McD doing drills as a kid and thought you guys might like it.

Kinda funny foreshadowing that he's doing that drill as a teenager with an Oilers jersey on the wall behind him, lol.

 

[nightfighter]

Funny. I actually just watched that video a couple of hours ago. There's also this one:



It's pretty evident that he hasn't gotten to where he is today by talent. It's consistent hard work (and with a goal in mind) day in and day out. I'd venture as far as to say that he's quite likely one of the most dedicated athletes in the world today regardless of sport. It's not some gift that he has, it's just him putting in those 10,000 hours of training way earlier than most people, and not stopping once he's there. Just incredible.

That's the one trait that people like him and Crosby all share. The drive to be the best means they will constantly be working to stay ahead of the game.

 

[McFlyingV]

Funny. I actually just watched that video a couple of hours ago. There's also this one:


It's pretty evident that he hasn't gotten to where he is today by talent. It's consistent hard work (and with a goal in mind) day in and day out. I'd venture as far as to say that he's quite likely one of the most dedicated athletes in the world today regardless of sport. It's not some gift that he has, it's just him putting in those 10,000 hours of training way earlier than most people, and not stopping once he's there. Just incredible.

You don't get anywhere just on hard work in sports. One thing that all elite athletes possess are incredible genetics, and when you put that together with an incredible work ethic from a young age then you get special athletes.

 

[Asher]

Pretty bold prediction by THN:

 

[McTrashBoat]

Pretty bold prediction by THN:

Dunno why they didn't just predict 97 for 97, it makes for a better tag line

 

[McShogun99]

Dunno why they didn't just predict 97 for 97, it makes for a better tag line

That's because he will miss around 10 games due to injury.

 

[McJC]

Pretty bold prediction by THN:

Too bad they have us missing the playoffs. When was the last time an Art Ross winner's team didn't make the post season?

 

[KMart27]

Too bad they have us missing the playoffs. When was the last time an Art Ross winner's team didn't make the post season?

All the way back in 2014-2015 when Jamie Benn won the Art Ross and Dallas missed the playoffs.

 

[Asher]

Too bad they have us missing the playoffs. When was the last time an Art Ross winner's team didn't make the post season?

I don't think McD gets 96 pts, but if he does I think the team would make the playoffs. Their defense/goaltending and secondary scoring would have to be pretty shoddy for them not to make it.

 

[Jumptheshark]

 

[shoop]

Dunno why they didn't just predict 97 for 97, it makes for a better tag line

They wanted to make it look like they put some serious analysis into their prediction instead of just throwing up a random number.

The last Oiler to get a 100 points was Doug Weight with 104 in 95-96.

 

[Zaddy]

I've seen that video too. There's also the one of young McD and Gagner doing drills.



And while I don't doubt McDavid worked very hard to get to where he is, there's also no doubt he has a lot of talent. You can't master those drills he's doing with a fair amount of athleticism.

Athleticism isn't "talent" or something you're born with. It's something you develop. Many kids however just "play hockey" and don't focus on improving athleticism. Generally how you improve it is playing multiple sports and/or living an active life, but there's also drills you can do. Those drills you see McDavid do in these videos, imagine him doing them or similar ones many, many times before. That's probably how he developed that athleticism.

Just through a google search I came up with this site that has some good info: https://sportmedbc.com/article/developing-athleticism-youth

Many people reflect to their youth and remember playing several sports and spending their spare time in spontaneous play and pick up games. Today, many youngsters specialize in just one or two sports and spend their remaining time on sedentary activities - television, video games, computers and the web. The unhealthy aspects of this trend are further compounded when you factor in the startling growth of fast food chains and the many "quick-fix" food choices that are aggressively marketed to youth. The cumulative result is a generation of kids who are less fit and less athletic.

It is important to develop a solid base of athleticism from which sport-specific training can build from. Young athletes need to develop the secondary fitness parameters - agility, dynamic balance, quickness, lateral movement, rotary power, reaction skills, coordination - while utilizing proper body mechanics.

Since Twist Conditioning specializes in performance enhancement for elite athletes through sport-specific conditioning, parents often will contact us hoping that we can turn their son or daughter into the next million dollar professional athlete. These parents mistakenly think that their children should be streamlined into one sport in order to be successful. What they fail to realize is that their children need to develop a base of "athleticism" before they even think about specializing in a specific sport or embarking on a sport-specific training program.

Training programs of this nature should focus on developing multi directional movement skills and teaching children to be in tune to their body. Children should practice the ability to organize complex motor skills with precision, speed and quick decision-making.

So either you can go with a training program to improve your athleticism that way or just live an active life in general. I'd recommend the latter.

Personally I was very athletic as a kid but that stemmed from never sitting still rather than me just being talented, having the right genetics or whatever. I practiced soccer 4-5 times a week but outside of that in my spare time I played roller hockey or just went skating overall, skateboarded, snowboarded, climbed, played badminton, biking etc. That's developed, not inherited.

You don't get anywhere just on hard work in sports. One thing that all elite athletes possess are incredible genetics, and when you put that together with an incredible work ethic from a young age then you get special athletes.

It depends on the sport, some sports you have a huge advantage with the right genetics (think Usain Bolt...), but in others, like hockey, I don't think it matters all that much. Coming from a well off family is probably way more important.

McDavid has gotten where he is today from hard work, and I don't mean the traditional "hard work" every top end athlete puts in to stay relevant, he's gone way beyond that and done so from an early age. I actually really dislike the term "talent", that's just a cop out for lazy people to feel good about themselves.

 

[TheRebuild]

All the way back in 2014-2015 when Jamie Benn won the Art Ross and Dallas missed the playoffs.

Good God that's a long time ago

 

[Aequitas]

Athleticism isn't "talent" or something you're born with. It's something you develop. Many kids however just "play hockey" and don't focus on improving athleticism. Generally how you improve it is playing multiple sports and/or living an active life, but there's also drills you can do. Those drills you see McDavid do in these videos, imagine him doing them or similar ones many, many times before. That's probably how he developed that athleticism.

Just through a google search I came up with this site that has some good info: https://sportmedbc.com/article/developing-athleticism-youth









So either you can go with a training program to improve your athleticism that way or just live an active life in general. I'd recommend the latter.

Personally I was very athletic as a kid but that stemmed from never sitting still rather than me just being talented, having the right genetics or whatever. I practiced soccer 4-5 times a week but outside of that in my spare time I played roller hockey or just went skating overall, skateboarded, snowboarded, climbed, played badminton, biking etc. That's developed, not inherited.



It depends on the sport, some sports you have a huge advantage with the right genetics (think Usain Bolt...), but in others, like hockey, I don't think it matters all that much. Coming from a well off family is probably way more important.

McDavid has gotten where he is today from hard work, and I don't mean the traditional "hard work" every top end athlete puts in to stay relevant, he's gone way beyond that and done so from an early age. I actually really dislike the term "talent", that's just a cop out for lazy people to feel good about themselves.

It has been proven that "talent" isn't something you are born with. At least not the level of talent required to make it in a pro league. All talent is is an obscene amount of practice looked at from afar.

 

[LTIR]

It has been proven that "talent" isn't something you are born with. At least not the level of talent required to make it in a pro league. All talent is is an obscene amount of practice looked at from afar.

If true it gives ammo to the parents that think they can force train their kids into becoming a pro leaguer.
I've seen plenty parents going into abuse level towards their kids just to fulfill what they dreamed of becoming themselves.

Sorry but it has also been proven thato some kids just don't have it not matter how much they train. you have to be born with it and then developed properly.

 

[The Nuge]

It has been proven that "talent" isn't something you are born with. At least not the level of talent required to make it in a pro league. All talent is is an obscene amount of practice looked at from afar.

No, it's absolutely something you're born with. Some people just have the drive to put the talent to use, while others don't. For instance,

"Either you have it or you don’t. Screaming at your kid in the car on the way to a hockey game isn’t going to get them to the next level. Having a 12-year-old kid run six miles after practice isn’t going to turn them into Jonathan Toews."

"True story: I played with Drew Doughty his rookie year in Los Angeles. He came into camp and he could barely do one rep on the bench press. He’ll laugh about it now. He was not in shape at all, at least in the way these “Old Time Hockey†blowhards talk about it. Then we’d go out for practice and he’d be the best player on the ice. Doughty was just a pure, natural hockey player with incredible vision and a brain for the game"

http://www.theplayerstribune.com/patrick-osullivan-nhl-abuse/

 

[oobga]

No, it's absolutely something you're born with. Some people just have the drive to put the talent to use, while others don't. For instance,

"Either you have it or you don’t. Screaming at your kid in the car on the way to a hockey game isn’t going to get them to the next level. Having a 12-year-old kid run six miles after practice isn’t going to turn them into Jonathan Toews."

"True story: I played with Drew Doughty his rookie year in Los Angeles. He came into camp and he could barely do one rep on the bench press. He’ll laugh about it now. He was not in shape at all, at least in the way these “Old Time Hockey” blowhards talk about it. Then we’d go out for practice and he’d be the best player on the ice. Doughty was just a pure, natural hockey player with incredible vision and a brain for the game"

http://www.theplayerstribune.com/patrick-osullivan-nhl-abuse/

I think what is between your ears is being understated in this thread. Not everyone can process information as fast as guys like Doughty, McDavid and Crosby. Actually, very few people can. An elite ability to see, process and predict what will happen and process how to act to take advantage of it is largely something you are born with. Obviously you still need practice to hit your potential, but no matter how much most people practice, their mind will never work as fast as the greats. Some peoples brains just work better for specific things than other people.

 

[Zaddy]

No, it's absolutely something you're born with. Some people just have the drive to put the talent to use, while others don't. For instance,

"Either you have it or you don’t. Screaming at your kid in the car on the way to a hockey game isn’t going to get them to the next level. Having a 12-year-old kid run six miles after practice isn’t going to turn them into Jonathan Toews."

"True story: I played with Drew Doughty his rookie year in Los Angeles. He came into camp and he could barely do one rep on the bench press. He’ll laugh about it now. He was not in shape at all, at least in the way these “Old Time Hockey†blowhards talk about it. Then we’d go out for practice and he’d be the best player on the ice. Doughty was just a pure, natural hockey player with incredible vision and a brain for the game"

http://www.theplayerstribune.com/patrick-osullivan-nhl-abuse/

The only thing I'd be willing to call talent is the ability to simply learn faster than others. But even then I think that stems from a lot of practice in some shape or form. Even more so I think it's about the environment you grow up in.

I read an interesting book a while back called "The Talent Code" by Daniel Coyle. Now, it was a very long time ago I read this book so I don't remember too much about it but basically he drew the conclusion that talent isn't really something you're born with but rather grow. He also had some interesting tidbits about the brain and a substance called myelin.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5771014-the-talent-code

Some quotes from the cover of the book:

Greatness isn't born, it's grown.

'Talent. You've either got it or you haven't'. Not true actually.

In The Talent Code award-winning journalist Daniel Coyle draws on cutting-edge research to reveal that, far from being some abstract mystical power fixed at birth, ability really can be created and nurtured.

How does a penniless Russian tennis club with one indoor court create more top 20 women players than the entire United States? How did a small town in rural Italy produce the dozens of painters and sculptors who ignited the Italian Renaissance? Why are so many great soccer players from Brazil?

Where does talent come from, and how does it grow?

New research has revealed that myelin, once considered an inert form of insulation for brain cells, may be the holy grail of acquiring skill. Journalist Daniel Coyle spent years investigating talent hotbeds, interviewing world-class practitioners (top soccer players, violinists, fighter, pilots, artists, and bank robbers) and neuroscientists. In clear, accessible language, he presents a solid strategy for skill acquisition—in athletics, fine arts, languages, science or math—that can be successfully applied through a person’s entire lifespan.