How can a kid be so good at so many activities with a limited amount of time?

[Anonymous]

A lot of mean spirited people in this forum.

It takes at least 10,000 hours to great at anything. It means you have to spend at least 3 hours X 365 days X 10 years to achieve greatness, just on one single thing. A lot of people on here is just delusional.

[Anonymous]

1. Exaggerating (you physically cannot do all 4 of those sports in the same day unless you are a millionaire with your own tennis court and pool and have tutors lined up one after another)
2. They showcase their highlight reel
3. No down time
4. Mental health issues
5. Lucky genetics
6. $$$$$

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. Exaggerating (you physically cannot do all 4 of those sports in the same day unless you are a millionaire with your own tennis court and pool and have tutors lined up one after another)
2. They showcase their highlight reel
3. No down time
4. Mental health issues
5. Lucky genetics
6. $$$$$

p.s. my son does football (middling) and baseball (middling), he skipped a level in gymnastics (must be gifted there) , swims (failed same level multiple times in a row but if I was showing off I wouldn't mention that), does mental math (constant battle at home) and also cello. He used to do piano. I want to start that up again. An outsider does not see the effort on my end and the vast majority of people have no way to know how "good" he is in cello, for example. He happens to be struggling in the moment in mental math but I could brag that he's been in the program since he was 6. The mental math is impressive but it truly comes from 100s of hours of work, it is not mysterious at all. Outsiders rarely see the whining, crying, "I'm tiiiiiiired, I don't want to go to X" rage quitting, the workbook margins covered in gun and mummy doodles etc.

The first day he did football he caught a ball in his face and rage quit. I'm sure he won't be telling coworkers that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. He may be embellishing a bit.
2. His parents are at least middle class and gave him a lot of attention.
3. He really is a quick learner, physically fit, with social skills. Which is great!!!


4. He showed you videos of his sports right when you met him? That's not normal, actually. For me that would be a red flag and I wouldn't be impressed about that sort of need for attention. Yes, he might impress others and get very far in life, but... I don't trust people like that.

Yes, the bragging and video sharing is next level weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:- Play guitar 45 minutes every day. Definitely doable,
- Play piano 45 minutes every day. Definitely doable,
- Practice tennis one hour every day. Definitely doable
- Practice golf one hour every day. Definitely doable,
- Swimming one hour every day. Definitely doable,
- Play an 18-hole round of golf (3 1/2 hours) and 2 hours of tennis on Saturday. Definitely doable,
- Practice two hours of guitar and piano on Sunday. Definitely doable,

High school ends at 3pm, and it takes 20 minutes to get to Westwood CC in Vienna. Take three hours to practice golf, tennis, swimming. Get home at 6:30pm, and have dinner at 7pm. Practice piano and guitar from 7:30pm until 9pm. Homework from 9pm until 11pm. Go to bed at 11pm and wake up at 7am. Rinse and repeat.

The question is how many kids can actually do this for years in order to be good?

That would take you 5 hours in driving and transition time.

The kid OP is referring to probably only did 2 sports at a time and none of them daily

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. Exaggerating (you physically cannot do all 4 of those sports in the same day unless you are a millionaire with your own tennis court and pool and have tutors lined up one after another)
2. They showcase their highlight reel
3. No down time
4. Mental health issues
5. Lucky genetics
6. $$$$$

p.s. my son does football (middling) and baseball (middling), he skipped a level in gymnastics (must be gifted there) , swims (failed same level multiple times in a row but if I was showing off I wouldn't mention that), does mental math (constant battle at home) and also cello. He used to do piano. I want to start that up again. An outsider does not see the effort on my end and the vast majority of people have no way to know how "good" he is in cello, for example. He happens to be struggling in the moment in mental math but I could brag that he's been in the program since he was 6. The mental math is impressive but it truly comes from 100s of hours of work, it is not mysterious at all. Outsiders rarely see the whining, crying, "I'm tiiiiiiired, I don't want to go to X" rage quitting, the workbook margins covered in gun and mummy doodles etc.

The first day he did football he caught a ball in his face and rage quit. I'm sure he won't be telling coworkers that.

You sound insane.

Not the least of which is putting a kid small enough for gymnastics in football.

[Anonymous]

Athletes are good at every sport.

Learning an instrument isn’t unusual.

It’s easier to become passable at a bunch of things than professional at one thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some humans are just really impressive.

My kids go to a top private (not in DC) and there are a few there who are just insanely impressive. They are national merit semifinalists, have perfect SAT scores (1600) took calculus in 9th grade, run a 4 minute mile and are team captains for another sport. Plus they're artistic, kind, funny, good looking and completely solid on a mental health level.

It's not my kids (at all) but they exist.

You absolutely do not know that. They can be the people in fancy rehabs and spending $250 an hour on therapists

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. Exaggerating (you physically cannot do all 4 of those sports in the same day unless you are a millionaire with your own tennis court and pool and have tutors lined up one after another)
2. They showcase their highlight reel
3. No down time
4. Mental health issues
5. Lucky genetics
6. $$$$$

p.s. my son does football (middling) and baseball (middling), he skipped a level in gymnastics (must be gifted there) , swims (failed same level multiple times in a row but if I was showing off I wouldn't mention that), does mental math (constant battle at home) and also cello. He used to do piano. I want to start that up again. An outsider does not see the effort on my end and the vast majority of people have no way to know how "good" he is in cello, for example. He happens to be struggling in the moment in mental math but I could brag that he's been in the program since he was 6. The mental math is impressive but it truly comes from 100s of hours of work, it is not mysterious at all. Outsiders rarely see the whining, crying, "I'm tiiiiiiired, I don't want to go to X" rage quitting, the workbook margins covered in gun and mummy doodles etc.

The first day he did football he caught a ball in his face and rage quit. I'm sure he won't be telling coworkers that.

You sound insane.

Not the least of which is putting a kid small enough for gymnastics in football.

It's flag football

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some humans are just really impressive.

My kids go to a top private (not in DC) and there are a few there who are just insanely impressive. They are national merit semifinalists, have perfect SAT scores (1600) took calculus in 9th grade, run a 4 minute mile and are team captains for another sport. Plus they're artistic, kind, funny, good looking and completely solid on a mental health level.

It's not my kids (at all) but they exist.

You can do anything if you lie enough.


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_high_school_students_who_have_run_a_four-minute_mile

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some humans are just really impressive.

My kids go to a top private (not in DC) and there are a few there who are just insanely impressive. They are national merit semifinalists, have perfect SAT scores (1600) took calculus in 9th grade, run a 4 minute mile and are team captains for another sport. Plus they're artistic, kind, funny, good looking and completely solid on a mental health level.

It's not my kids (at all) but they exist.

You can do anything if you lie enough.


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_high_school_students_who_have_run_a_four-minute_mile

calculus in 9th grade is also suspicious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some humans are just really impressive.

My kids go to a top private (not in DC) and there are a few there who are just insanely impressive. They are national merit semifinalists, have perfect SAT scores (1600) took calculus in 9th grade, run a 4 minute mile and are team captains for another sport. Plus they're artistic, kind, funny, good looking and completely solid on a mental health level.

It's not my kids (at all) but they exist.

So all of them have 1600 scores, and run 4 minute miles and are artistic and all that... Unlikely.

[Anonymous]

My husband is like this. He is just good at everything he tries. Some folks are just lucky..he does not know how to close cabinets or put away clothes though lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:- Play guitar 45 minutes every day. Definitely doable,
- Play piano 45 minutes every day. Definitely doable,
- Practice tennis one hour every day. Definitely doable
- Practice golf one hour every day. Definitely doable,
- Swimming one hour every day. Definitely doable,
- Play an 18-hole round of golf (3 1/2 hours) and 2 hours of tennis on Saturday. Definitely doable,
- Practice two hours of guitar and piano on Sunday. Definitely doable,

High school ends at 3pm, and it takes 20 minutes to get to Westwood CC in Vienna. Take three hours to practice golf, tennis, swimming. Get home at 6:30pm, and have dinner at 7pm. Practice piano and guitar from 7:30pm until 9pm. Homework from 9pm until 11pm. Go to bed at 11pm and wake up at 7am. Rinse and repeat.

The question is how many kids can actually do this for years in order to be good?

That would take you 5 hours in driving and transition time.

The kid OP is referring to probably only did 2 sports at a time and none of them daily

How do you come up with 5 hours?

I guess you must be poor because you CAN practice and take private lessons for golf, tennis, and swimming at Westwood CC. If you live in McLean, it is only a 10 minutes drive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Athletes are good at every sport.

Learning an instrument isn’t unusual.

It’s easier to become passable at a bunch of things than professional at one thing.

Absolute BS. A D1 football player can play recreational golf, but he will not be like a D1 golfer. A D1 tennis player can't play D1 football because he will get killed.

Learning an instrument or vocal cord isn't unusual, but to become good at it takes a lot of time and effort. Every boy wants to pickup the guitar to impress girls, but 99% of them are horrible at it.