Professional Athletes Success, Gained Through Equipment or Talent?
Cause-Effect Analysis
Professional Athletes
Success, Gained through Equipment or Talent?
When the ancient Greeks decided to perform many varieties of sports to help celebrate the early Olympics, little did they realize that centuries later, the original sports themselves would be still intact in their original conceptual form?
Technological advances in both equipment and sports development have led many people to believe that massive increases in performance results could be due to the improvement of equipment used within those events themselves and not just to the continued improvements in training technique or the physical improvements of athletes.
Athletes today benefit from huge improvements in equipment technology, David Beckham, Tiger Woods, Venus Williams are examples. These athletes have all developed from these advances compared to 20, 30 or even 40 years ago when with even the very basic equipment; top sporting professionals were expected to perform at the very highest level.
Without the additional knowledge of things like Nutrition, Physiology and Injury Prevention, all readily available in today’s professional competitive environment, these athletes may never have reached the pinnacle of their sport.
Beckham, The world’s most recognizable soccer player and probably one of the most iconic athletes and celebrities on the planet today, began his career at Manchester United. After rising swiftly through the club’s soccer ranks, David established himself by scoring a goal from the halfway line from about 50 yards away. With his technique having been perfected over the years; however, the development of the soccer cleat over that same period of time no doubt helped enable him to perfect the direction, speed and accuracy needed to complete such a monumental task.
Developments in soccer shoe technology now include lighter outer casing fabric, different manufacturing materials, different grip underlay’s and specialized shoes for different
Professional Athletes
Success, Gained through Equipment or Talent?
When the ancient Greeks decided to perform many varieties of sports to help celebrate the early Olympics, little did they realize that centuries later, the original sports themselves would be still intact in their original conceptual form?
Technological advances in both equipment and sports development have led many people to believe that massive increases in performance results could be due to the improvement of equipment used within those events themselves and not just to the continued improvements in training technique or the physical improvements of athletes.
Athletes today benefit from huge improvements in equipment technology, David Beckham, Tiger Woods, Venus Williams are examples. These athletes have all developed from these advances compared to 20, 30 or even 40 years ago when with even the very basic equipment; top sporting professionals were expected to perform at the very highest level.
Without the additional knowledge of things like Nutrition, Physiology and Injury Prevention, all readily available in today’s professional competitive environment, these athletes may never have reached the pinnacle of their sport.
Beckham, The world’s most recognizable soccer player and probably one of the most iconic athletes and celebrities on the planet today, began his career at Manchester United. After rising swiftly through the club’s soccer ranks, David established himself by scoring a goal from the halfway line from about 50 yards away. With his technique having been perfected over the years; however, the development of the soccer cleat over that same period of time no doubt helped enable him to perfect the direction, speed and accuracy needed to complete such a monumental task.
Developments in soccer shoe technology now include lighter outer casing fabric, different manufacturing materials, different grip underlay’s and specialized shoes for different
Cited: – Akins, Anthony. [Golfers Tee into the Future] [The Futurist] (March/April 1994): 39-42. Canfield, Jack, ed. [Chicken Soup for the Sports Fan 's Soul: 101 Stories of Insight, Inspiration and Laughter from the World of Sports]. Deefield Beach, Fla.: Health Communications, 2000. Coakley, Jay J. [Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies]. New York: McGraw-Hill College Division, 1997. Cox, Richard H. [Sport Psychology: Concepts and Applications]. New York: WCB/McGraw Hill, 2000. Froes, F. H. [Is the Use of Advanced Materials in Sports Equipment Unethical?] JOM no. 2 (1997): 15-19.