如何为职业足球发掘1%的天才儿童？

2016-08-17观点Ken Grant

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有一项大家都承认的事实，那就是只有1%的年轻足球运动员最后能真正成为职业足球运动员，那么剩下的99%的年轻人去了哪里了？

小时候我喜欢踢足球，还喜欢除了篮球以外的各种体育项目。英国鼓励人民参加运动有着长达150年的历史，所以我曾经有机会接触各种各样的运动。从我们能走路起，身边的玩具中总少不了一个足球，我们尝试着把足球扔给或者踢给父母和亲朋，门外的绿草坪是我们可以尽情玩耍的场地，我们不用担心摔倒受伤，因为这本来就无法避免。

英国在学校和幼儿园向来非常重视体育教育，所以即使我们觉得自己不是“体育苗子”，我们也必须努力尝试并为一个团队而战。如果我们在学校阶段萌发出了对任何一种体育项目的热爱，我们也许会被邀请去校队效力。

如果我们的父母是典型的父母，他们也会鼓励我们加入球队、甚至在放学后和周末的时候踢比赛。你只需在周末的时候参观任何一个英国小镇或乡村，便不难发现正在享受足球乐趣的当地孩子和他们的父母们。大多数孩子知道自己的水平，所以他们没有成为职业运动员的强烈愿望。

草根足球是这项运动的血脉，它为6岁的男孩女孩们提供参与竞技足球的机会，从而学习足球的规则、新的战术，培养团队合作能力，锻炼出强健体魄。为了使这样的好处能成为现实，年轻人们需要可以踢球的绿茵场，父母们需要组建一些非正式的联赛，这些在英国都存在，但不幸的是这些环节在中国是缺失的。在英国和其他国家，这样的联赛一般都是由想鼓励孩子参加足球运动的父母组织的，虽然当地的足球协会支持联赛的举办，但这并非是政府的责任。政府应该负责的是提供绿茵场和对场地的维修保养。

在英国，12岁以下的孩子不会在11V11足尺的场地上比赛。根据年龄，他们会在小场地上进行5V5，7V7，9V9的比赛，因为如果想让这些孩子经常想踢足球，比赛一定要有趣、令人愉快。如果你是8岁，你愿意在足尺的正规场地上跑来跑去踢够90分钟吗？为了乐趣而踢球，不用担心输赢对年轻运动员来说至关重要，我们希望他们培养出技能、发展出自信，而不用有在聚光灯下的顾虑。大卫·贝克汉姆在8岁的时候被星探发现，我确信他当时非常显眼，因为人们发现他十分享受比赛，这意味着他在对那些观众展现自己的潜力。

中国的足球学校在孩子很小的时候就对他们进行了挑选，将他们从主流学校中带到足球学校里，配置大量足球课程的同时，也讲授同量的数学或者科学课程。在世界其他国家、包括英国，那些足球方面有天赋的孩子还是要在主流学校里上学，因为我们知道最终成为职业运动员的只会是少数。有些孩子会在青少年的时候发现比起足球他们更热爱科学，并且所有人都得学习必备的生存技能，以应对入选职业队失败的情况。

英国的职业俱乐部训练营只能容纳几百名9至18岁的孩子，许多孩子会在长大一些的时候被淘汰，另一些孩子又会被邀请进来补充空缺，竞争非常激烈。但是一定要明白职业俱乐部经常在全国范围内寻找有天赋的孩子，他们经常会去观看课后以及周末的比赛，草根足球哺育着职业联赛。还有一点十分重要，那就是训练营里的每个孩子都是作为独立的个体被对待，而不是作为标准化的足球运动员批量生产。有些孩子进步的比其他人要快，对于他们技能组合和足球智商的训练需要根据身体和大脑的的发育情况而细调。

理论上来说，人口庞大的中国有着成为世界一流足球强国的巨大潜能，但是如果草根足球没有惠泽到每一个人，如果没有一个经验证、被认可的成长体系来鼓励年轻人更多的参与足球运动、改进足球运动，如果没有星探在课后和周末的比赛中寻找未来明星的影子并将他们培养成那1%的职业运动员，那么人口再多也于事无补。如何将潜在的人才储备效用发挥到极致，如何打造年轻运动员的人才库，以及如何让课后和周末的比赛对孩子和家长来说成为一个“酷酷的”选择，中国对这些问题需要进行深入的思考。

剩下的那99%不论走向了社会的哪个领域，他们仍然可以享受足球这项美妙运动所带来的乐趣，提高健康水平。足球是属于大众的，每个人都应该被赋予爱上足球的机会。

英文原文

It's a commonly acknowledged fact that only 1% of all youth footballers actually become professional players, so what do the other 99% do?

As a child I liked to play football, and in fact most sports although basketball was not a favourite of mine, and as a child I had many opportunities to play different sports because I am British and our culture has encouraged the playing of sport for 150 years or more. From the time we can walk there will always be a ball amongst our toys that we try to kick or throw to our parents and relatives, and outdoor green spaces where we can ‘play with a ball’ without fear of hurting ourselves as we inevitably fall over whilst trying.

The nation has always encouraged physical education in schools and kindergartens, so even if feel we are not that ‘sporty’ we still must try sport and learn how to play within a team. If we show any interest in sport at school, we may be asked to play for a school team from a young age, and if our parents are a-typical, they will encourage us to join teams or play team games after school and at weekends. You only need to visit any British town or village at the weekend to see local children and adults playing football for fun; most know their limitations and have no aspiration to become professional players.

Grassroots football is the lifeblood of the game; it gives boys and girls from the age of six a chance to play competitive football, to learn the rules of the game, new techniques, team-work and creates a healthy body. But to facilitate these benefits there need to be pitches for young people to play on, and adults to organise matches and informal leagues, something that exists in the UK, but is badly missing in China. In the UK and elsewhere in the world the leagues are often established by parents who want to encourage their kids and others to play football, this is not the role of the government, although the local FA may support the league. The government is however responsible for the provision of the pitches and their maintenance.

In England, kids under 12 do not play on full size pitches in 11 v 11 matches, depending on their age they may play 5 v5, 7 v 7, or 9 v9 on smaller pitches because playing football has to be enjoyable if young people are to want to play it regularly. At the age of 8, would you like to or be able to run up and down a full size pitch or try to play a long ball across one! Playing for fun and not worrying to much about winning is essential for very young players, we want them to develop their techniques and confidence without feeling they are under a spotlight. David Beckham was spotted at the age of 8, and I am sure he stood out because he clearly could be seen as enjoying the game which meant he was showing his potential to those watching.

Unlike the football school model adopted in China, where kids are selected at a young age, taken out of mainstream schooling and placed in a school that teaches as much football as it does maths or science, elsewhere in the world including England, those good at football must still study in mainstream schools, because we know that a small fraction will play football professionally. Some will find that they like science more than football in their teenage years and all must have the necessary life skills to get another job if they don’t make the cut.

Professional club academies will only handle a few hundred kids across the age range 9 to 18, many will be dropped as they get older and a few will be invited in to replace them; it's a tough environment. But what is important to understand is that professional clubs are constantly looking across the country for young players with ability, and they are watching after school and weekend matches, grass roots football feeds the professional game. It is also critical to recognise that every one of these kids in an academy is treated as an individual and not a clone of a standardised footballer. Some develop faster than others and their skill set and football brain needs to be fine-tuned and adjusted based on where they are physically and mentally.

In theory, China has a huge opportunity to become a leading footballing nation due to the size of the population, but just having lots of people wont help if grassroots football isn’t open to everyone and a proven and recognised development system isn’t used to encourage young people to play more and better football and there are not people out there spotting the really good ones and guiding them into the 1%. There is a need to think differently about getting the best out of the potential talent pool, how to create the greatest possible pool of young players, and how to make playing football for your school or at weekends a ‘cool’ choice for the kids and their parents.

The 99% can still enjoy playing the beautiful game for pleasure and the benefit of their health, no matter what job they have. Football is for everyone, and everyone should be given the chance to fall in love with it.