9 y.o. Neymar ah mad dem

[Paul Marin]

Believe me when I tell you that I had at least 5 or 6 kids like him back when I was coaching. There was a little kid about 8 who had to participate in the 9 - 11 league because he was just too good for the lower league. He and his brother were from Colombia and he was just exuding raw talent. His older brother was more polished and had a ferocious shot. I had another fat hispanic kid who I played in defense. His shots actually stung my hands when I played gk during practice sessions. Then there was a Jamaican kid. Well actually he's American. His mother was from Jamaica and his father from Barbados. He was fast as a bullet and left-footed. If he was in Jamaica, he would surely have been a big-name athlete. He excelled at everything he tried, soccer, baseball, basketball and academics, but damn, he was fast. I spoke with his parents about getting him into a more structured program but the damn eediat bwoy went and played baseball. He's now in college in Miami. The spanish kids though were the best. There was another exceptionally talented spanish kid who broke my heart. He was by far the most talented one in the lot. His parents were from El Salvador. He was a cocky son-of-a-bitch, but with good reason. It hurt my heart that I could not do any more for some of these kids, and I saw his future long before he barely graduated from high school. He is now cutting lawns with his older brother and father. His younger brother, who is good also but less talented, may end up in the same boat.

I don't dispute that there are other kids out there that can dominate a game. That I see all the time. What I am asking is whether these ballers you had could keep-up (juggle since you turn yankee) like this kid. There are not many that can do 20 juggling touches on the ball in the U9 ranks that I have seen or better yet, keep the ball up for 10 seconds much less 60. That is a very telling talent as it shows control. Of course, it is not the only talent needed to become a good player, but an important one.

On a more somber note, I am sorry about that prodigy turning landscape architect. For every professional player you see out there, there are a thousand just as good doing menial jobs who never had the opportunity or the luck to have made it. The truly sad part is that the opportunities are not there, but that is changing as the world becomes a smaller place.

[Gamma]

las ramblas full a jugglers ......

[Jangle]

To answer your question - yes. These boys could juggle and more. The real tragedy stems really from the parents' mindset. The hispanic immigrant community lives in their own "little" world and many of them, even when they are legal (like the boy's parents), don't envisiontheir kids diverting from a certain career path.

[Gamma]

shoving a lawnmower is a career path?

[Jangle]

here, it can be very lucrative. My in-law is a "landscaper" with the Port Authority and he makes over $80k/annum. He cuts the grass and hedges at the airport.

[Paul Marin]

To answer your question - yes. These boys could juggle and more. The real tragedy stems really from the parents' mindset. The hispanic immigrant community lives in their own "little" world and many of them, even when they are legal (like the boy's parents), don't envisiontheir kids diverting from a certain career path.

Okay - that has not been my experience, but I'm glad to hear it. On my daughters U12 travel team, the best in the area, there are probably only 2 girls out of 20 that can keep the ball up for more than 20 seconds.

As for the immigrants, you have to understand that their "career path" is one that a) they know and b) is far more lucrative than the option of staying where they came from. What they really need to be doing is using sports as a way to get a good university education through scholarship, as that will move them up the social ladder fastest.