What defines a naturally talented/prodigy surfer?

[Mrpompadour]

Was watching some CT clips and kinda thought to myself, how do you know if yer a natural/prodigy surfer or what defines a natural surfer? OR to our very fortunate friends out there, what made u realise you were destined for big things in surfing? Some food for thought. Shakas to all

[dtc]

If you have ever played sports, any sport,with a very skilled youngster you can just tell. I’ve played with kids who went into represent Australia (my country) in major sports and it was just obvious they were better than me and everyone else in the team

So the answer is: if you have to question whether someone is a prodigy, then they aren’t

[waikikikichan]

how do you know if yer a

Are you inquiring about a Random anybody, a surfing buddy, your Son or Yourself ?

[Mrpompadour]

@dtc yeah true. interesting viewpoint haha
@waikikichan Anybody actually. I dont have any kids and if I was a prodigy i wouldnt be eating potato chips and binge watching netflix with my trustworthy sinalco haha.

[oldmansurfer]

Pro surfers all spend incredible amounts of time surfing but some of them are also naturally gifted. Pretty sure Kelly Slater is naturally gifted but he doesn’t really stand out too much because the difference is small

[BaNZ]

Pro surfers all spend incredible amounts of time surfing but some of them are also naturally gifted. Pretty sure Kelly Slater is naturally gifted but he doesn’t really stand out too much because the difference is small

While I was in Portugal, most of Medina fan thinks Kelly sucks. He is only good because he looks after his body and trains wells compared to the older generation of surfers. They actually believe he wasn't talented hence why he can't compete with the newer generation of surfers.

[oldmansurfer]

I suppose they have some excuse for eleven world titles?

[Oldie]

Pro surfers all spend incredible amounts of time surfing but some of them are also naturally gifted. Pretty sure Kelly Slater is naturally gifted but he doesn’t really stand out too much because the difference is small

While I was in Portugal, most of Medina fan thinks Kelly sucks. He is only good because he looks after his body and trains wells compared to the older generation of surfers. They actually believe he wasn't talented hence why he can't compete with the newer generation of surfers.

I think it is difficult to compare different generations. Kelly obviously does not have the speed of the younger generation anymore, but the fact the he could still compete at the level he did the last years is impressive, and his style is still great.

And it makes the point about talent a bit mute. Depite his talent, his undeniabley great surfing and success in winning titles, Medina will never get the same admiration as Kelly did - his strange personality stands too much in the way. Maybe that is also why Medina fans feel the need to denigrate Kelly.

In all sports at professional levels, the difference between success and failure is soo small. We had a great Golfing talent in our club (still have ...). While it was clear from the start as a kid that he could do well in this sport by simply looking how fast he learned and how well he hit the ball, he was not the most talented kid in the team. But with a competitive mindset, very hard work, a great family and supportive environment he became world No1 (if only for a short time). The more talented one failed qualifiying for years and never made it on Tour.

[oldmansurfer]

Slater has accumulated injuries over the years that hampers his progression and this is why he seems over the hill and I guess the desire to compete has dwindled. He lacks motivation

[BaNZ]

It's like comparing Ali vs mayweather. imo Ali has a great personality and mayweather is just a wifebeater and a dick. I don't like Medina because I feel like he is arrogant and some of the stuff he did during the heat was just terrible. There's no doubt that he is talented and one of the best surfer but I still don't like him. But he is still youngish and maybe he will turn out to be a more charismatic role model for the younger generations.

[BaNZ]

Slater has accumulated injuries over the years that hampers his progression and this is why he seems over the hill and I guess the desire to compete has dwindled. He lacks motivation

I don't think it is the lack of motivation. He is clearly frustrated when he loses the heat and breaks his boards. Especially when you're at the center of attention and you're disappointing the fans. He probably knows that his body can't keep up with him anymore and that he is not improving.

[oldmansurfer]

it is difficult to compare generations since their equipment is different. The boards are designed to do these progressive maneuvers and Slater was leading the change with that too. However Slater was driven to excel at surfing and perhaps that is what makes a prodigy. Someone who feels a need to prove something to him/her self or some one else. I think this is true of lots of people who excel at something.
I agree that Slater may not be able to stay competing and be less than competitive for the world title because he still has something to prove. But he has showed up for a heat late, didn't surf before the heat and obviously that is not how you win competitions (no surprise he didn't do well in that contest). I think at one point he was so much better than everyone else he got lax and never made an effort to be more competitive choosing instead to skate on his skill and enjoy other aspects of life (not competition) and he hasn't shown signs of that changing while all the other surfers are much more competitive.

[oldmansurfer]

Looking at ages of the top guys on the ASP world tour
Jordy Smith started surfing at 3 years old
John Florence started at 6 months old
Gabriel Medina started at 9 years old (late bloomer)
Julian Wilson started as far back as he can recall, (he doesn't remember not surfing ever)

[Mrpompadour]

@oldmansurfer Damn what u said about talent being barely noticeable at that kind of level is so true. I think talent only helps you speed up the learning curve in the early stages, but past that and its all about repetition, hard work and a good attitude. What do yall think?

[oldmansurfer]

In every extremely talented person there is likely a personal flaw that drives them to excel when others would rather do something requiring less effort. To be a pro surfer you have to train a lot and admittedly it's surfing and how can you go wrong but still if it was easy everyone would do it.

[Big H]

Messi it has been commonly said is a bigger natural talent than Ronaldo.....no one in Madrid works harder in training than Ronaldo and he has superior natural gifts of speed, strength and stature over Messi. Both have been the primaries for the Ballon d’Or over the past decade. Who is better is debatable.....both are hugely talented, but one it would seem set himself apart from all but this rival via sheer hard work and dedication more so than raw talent.

[waikikikichan]

Like in any sport or talent, one look and you know. When you say to your friend, “ watch, that little girl will be world champion one day “. That’s what all the locals said at Queens, Waikiki about this little girl named Carissa Moore.

[oldmansurfer]

So you have 2 little girls who go surfing together for a couple hours. One girl is just there to have fun and catch some vibes and after 2 hours she is tired and wants to go do something else play with her dolls or play jacks, hopscotch, or jump rope with her friends.....although maybe these days it would be play on her iPhone, text her friends or whatever young kids do these days. The other one doesn't want to quit surfing. She isn't there to have fun or catch some vibes although fun and vibes will come from it she wants to improve her surfing. iPhones or whatever else little girls do is not so important although it may be that if she does those things she will approach it the same way she surfs. It's not just to hang out with her friends and have fun she wants to be the best. But surfing is the main thing and she is willing to forgo much of the things normal girls do and work on improving her surfing. But exactly what makes the one little girl give up a normal life for surfing? That is the difference between them. Something about her makes her willing to take on this arduous journey or it may be that she has no choice to make. It is the only way she can be. She may think about giving up but somehow ends up going back to surfing again. In my imagination that is the difference between talent and no talent. One is always driven to improve and the other needs to make a choice. Whether or not I am right? I don't know.

[saltydog]

I think talent alone is like a diamond in the rough. It's all the work that those gifted ones put in that makes them exceptional instead of being only pretty good. On the other hand, an ordinary person can reach a certain level with all the hard work but he/she may never become exceptional because their ceiling for the skill level is lower than the ones who are really gifted.

[oldmansurfer]

I think there are those who are athletically gifted but not specific to surfing. They gain surfing skill by doing it.