我非常高興近日遇見了一位來自足球行業的中國朋友，他與我都無法理解一件事，那就是為什么所有中國人都認為，在孩子8歲的時候就把他們送進足球學校，是培養思想開放、富有創造力和激情的足球運動員的最佳途徑。我個人的觀點是中國不需要十多年來用一種方式訓練的機器人，或者是將自己學到的一成不變教給學生的足球教練。中國需要一套完全不同的體系和方法。
第一個需要弄清楚的事實是孩子們在身體、情感和智力上的發育速度都是各異的。我們都有過這樣的體驗，10歲時班里個頭最小的同學在14歲的時候成了最高大的那位，或者是那位在體育課上的籃球小白癡搖身一變成為足球小天才；每個孩子都是一個獨立的個體。
如果我們看看歐洲的青少年足球培訓，每個男孩女孩都有屬于自己的成長計劃。不管孩子的能力如何，父母都會支持和鼓勵自己的孩子，并且在歐洲每個年齡階段、能力階段都有大把的訓練機會。總的來說中國沒有這樣的訓練方法，而這樣的缺失帶來的結果也是顯而易見的。
所以我們到底如何發掘出一個有足球天賦的少年呢？首先，要為盡可能多的年輕人提供踢足球的機會，在街上、公園里、學校中、下課后、周末或是節假日。不論水平怎樣，不要忘記踢足球是很好的鍛煉，坐在書桌旁學習或是彈鋼琴會培養出來一名學術天才，但這位天才極有可能是身體不健康的。在這兩者之中尋求平衡才是最重要的。
如果為了興趣愛好而踢足球的年輕人群體足夠大，那么在他們之中找到天賦異稟的那位也就不是難事了，當然必須要有專門的球探在放學后的訓練或是周末的比賽中積極尋找這些天才，球探能發現年輕人的潛力并設法將其激發出來。
也許這兩點就是中國足球切實發展的關鍵。現今中國的足球俱樂部沒有一個正規的球探系統，無法發現俱樂部青年隊以外的有才華的年輕人。我們急需周末的時候足球場上年輕人人頭濟濟的景象，這樣球探就有機會從各個經濟背景的人群中挑選出真正有天賦的球員。你家庭的社會地位不能決定你是否喜歡踢足球或者是否有足球才華，基因和毅力才能決定。
如果讀到這篇文章的讀者去過英國，親臨過英國城鎮和鄉村周圍的足球場，見識過在那里踢球的男孩女孩的人數，你們一定會明白我的觀點。足球文化伴隨著我們長大，而草根足球哺育著職業足壇。現有的體制難以孕育出中國梅西或是中國C羅，加油中國，讓草根足球運轉起來！
英文原文
I was very pleased to meet a Chinese person from the sports industry recently who like me, doesn’t understand why anyone in China thinks that putting kids into a football school at the age of eight is the correct way to develop open minded, creative and passionate football players. My personal view is that China doesn’t need robots all trained the same way for ten or more years, or coaches who teach their students exactly as they were taught. It needs a completely different system and approach.
The first thing is that all kids develop physically, emotionally and educationally at different speeds. We all know the kid who was the smallest in the class at 10 and then became very tall at 14, or the one who struggled in PE lesson to play basketball but when allowed to play football found that they had a natural ability for it; every child is an individual.
If we look at the approach to youth coaching in Europe for example, every boy or girl has an individual development plan. Parents are involved in supporting and encouraging their children to play football, not matter what their ability, and opportunities to play football at almost any age and level are widely available. In general none of these approaches are used in China and we can see the results.
So how do you find a kid with some footballing ability? Firstly give as many young people as possible an opportunity to play football, in the street, in the park, at school, after school, at weekends and in the holidays. Don’t forget that playing football is good exercise no matter how good a child may be at it, so sitting at a table studying or playing the piano might deliver an academic genius but possibly an unhealthy one; getting the balance right between the two is important.
If the pool of young people playing football for pleasure is big enough then finding a few who have a high level of ability becomes much simpler, but of course there needs to be people looking for this talent at after school training or weekend matches; people who can see the potential of the young players and who know how to draw it out of them.
And perhaps these two points are the key to the real development of football in China. At present Chinese football clubs don’t have a proper scouting system to identify kids with ability outside of their own circle of club youth squads, and we need to see many, many football pitches swarming with young players at the weekends to give those scouting more choice and to draw those young people from every economic background out to play football. Your family status does not determine whether you like football and have ability, genetics and mental stamina do.
If anyone ever reading this article has been to England and seen the numbers of girls, boys, men and woman playing football and pitches around the countries towns and cities, they will know what I mean. Football is in the culture because we grow up on it and grass roots feeds the professional game. Come on China, lets get grass roots football going and then you will find your Messi’s and Ronaldo’s because they wont come out of the current system.
作者簡介：Ken Grant 鴻俊，體育業內人士、投資人和觀察家；國際主席俱樂部(IPC)及亞英體育俱樂部(AASC)董事；The English Football League中國區官方商務開發代表。在足球、高爾夫、馬球等體育領域擁有廣泛的國際關系。
聲明：文中觀點僅代表作者本人觀點，不代表懶熊體育。
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