Playing hard for a brief span is maybe a choice that's relatively simple to make. Playing hard, consistently, game after game under grueling physical conditions isn't so simple. Not everyone has that will power. Your mind and body needs to get used to playing that way. I would call that "training", but no matter. If we use your expanded definition, I do think one "learns" how to play hard. Players that practice playing hard in the gym every summer will find it easier to play that way consistently in real games.
Generally human qualities fall on two categories: Talent and Skill. Talent (or attribute) is something that is god-given, and although you can somewhat improve on it, its something that's generally out of your hands. For example, Stockton was blessed with great toughness, he almost never got injured. Skills on the other hand are stuff which are learned and anyone can do. Driving a car, riding a bike, shooting the ball these are all skills. As such, hard work is definitely a skill because its something that you have to cultivate within yourself. Its not just a mindset, if working hard was just a matter of having a certain mindset everyone in the league would've been a hard worker by now. Its like trying setting out to do a workout routine. Anybody can say "I'll jog for 2 miles everyday", but once you start doing it day after day you'll find it extremely hard to do. You'll need to have the desire to do it day after day, and that desire to work hard is something that has been cultivated within you since you were a child. In the same way, everyone can say "You know what? I'll start working hard", but the reality is only people who have the "working hard" skills will be able to do it. People who didn't work hard throughout their lives (i.e. slackers) like Eddy Curry, Allen Iverson, Rasheed Wallace etc. can say all the right things about working hard and all that stuff, but when its time to actually do it they end up procrastinating and slacking 'till the end.
I don't think its a skill at all, according to the definition. The right coach, support group, or above all, the chance of making $$$$ for playing a game is enough to push a lot of people play hard. Chuck Hayes is a perfect example.
My contention is, playing hard is more a matter of motivation than anything else. Some people have it, and some people don't. To put it another way, if your heart is not in it, you're not going to play very hard no matter how many drills you run. So, as far as I'm concerned, playing hard is more a symptom of motivation -- be it competitive spirit, ego, and/or a contract year -- than a skill..
I can't think of a more well conditioned basketball player in the last decade than Allen Iverson. He works hard, just not always smart.
Uhm, you can learn a skill and become quite talented at it. If you tried this argument for a college paper I smell fail written all over it. I don't understand your point. As for the NBA players you mentioned, that is pure skepticism and I disagree with you. Wallace and Iverson have been perennial All-Stars. Sometimes its the coaches and or the GM that fails to maximize or see a players full potential. There are plenty of diamonds in the rough that could be borderline all-stars if placed in the right situation. Easy example is Von Wafer. We'd be calling him a stiff if McGrady didn't get hurt.
Knowing how to train yourself for increased endurance is a skill(one I dont have)... different from "playing hard". And yes, playing hard in the summer will probably get you more prepared for the real season but i think that is more a matter of improving your endurance by pushing your limits than it is a mental issue. HOWEVER, i will be willing to concede that some people may have mental barriers to playing hard all the time. In my basketball life I was close to retching due to lack of oxygen many many times and I never felt this limitation. Maybe I just dont happen to have it and so I cant see that problem in others. On that same vein, I think people need to concede that just by looking at them we can't tell for certain who is trying their hardest out there and who isnt. I think its preferable to avoid those kind of judgements. I will leave it to the people that are paid to make those judgements to make them(Morey, Adelman, etc).
GARM: stands for the Game Action and Roster Moves sub(if not main) forum back on topic: playing hard is a skill. it's something you learn to do. just like studying. everyone can study, but not everyone wants to do it and consistently. similar to putting effort into studying, players can put effort into playing hard consistently every game
I voted yes because by the time you become a pro, it is something you have either developed as a trait or something you haven't. It's hard to become a consistently hard worker at that stage of development if you haven't already done so. There are very few exceptions where a player truly goes from any degree of slacking to working hard on and off the court on a regular basis.
Playing hard is a skill. It is a mixture of heart passion and desireness to be the best. You don't have to be the best athlete in the world but if you go out there everynight and bust your tail for the minutes you play that to me is a skill and a very valuable skill. Players like Chuck Hates and Shane Battier come to mind..
Yes. In today's game of basketball, playing hard is very much a skill. Too many do not play hard to assume that everyone plays hard. Whenever scouts look at players, one of the things they look for is if they play hard every possession, every play. It's not longer expected for every player to play hard.
Yes it's a skill. You'll be hard pressed to find any successful competitive athlete on any level (even high school) who doesn't understand that. You can call it GAME FOCUS or whatever you like semantically. A lot of people have a hard time wrapping their heads around the idea that something that doesn't involve your hands or your feet is a "skill" but mental skills separate highly successful athletes more than anything else. Focusing and delivering 100% during the game is definitely a skill, as much as decision making (passing/shooting in bball, pass coverage selection in football, shot selection in tennis etc) or concentration (shooting a rifle, free throw shooting, golf swing) are. No. Talent is simply latent skill. Skill is the actual ability to produce on the court. Something like toughness, height, wing span are attributes distinct from talent Talent is effectively useless (worth NOTHING) until it's converted into an actual skill associated with the game. Some talent is immediately actionable (like being able to throw a baseball a long distance) and some requires huge cultivation (like hitting a baseball). Talent is associated with potential production and Skill talks about what's actually deliverable on the court.
Like I said in the other thread. Skill is learned. Talent is born with. Shooting is a skill. Good shooting touch is talent. Passing is a skill. Court vision is talent. Dunking is a skill. Athleticism is talent. Playing hard, like competitiveness, is a mindset. A mindset can be learned, but mostly born with. I guess the real question here is more like: Is playing hard something every player CAN do? I'd say NO.
Playing hard is a skill. Effort seems to be more than just want. Some people have a natural ability to work harder, and be more determined. It takes a special kind of person to go 100% all the time. I love seeing Battier in half-time/end of game interviews. He looks so totally spent compared to other players, but he never stops.
Ok maybe by definition playing hard isn't a skill if anyone can do it. But, not everyone can do it effectively. You know why everyone doesn't play hard all the time? Because it's physically and mentally draining. You have to train your body to develop the stamina necessary to take the punishment of playing hard the entire game or close to it. You have to train your mind to stay sharp through the exhaustion or through the pain and make the same smart plays you could in minute one. You can tell anyone to play hard and maybe they do it, but you'll get diminishing results up to the point where you just have to take them out. It's the few that can maintain hard play and still be effective that Morey is looking for. Whether it's a skill or not doesn't make a difference, it's still equally important to anything else.
