I’ve never been a huge sports fan. I’d catch a Detroit Lions game with my dad on the TV when he was alive. Or maybe catch a local Muskegon Fury hockey game.
Other than that, sports have never done much for me. But I’m finding myself enjoying specific aspects of sports now.
One of those is youth/high school sports.
I’ve recently begun attending Tuesday night Bible study for our senior high students. They’re a great group of kids who happen to love sports.
They’ll talk your ear off about their upcoming football game. Or maybe it’s youth hockey. Or high school basketball.
After attending one of the students’ hockey games and then another student’s basketball game, I was amazed by the talent they displayed. These students are young but hungry. They’re putting their minds and bodies on the line for high school sports glory.
They’re also teaching me why it’s crucial to seek out young, hungry talent.
3 Reasons To Seek Out Young, Hungry Talent
When you watch these students play in high school sports, you begin to see something special. They have a hunger that’s unmatched in adulthood. Here are 3 reasons why you should seek out this kind of talent.
1. Young, hungry talent is teachable:
At the Mona Shores vs. Fruitport basketball game, I witnessed the students’ teachability. When a player botched a throw or made a foul, the coach would call them out.
The student athlete didn’t backtalk the coach. No, he listened and took in what the coach told him.
When you hire young, hungry talent… you find teachable talent. They’re not stuck in a certain mindset or their skills haven’t been molded in such a way that they’re immovable.
Instead, they’re looking for ways to improve. Ways you can teach them.
The first great thing about young, hungry talent is that they’re teachable.
2. Young, hungry talent is willing to give it their all:
Noah, one of our students, plays for his high school’s hockey team. If I’m honest, I didn’t even know that high schools had hockey teams. I would have loved to have been a part of that growing up.
But, I digress…
I’ve watched a bit of professional and semi-professional hockey. The hockey players gave a lot. Yet I don’t think I ever saw them give as much as the high school hockey players did.
These young men left everything on the ice rink. They were willing to skate to where the puck would be, they used their bodies to slam against each other in an effort to regain control of the puck, and more.
At the end of the game, you could see the sheer exhaustion on their faces. They gave it their all.
Young, hungry talent is willing to give it their all. They’re eager to tackle a new project with gusto. They’re willing to find ways to make processes easier.
Sometimes, older leadership can see the push for efficiency and ease as a sign that they don’t want to work as hard as others. I believe that’s not the case. They’re looking for easier solutions because they can give their all to finding more efficient methods.
3. Young, hungry talent are desiring the win:
The young men on the field have a strong desire to win. They know this is their time to shine. There might not be a chance to continue playing sports at a collegiate or professional level. They have to win today.
Guess what? When you bring in the young, hungry talent to your organization, they have a desire to win. They know they have to prove themselves. No one else will.
Your young, hungry talent will bring a desire to win that will be unmatched by senior talent.
