Practice and hard work can bring people to incredible levels of success, but most professional athletes are also gifted with extraordinary genes. And while everyone can cite a jack-of-all-trades athlete who is great at many sports, the majority of people are predisposed towards certain types of (endurance or power) sports.Skill predisposition is exactly what eager parents want to learn about their kids and they are willing to shell out $160 to find out. Atlas Sports Genetics, of Boulder, CO offers parents a DNA swab kit that collects DNA to be analyzed for the ACTN 3 Gene. The levels of this gene potentially determine which sports your child is best suited to play. People with low levels of ACTN 3 are better suited for endurance sports like swimming or cycling. While high levels equate to strength and power, skills ideal for sports like rugby or football, a little ACTN 3 represents mixed-pattern athletes with both strength and endurance skills (who can play most any sport).
Atlas Sports admits that kids could potentially succeed in sports that do not match their genetic code. However they are angling this as more of a ‘head start’ indicator to know what your kids are likely going to be better at, while not 100% locking them into just one type of sport. Skeptics argue these tests are a waste of money and could lead to parents pushing kids into sports in which the child does not have interest.
I think this sounds like an expensive, but fascinating test of science. I know genes play a huge role in success in sports, but for kids, it should be about fun and not grooming. Perhaps a better (and definitely less intrusive) test would be to expose young kids to an array of sports and let them decide what they like best. I predict most of the time kids will like what they are naturally good at. Ref. cbslocal.com, thepostgame.com
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