FROM THE PUBLISHER
ISSUE # 94 ❖ WINTER 2022 / 23
THE ‘ 06 AND ‘ 07 TEAMS OF TORMENTA FC ACADEMY AT THE MLS NEXT FEST IN PALM SPRINGS , CALIFORNIA
THE OUTLIERS
“ SUCCESS IS NOT A RANDOM ACT . IT ARISES OUT OF A PREDICTABLE AND POWERFUL SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES AND OPPORTUNITIES .”
“ It is not the brightest who succeed ... Nor is success simply the sum of the decisions and efforts we make on our own behalf . It is , rather , a gift . Outliers are those that have been given opportunities - and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them .” – Malcolm Gladwell , author of the Outliers : Story of Success .
You always assume you ’ ll be the one passing lessons on to your kids . Sometimes , they return the favor .
My son Dodge has been playing soccer since the age of three , starting at the YMCA and continuing in a club soccer career that has , so far , taken him to Italy , France , Spain and all across the USA . Recently , we traveled to California to watch him and his extremely talented team from Tormenta FC Academy take on the top teams in the country . He was fortunate to be picked to play in the Best of the Best game along with other top players picked from clubs all over the country .
Watching not just my son , but all these young men , play at such an extraordinarily high level , I ’ ve been amazed at the level of talent that play at Tormenta FC Academy . Moreso , I ’ ve been impressed by the sheer number of hours that each player invests into this game . It was Malcolm Gladwell who came up with the “ 10,000-hour rule ,” asserting that the key to achieving true expertise in any skill is simply a matter of practicing for at least 10,000 hours . That ’ s about 3-4 hours per day for 15 years , give or take . Most of us are not willing to put in that effort and from those that do , only a small percentage make it to the top . Most are distracted along the way , so discipline has to be a huge part of the equation . From the group of boys that I watched my son play with , only a few remain .
Outliers are defined the same way in life as they are in a math textbook : the things that sit
SOPHIA , DODGE & MICHAEL BROOKS
outside the norm . Hence the message of Gladwell ’ s book . I cannot say whether or not any of these boys will make it to the top . They have plenty of years ahead of them , and in that time they might find something else that fuels their passion . For the time being , they have accomplished great things . They made sacrifices few would make to live a life few can live . And in tagging along for the ride , I learned more from these boys than I ever thought possible about life , discipline , sacrifice and dedication , not to mention the friendships forged along the way . # VamosTormenta
MANY THANKS & KEEP READING MICHAEL BROOKS / CREATOR
20 SOUTH Winter 2022 / 23
PHOTO by MARC HEDGES