It takes 10 years to produce Rooney

The downside of modern technology is that it offers most domestic fans unlimited access to the latest in football at the press of the ‘telly’ or cell phone button.

Inevitably, the exposure this global village offers leads to comparisons, desperation, frustrations and questions of Why Always Malawi? proportion.

Flames fans must be cursing themselves that over four decades after attaining independence, Malawi cannot produce its own version of Wayne Rooney, Yaya Toure or Cristiano Ronaldo.

But what the exposure does not provide is the behind-the-scene -long hours physical education trainers, nutritionists, sports psychologists, fitness experts, coaches and statisticians spend to produce that final product such as Rooney.

In sports science, world class footballers such as Ronaldo are classified as elite athletes. Once athletes earn this status they are fully responsible on and off the pitch.

But to scale the elite heights, an athlete must have evolved through the fundamental stage where a child participates in diverse sporting disciplines to master the ABCs, RJT, KGB and CK of sports.

ABCs stands for agility, balance, coordination and speed, RJT is for running, jumping and throwing, KGBS is for kinesthetics, gliding, buoyancy and striking. CKs is for catching, kicking and striking. All these stages define long- term athlete development (LTAD).

The fundamental stage is followed by the learning to train stage, training to train, training to compete and training to win stage.

Each stage has its specialised trainer.

But in Malawi, it is either a case of footballers specialising too early or by-passing the stages, hence leading to physical illiteracy.

The bad news for the Flames fans desperate for quick-fix solutions is that in sports science, The 10-Year Rule theorises that it takes a minimum of 10 years or 10 000 hours of training or competition for at least three hours daily for a talented footballer to reach elite status.

So, while the likes of Gabadinho Mhango, Limbikani Mzava and Robin Ngalande can reach their full potential, getting to the elite status may be a tall order as they were made to jump one of the stages.

There are simply no short-cuts. LTAD is the only way if this is to change.