elite athlete as “a person who is currently or has previously competed as a varsity player (individual or team), a professional player or a national or international level player.”  Being that the dictionary is not a strong source the Journal of Sport Management was also looked at. In the Journal of Sports Management, Sotiriadou says that an elite player is basically someone who stand out at the top of their game.  With no definite definition of an elite athlete, things become kind of controversial and in order to answer the question are elite athletes are born or made, both those players that shine in their sports and those who do not necessarily stand out but did make it professionally have to be properly evaluated.

            Coach Toussaint believes that how long a person has being playing a sport does not matter because athletes that participated in little league sports typically don’t end up well. Coach Toussaint feels that natural ability can only take an athlete so far, they need good coaching. he also states that athletes who put in the extra work to be great can lack the standard characteristics looked for in certain sports and still end up successful. In addition to those three things Coach Toussaint states that an athlete's up bringing plays a role in their success being that it motivates them, “for example kids who come from a tough background use that to motivate themselves because they never want to go back to that lifestyle.” After hearing these responses from Coach Toussaint, it was determined for both types of elite athletes things that could play a role in their success like their vitals, where they come from and how long they have been playing and or involved in the sport need to and will be examined.

To start off let's take a look at those athletes that stand out from others and are talked about the most in their sport. First sport to be looked at is basketball and being that in the last couple years the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors have dominated the NBA and the two team's’ top players LeBron James and Stephen Curry are constantly talked about, for basketball the athletes that will be examined are LeBron James and Stephen Curry. According to NBA.com LeBron James is 6’8 and based on Jock bio, LeBron James grew up in a poor section of Akron, Ohio. He was raised by a single mother and they moved around from seedy apartment complexes throughout his childhood. LeBron James showed interest in basketball since a child when his mother bought him a toy basketball hoop and he spent hours playing on it. He began playing organized sports since he was in elementary school, it should also be noted that LeBron James was also a pretty good football player. According to NBA.com Stephen Curry is 6’3 and he was raised in Charlotte North Carolina, his father, Dell Curry, is a former NBA player therefore he has been around the game of basketball his entire life. Stephen Curry began playing organized basketball when he was in school.

            When looking at elite athletes, players from more than one sport have to be evaluated. Therefore Tom Brady and Cam Newton, two football players that stand out in the NFL and have started as quarterback in one of the last two super bowls will be evaluated. According to NFL.com, Tom Brady is 6’4 and according to biography.com he was born in San Mateo, California, he played both baseball and football throughout school. Sources say Cam Newton is 6’5 and Jock bio say that he was raised in a suburb outside of Atlanta Georgia called College Park and he began playing organized football when he was 8 years old.

            The last sport that will be evaluated is track, where the best of the best compete in the Olympics. The 2016 Olympic gold and silver 100m dash medal winners, Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin will be used in this study. According to ESPN, Usain Bolt is a little under 6’5 (196cm) and according to biography.com he was born in Jamaica and he began sprinting in organized events at the age of 14.  USA Track and Field says that Justin Gatlin is 6’1 and biography.com says that he was raised in Pensacola, Florida. It doesn’t say when he began running track but records show he was competing in high school track events.  

            Now let’s take a look at those athletes who were skilled enough to make it to the professional level but do not shine and are not talked about much in the media. For basketball, NBA players Joakim Noah and Elfrid Payton will be evaluated. According to NBA.com, Joakim Noah is 6’11. Sources say that Joakim Noah was born in New York City, but lived in Paris France until the age of 13 when he moved back to New York. Joakim Noah has been around sports his whole life being that his father was a professional tennis player and his grandfather was a professional soccer player. However Noah himself did not began playing basketball until he was in school. NBA.com says that Elfrid Payton Jr is 6’4. Sources state that Elfrid Payton was born in Gretna, Louisiana. Elfrid Payton's father was a Canadian football player so he too has been around sports his entire life. He has also been playing basketball since school.

            In the NFL, players like Brock Osweiler and Chris Conley are not star players and tend to only be in the media for not having the best performance, this makes them perfect players to evaluate. Sources say that Brock Osweiler was born in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. He has been playing football since a child. His older brother played college football and his father was offered a scholarship to play college football but passed it up. ESPN says that Brock Osweiler stands at 6’8. According to ESPN Chris Conley Stands at 6’3. Other sources say that Chris Conley lived in Dallas, Georgia and  began playing football in school.  

            For track, the slowest two sprinters in the 2016 Olympic 100m dash, Trayvon Bromell and Jimmy Vicaut will be evaluated. Sources say that 8th place Olympic finalist Trayvon Bromell is 5’9 and has played sports and been running track since he was in school. Trayvon Bromell is from St. Petersburg Florida. According to sources 7th place Olympic finalist Jimmy Vicaut stands at 6’0 and has been involved in athletics since the age of 10 and was born in Bondy Paris.

            After conducting the research on these two types of “elite” players, those who shine in their sport and those who don’t shine but made it professionally, there is no huge differences. Some of the players that shine share similar vitals with those who don’t shine and neither type of elite player started playing their sport at the same point in life, the players all started at random times. These players all came from different parts of the world and country and grew up in different types of environment it literally ranges from growing up very privileged to dirt poor poverty. Something that was found and noted throughout the research of these two types of elite players is that quite a few of them were a part of a family that produced a successful athlete prior to the birth of them. This leads to the theory that there is an “Athletic Gene” that makes these athletes elite players.

            Coach Toussaint actually believes in this theory that there is an “Athletic Gene” because during an email interview that was conducted he was asked is there a such thing as an athletic gene and he responded “yes.” Seeing that this theory is supported, research was conducted to see if it is in fact true or not. According to Rodriguez Quijada, there is no such thing as an athletic gene, the closest thing related to an athletic gene is found in some sprinters called ACTN3 (also known as “Sprinters gene”.) Research shows that ACTN3 is not found in all successful sprinters therefore it cannot be considered a factor in an athlete being elite.

In the British journal of sports medicine, Tucker made it clear that certain genes that are passed down through genetics may make it easier for a person to train for a sport.  In a text about dominance of African Americans in sports Harpalani basically says that genes for a person to be tall can put them at an advantage. 

Furthermore, if it has been determined that ACTN3 is not found in all elite athletes and there is no such thing as an athletic gene. How could an elite athlete be born? An elite athlete cannot be born. Gnida stated that it is only a coincidence some successful sprinters share ACTN3 genetic. It has also been determined that genes that put athletes at advantage have to be trained and developed in order to lead a player to success.   

            Ultimately, after all of the research and effort it took to determine whether or not elite athlete are born or made, it has been determined that athletes are made. Certain traits that may put a person at an advantage in a sport, like one’s height and body statue can be passed down from one generation to the next through the genes but it takes intense training and dedication for an athlete to become elite.