In sports, we expect good players to have a high level of intelligence – football IQ, basketball IQ. Sports IQ is something you can develop just like academic IQ, but you must be trained in how to get it. You look at the raw materials for developing academic IQ and see that there is no difference in what is needed in having a good sports IQ. or anyone that has attended college or university classes in the US, these words will be very familiar – critical thinking. Critical thinking is base of all university courses. It is what helps individual students develop academic intelligence. The base is to be able to problem solve, be creative, make sound decisions, think strategically, have organizational planning and be open. Nigerian athletes have a very high deficiency of good or adequate sports IQ. I use the word athlete to cover all our sports persons in every sporting endeavor we participate in. Let me dwell on our just ousted U20 football team from the World Cup. This team is considered a golden generation – they won the U17 World Cup in 2013 and paraded the best player in the tournament.
