DALLAS - A North Texas professor is working to develop a test that gauges children's superstar potential.
According to world class gymnast Briley Casanova, "a lot of hard work, determination and never giving up" is what made her a success.
Ron Meyer, whose son Casey is an elite motorcross rider who started at eight, said it also takes a bit of money.
"Probably $200,000 since we started," he said of the cost spent on Casey's riding.
But, what if a test could determine if your child really has what it takes?
"I think it would effect how we make a decision," said Zelda Casanova, Briley's mother.
Dr. Mihai Nadin thinks so too. He believes his research at the University of Texas at Dallas will be able to determine if a child will be able to succeed in a certain area.
"Once you start being aware of your aptitude, the cultivation of the aptitude will increase the chances that you will peak," he said. "Your high performance will be higher than your competitors."
Nadin said it can be understood if one looks at anticipation as two clocks.
"One that is ticking in the physical world and the other one that is ticking in your body," he said of the theory. "That one is faster than real time."
Nidan said because of that faster clock inside one's body, that person has already experienced what's about to happen. For example, instead of waiting for the ball to come one's way, that person goes to the ball and catches it. That's anticipation.
Elite athletes like Briley and Casey anticipate faster than the norm, making split second decisions others cannot.
"You just got to be able to see how it is, examine it and then figure out what you're going to do really fast," Casey said.
In the lab, Nidal is proving that innate ability by hooking subjects up to equipment that capture and record movements.
The results of children who have already proven to be a success may set the bar for future tests of others who hope to be just as good.
Robin Lovin, a Southern Methodist University ethicist, said she is concerned about tests that either eliminate children from future opportunities or place too much on a single skill.
"Is it creating the kind of person we would want to know and to be as opposed to are we creating a superstar that we all want to watch at a distance on television?" he said.
Nidan said his only objective is to give families one more piece of information to help them make informed decisions.
"It's always good to know, but it's always dangerous," he said.
And what if the test says a child doesn't have what it takes?
"That's what happens in life day in and day out, nothing new," he said. "I don't know why you seem surprised. That's how life is."
