The Importance of Practice: talent vs hard work
DR. JAY MARTIN United Soccer Coaches, Soccer Journal | Editor
» Welcome to the annual August issue. » We started the pre-season issue a few years ago with some specific goals in mind:
We wanted to give you up-to-date resources as you prepare for the season. We’ ve included articles from coaches at all levels of U. S. soccer and from many members of the United Soccer Coaches Academy staff to offer the latest in soccer training.
» We wanted to present a magazine that you can put with your coaching gear and sessions you can use TODAY!
» We wanted to offer training sessions by topic to make it easy for you to find what you need for training this afternoon.
But before we start with the sessions, let’ s talk about The Importance of Practice: Talent vs. Hard Work.
Surely, what separates one soccer player from another is the level of talent, right? That is the conventional wisdom and coaches, teachers and parents support that paradigm! But is it true? How should this affect you as a coach?
Talent, experience and practice … In his book,“ Outliers,” Malcolm Gladwell explores what makes some people more successful than others. What do all successful people have in common? Gladwell tells us it is the 10,000 Hour Rule! He refers to the studies of K. Anders Ericsson who found that“ once a musician has enough ability to get into a top music school, the thing that distinguishes one performer from the other is how hard he or she works!”
Ericsson and others tell us that practice is more than just being there and going through the motions. Players who are engaged will learn more and better. And certain types of practice are more effective than others. Ericsson found that what matters most, even more than experience, is what he calls deliberate practice. Deliberate practice is repeatedly doing the most difficult tasks. To Ericsson, practice should never be easy. If it is easy, you are not getting better. For example, at your next practice require every shot on goal to be taken with one touch. That is hard. The players want to take two or three touches because it is easier. Set restrictions to get your players out of their comfort zone.
So, does talent matter? In a Fortune Magazine article,“ Talent Is Overrated,” the author, Geoff Colvin, discusses Ericsson’ s concept of deliberate practice in depth and concludes that the“ findings do not prove that talent doesn’ t exist. But they do suggest an intriguing possibility; that if it does exist, it may be irrelevant.”
Colvin tells us that“ deliberate practice is a specific and unique type of activity … characterized by several elements that together form a powerful whole.”
» Deliberate practice is designed specifically to improve performance— it involves continually stretching a player beyond his or her limits. » Deliberate practice should be repeated— a lot. » Feedback on results is continually available. That’ s what good coaches do!! » It is demanding mentally— it requires focus and attention. » It is hard— most people will not do it. Doing it will distinguish the player from others.
» Before the work, the best performers set goals that are not about the outcome but the process necessary to reach the outcome.
» During the work, the best players monitor what is happening in their own mind and evaluate how things are working.
» After work, practice activities are useless without useful feedback about the results— a selfevaluation
Gladwell, Ericsson and Colvin are not alone in their emphasis on practice. Educators use the term“ reflective practice” to describe applying knowledge to practice through one’ s own experience. In“ The Talent Code,” Daniel Coyle takes talent and practice even further. Relying on the amazing new world of neuroplasticity, Coyle tells us how“ deep practice” changes the brain by creating myelin.
Deep practice provides us with“ The Three Rules of Deep Practice.” » Rule one: Chunk it up— absorb the whole thing, break it into chunks and slow it down. » Rule two: Repeat it. » Rule three: Learn to feel it— be aware of what you are doing.
What does this mean for coaches? In a general philosophical way …
» You should continually stretch your players. Get them out of their comfort zone.
» Have the players think about what they are doing and why. Have the players challenge themselves in training instead
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