After reading (or listening to the audio book) “The Talent Code” (April 28, 2009) by Daniel Coyle, there is a real sense that anyone can become better at any skill they want, whether it is shooting a basketball or playing the violin. It is about science and hard work, not just being genetically lucky. And while this is a contrast to David Epstein’s “The Sports Gene”, it still shows that anyone can improve, regardless of the physical traits we were born with.
Two key takeaways from “The Talent Code”
To get everything out of this book, you obviously would need to read it for yourself. And some chapters are worth repeating. But here are a couple of takeaways.
Practice required
First, true development and maximizing your skill sets requires deep practice. This is the process by which players work on a skill to the point that they fail at it. But their focus allows them to recognize their errors and then correct them and move on to further development and making the next failure and correction.
By doing this over and over there is an increase in the building of myelin, which is a sheath that wraps around chains of neurons that tell your muscles what to do. The more a player has deep practice, the more myelin is built up and the faster their neurons can fire and the muscles can react. Coyle describes this like an electrical circuit, where the neurons are the wires and the myelin is the insulation keeping the electric signal from getting outside the wire.
It is hard. It is boring. But it is absolutely necessary.
Coaches, develop their passion
Second, without a passion in a player, deep practice cannot be sustained long enough to really have a benefit.
Have you heard about the 10,000 hour rule or the 10 year rule. Research has shown a correlation between the number of deliberate practice hours required (the deep practice) and becoming an expert in that field. And while opinions vary on how much deep practice is needed, there is no question that becoming great and performing at the highest level is very VERY demanding. In order to meet these demands, the player must have a passion for the skills or they will eventually leave the sport. Or at least cut back on the needed practice time.
This passion, according to Coyle, requires an “ignite” point. This is the point for, whatever reason and sometimes unknown for sure, the player’s passion is triggered and they fall in love with the game or the skill set.
Coaches, this is where you are so important! According to Coyle, igniting the passion doesn’t come from hardline screamers or from coddling enablers. The examples he found were generally mild mannered teachers that did a couple of things: they found a way to connect with their students or players, essentially building trust. And then they simply corrected and helped them continue their developmental journey in a way that the player understood.
What do you think?
So what do you think? Can elite talent be created through practice? Or is elite talent only possible through a genetic advantage (ie you’re born with it)?