Expertise and Deliberate Practice
Deliberate practice (DP) is a fairly popular topic when it comes to discussing expertise in sports and other professions. So what is DP?
Ericsson (2008) originally constructed the definition of DP to have the following components:
Individual active engagement
Training crafted by a coach, teacher, or similar
Dedicated to the improvement of a particular action
Integration of immediate feedback
Space for problem-solving and evaluation
Repetition of the action to cultivate the action
Furthermore, Ericsson (2008) explained that no matter the field, an expert must be able to effectively act on task demands pretty much any time with little preparation. This is a big ask for anyone, but it makes sense in light of what an expert is called to do. This is exemplified by surgeons or emergency room doctors who must respond when an emergency occurs at their facility. In the athletic realm, professional or elite athletes must be able to play, no matter if there are delays or last-minute changes to the team roster.
Ericsson and Harwell (2019) continually argue that DP is different from other concepts introduced by other researchers in the field, such as purposeful practice (PP), structured practice (SP), and naïve practice (NP). Each of these concepts is delineated from DP by distinct differences. For example, in SP, instead of individualized training from a coach, an athlete is practicing in group activities still guided by a coach but not built for the specific individual and their current level of need to improve aspects of performance (Ericsson & Harwell, 2019). The point is that DP is a distinct and specific type of practice. This is important to consider because DP is the type of practice that sets an athlete on the path to becoming an expert. Engaging in NP does not accomplish what DP does due to the critical elements that help lead to expertise, such as individualized training dedicated to a particular skill.
DP has been studied or included as a critical concept in multiple areas, including but not limited to medicine, motorsports, tennis, and counseling consultation (Anderson et al., 2021; Mitchell & Boyer, 2023; Newman et al., 2022; Rosalie & Malone, 2019). Not all of these examples are from sports for a reason. When considering DP as a universal concept, it is essential to consider whether a concept transcends one specific area, in this case sports, to understand its reliability. While DP may be a universal concept that applies to sports and other fields, an athlete may need other factors to succeed in sports. Other factors need to be considered, such as athlete personality, culture, environment, and social influences. So, while there are universal concepts, it is essential to remember that individual-level differences interact with concepts like DP, thus making DP more dynamic because of how athletes interact with DP.
A person running on the grass in front of a fence and blue bleachers.
take action today moment:
What do you make of DP? Take another look at the components of deliberate practice. What components do you excel at and which ones do you want to invite into your practice?
Learn More About Deliberate Practice:
References
Anderson, E., Stone, J. A., Dunn, M., & Heller, B. (2021). Coach approaches to practice design in performance tennis. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 16(6), 1281-1292. https://doi.org/10.1177/17479541211027
Ericsson, K. A. (2008). Deliberate practice and acquisition of expert performance: A general overview. Academic Emergency Medicine, 15(11), 988-994. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1553-2712.2008.00227.x
Ericsson, K. A., & Harwell, K. W. (2019). Deliberate practice and proposed limits on the effects of practice on the acquisition of expert performance: Why the original definition matters and recommendations for future research. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2396. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02396
Mitchell, S. A., & Boyer, T. J. (2023). Deliberate practice in medical simulation. StatPearls. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK554558/
Newman, D. S., Gerrard, M. K., Villarreal, J. N., & Kaiser, L. T. (2022). Deliberate practice of consultation microskills: An exploratory study of training. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 16(3), 263–271. https://doi.org/10.1037/tep0000368
Rosalie, S., & Malone, J. (2019). Do racing drivers practice racing? The effect of intentional following on formula car drivers’ steering behaviour. Journal of Expertise, 2(3), 164-183.