A great example of deliberative practice process and the development of expertise comes from a world class cellist who was asked by Anders Ericsson as to how she became a world class player. Paraphrasing, she said this:
"Well, I think is was because I was never quite satisfied with my performance and so I was always tinkering with ways to improve. So, for example, I would play a recital in the afternoon and I would tape the session. "
"Later that night I would listen to the recital and I would pick out the weak parts of my performance and I would try to work on those parts."
THIS is the kind of mindset that breeds true development!
THIS is the kind of mindset that breeds true development!
As regards the topic of INTENT, her intent was that of constantly finding ways to improve upon her performance.As she stated ..."I was never quite satisfied with my performance." [This is in stark contrast to all too many young athletes who think they are ALREADY really good].
How exactly did she go about this process of refining her performance? Well, again she had the intent to find her FLAWS and then work specifically on those flaws. [Again this is in stark contrast to all too many who JUST work on what they already do reasonably well and easily].
And of course to help spot the actual weak parts she used good FEEDBACK--she taped her performances and thus was able to ACCURATELY pinpoint her flaws.[Again, this is in stark contrast to many hitters who rarely,if ever, spend time taping and analyzing their movements].
Suffice it to say this performer became a world class player in large part because of her MINDSET. And if you take THAT kind of mindset into the minutes, hours, days,weeks, and years of practicing, you'll likely become pretty damn good at that endeavor!!
I should add here that Anders Ericsson is a Phd. psychologist who has spent much of his academic life studying high level performers. Here's a link to an article he wrote in 1993:
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And I will add that I have spent a good deal of time studying [and applying] much of his research and it is certainly the case that his research has been highly influential as regards what,how, and why I teach what I teach as a hitting instructor.
