researchers agree that the ten-year rule is a robust and useful criterion for distinguishing
between expertise and average levels of performance in any given domain of inquiry. In
summary, expertise in sport refers to consistently superior performance in athletic
activities that takes at least ten years to develop.
Although the ten-year rule has been accepted uncritically in cognitive science, it has
received some criticism in sport psychology. This criticism has led to alternative ways of
defining athletic expertise. For example, Starkes (2001) suggested that an expert athlete
was someone who competed at an international level and whose performance is generally
at least two standard deviations above average. However, she acknowledged an obvious
limitation of this approach—namely, the fact that this status is easier to achieve in sports
where the level of participation (and hence competition) is relatively low. For example, it
is easier to be acknowledged as an expert in a little-known sport such as curling as
compared with one which is truly global in popularity (such as football). For this reason,
it is unlikely that this alternative approach to defining expertise in sport will supplant the
ten-year rule. Having considered the nature of expertise from a theoretical perspective,
we should now explore the human face of an expert sport performer—the multiple world
champion darts player, Phil ‘The Power” Taylor (see Figure 6.1).
What is so special about this man? For a brief profile of Phil Taylor, see Box 6.1.
Figure 6.1 Phil “The Power” Taylor—
the greatest darts player of all time?
Source: courtesy of Inpho Photography
Why does the topic of expertise in sport appeal equally to the popular media (e.g., see
Gordon’s, 2001, analysis of Tiger Woods’ dominance in golf) as to researchers (e.g., see
Starkes et al., 2001)? Three main reasons are apparent.
First, the existence of athletic expertise gives us a tantalising glimpse of the benefits
which people attained through dedicated practice and self-development. By implication,
What lies beneath the surface? Investigating expertise in sport 155