Chapter 6
What lies beneath the surface?
Investigating expertise in sport
Expert performance is similar to an iceberg...only one tenth of the iceberg is visible
above the surface of the water and the other nine tenths are hidden below it. (Ericsson,
2001 b, p. 2)
IntroductionWhether out of envy or admiration, we have long been fascinated by the exploits of
expert performers in any field—those who display exceptional talent, knowledge and/or
outstanding skills in a particular area of human achievement. For example, most of us
would love to be able to score a goal like Ronaldo, drive a golf ball with the power of
Tiger Woods or serve a tennis ball with the skill of Venus Williams—yet all we can do is
sit and watch as these experts perform remarkable athletic feats. But an important
question arises when we marvel at the gifts of such performers. Specifically, what is the
relationship between talent, expertise and success in sport? At first glance, the answer to
this question seems obvious. If someone has sufficient innate talent and is lucky enough
to have received instruction from an excellent coach, then s/he will develop expertise and
become successful. As in most areas of psychology, however, research findings paint a
different picture of the facts. More precisely, there are at least three flaws in the “pure
talent” explanation of athletic excellence. First, just like the rest of us, sports stars are
unreliable judges of the factors which influenced their career success. For example, in
seeking to explain how they reached the top of the athletic ladder, they may inadvertently
overestimate the influence of natural ability and underestimate the influence of other
factors such as physical training regimes and/or the time they spent practising their skills.
Second, as coaches and psychologists have discovered, quality is better than quantity
when it comes to practice. For example, there is a big difference between mindless drills
(where athletes repeat basic skills without any specific purpose in mind) and mindful
practice (also known as “deliberate practice”—where athletes strive to achieve specific
and challenging goals in a deliberate attempt to improve their skills; discussed later in the
chapter). Third, success in sport is determined as much by psychological factors (e.g.,
motivation) and by strategic planning (e.g., anticipating one’s opponent’s actions, having
a “game-plan” for a competition) as by innate technical skill. When combined, these
three points highlight the importance of experience and practice in determining athletic
expertise (see also Durand-Bush and Salmela, 2002, for the views of Olympic and world
champions on these issues). This combination of experience and practice lies beneath the
surface in Ericsson’s (2001b) iceberg metaphor of athletic expertise. Thus when we
observe a moment of spontaneous genius by Ronaldo, Tiger Woods or Venus Williams,