Benefits of "Deliberate Practice"
05-08-2006, 11:13 AM
#1
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Benefits of "Deliberate Practice"
Interesting story from the NYT. At DEs I have been setting goals for each session, and of course we get great instructors at PCA events who give immediate feedback and we concentrate on "smooth is fast." I guess we're doing the right thing!
"Deliberate practice entails more than simply repeating a task — playing a C-minor scale 100 times, for instance, or hitting tennis serves until your shoulder pops out of its socket. Rather, it involves setting specific goals, obtaining immediate feedback and concentrating as much on technique as on outcome."
Full story is HERE.
"Deliberate practice entails more than simply repeating a task — playing a C-minor scale 100 times, for instance, or hitting tennis serves until your shoulder pops out of its socket. Rather, it involves setting specific goals, obtaining immediate feedback and concentrating as much on technique as on outcome."
Full story is HERE.
05-08-2006, 12:41 PM
#3
Rennlist Member
I like the article. We think so much of native ability, and maybe not so much about what that entails. I noticed the following in the article..."Most people naturally don't like to do things they aren't "good" at. So they often give up, telling themselves they simply don't possess the talent for math or skiing or the violin. But what they really lack is the desire to be good and to undertake the deliberate practice that would make them better." Not to deny that an Alonso has native abilities that most of us likely don’t, let me risk wasting bandwidth with what I think I discovered about my own.
I always thought of myself as a physical klutz. A few years ago, I was at my eye doctor’s, and he said, “you can’t play tennis, can you?” I replied that, of course, not, I'm a klutz. No, that’s not the problem, he informed me. I have “convergence insufficiency,” which simply means that my eyes don’t converge quickly as an object approaches. Therefore, a ball disappears when it’s 10 or 15 feet away, and I am therefore a lot less likely to hit it or catch it. So, as kids, how do we learn whether or not we have “native abilities?” Usually, it’s playing and practising sports that involve responding to objects quickly approaching us. He showed me a simple exercise that temporarily alleviates the condition, and voila...I can now catch a ball.
As a driver, I have come a long way. I will never be great (hell, I’m 56, and no Paul Newman), but I’m not feeling at all like a klutz. I finally found a sport to which I have devoted a fair amount of practice, and in which responding to approaching objects that are 10 or 15 feet away isn’t a big issue....if they’re that close at 100 mph, given laws of inertia, it’s way too late!
So, I had wrapped my self-concept around a relatively trivial physical characteristic. Had I practised some other sport, or had I known earlier about convergence insufficiency, I might have seen myself in a whole different light.
I really like Bentley’s Secrets of Speed series. He is a brilliant sports psychologist. One thing he pointed out is the stepwise nature of improvement...it’s not a smooth curve, but a series of incremental improvements. He points out that, therefore, if you’re practising and not improving, you are about to improve!
Cheers
Bill
I always thought of myself as a physical klutz. A few years ago, I was at my eye doctor’s, and he said, “you can’t play tennis, can you?” I replied that, of course, not, I'm a klutz. No, that’s not the problem, he informed me. I have “convergence insufficiency,” which simply means that my eyes don’t converge quickly as an object approaches. Therefore, a ball disappears when it’s 10 or 15 feet away, and I am therefore a lot less likely to hit it or catch it. So, as kids, how do we learn whether or not we have “native abilities?” Usually, it’s playing and practising sports that involve responding to objects quickly approaching us. He showed me a simple exercise that temporarily alleviates the condition, and voila...I can now catch a ball.
As a driver, I have come a long way. I will never be great (hell, I’m 56, and no Paul Newman), but I’m not feeling at all like a klutz. I finally found a sport to which I have devoted a fair amount of practice, and in which responding to approaching objects that are 10 or 15 feet away isn’t a big issue....if they’re that close at 100 mph, given laws of inertia, it’s way too late!
So, I had wrapped my self-concept around a relatively trivial physical characteristic. Had I practised some other sport, or had I known earlier about convergence insufficiency, I might have seen myself in a whole different light.
I really like Bentley’s Secrets of Speed series. He is a brilliant sports psychologist. One thing he pointed out is the stepwise nature of improvement...it’s not a smooth curve, but a series of incremental improvements. He points out that, therefore, if you’re practising and not improving, you are about to improve!
Cheers
Bill
05-08-2006, 02:21 PM
#5
Rennlist Member
You mean the exercise he showed me? It's just moving your index finger forward and back in front of your eyes and tracking it...I guess it loosens the muscles temporarily, or something. It looks stupid, but for me it worked.
05-08-2006, 02:47 PM
#6
This is real. It works. I can attest.
I was the worlds worst swimmer. But, I really wanted to get better at it as I was always one of the last guys out the water in the Triathlons I race in. So, I hired a private swim coach and swam all winter long, as hard as it was. Had a video taken before the sessions, and one just now. The difference is night and day, as is the way I feel in the water.
Same can hold true for anything you want to be good at. Keep focused, make SMART goals, and keep pecking away at them one by one. You will make progress. Will you be a pro racer? Probably not. Will I be a pro swimmer, probably not. But I am better, and you will be too if you practice in the prescribed manner. You will get better and have fun. Thats the point of all this, right?
I was the worlds worst swimmer. But, I really wanted to get better at it as I was always one of the last guys out the water in the Triathlons I race in. So, I hired a private swim coach and swam all winter long, as hard as it was. Had a video taken before the sessions, and one just now. The difference is night and day, as is the way I feel in the water.
Same can hold true for anything you want to be good at. Keep focused, make SMART goals, and keep pecking away at them one by one. You will make progress. Will you be a pro racer? Probably not. Will I be a pro swimmer, probably not. But I am better, and you will be too if you practice in the prescribed manner. You will get better and have fun. Thats the point of all this, right?
05-11-2006, 11:41 AM
#7
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Crazy C great avitar !
