It’s Fall. The MLB playoffs are here. College football and the NFL are in full swing. TV, radio, and podcasts are flooded with game day reports, and late fantasy football decisions. We routinely hear hosts proclaiming:
“Wow, what an amazing natural ability”, “You can’t teach that”, or “Only a natural athlete could do that”
But are they “natural athletes”? Is there such a thing?
The term is quick and easy to use. It dismisses the hard work and the individual journey each athlete goes through before making it to the national stage. And their reward? A broadcaster labeling him a “natural”.
How would you know what a natural looks like if you saw him? As opposed to someone that is not a natural?
Put Peyton Manning next to Tom Brady. Is one more natural on the spectrum of naturalness? I think we all know about the chip that Tom Brady has on his shoulder since he was drafted late out of college. I guess I would call Peyton the natural?
More on Peyton at the end of this article…
Michael Jordan changed the sneaker world forever with his Air Jordan’s, but was cut from his high school basketball team as a sophomore. Was his “rarified air” in him waiting to come out or meticulously crafted by his environment?
I suppose, depending on your definition of “natural”, each athlete would have to come out of the womb hitting homeruns and hole-in-ones.
My iMac dictionary gave me these definitions:
- natural – existing in or caused by nature; not made or caused by humankind
- athlete – a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of physical exercise
But surely (don’t call me Shirley), things happen between the womb and the World Series.
Addressing the “natural athlete” is an interesting topic to handle from a behavioral viewpoint.
First off…
Athletes Are Selected
In friendly behaviorspeak, there is nothing “natural” about any one athlete. Over time, certain behaviors or characteristics are selected and reinforced by the world. Behaviors that produce immediate change in the environment, like hitting a ground ball, jumping higher, and avoiding a would-be tackler are reinforced with making it to 1st base, dunking a basketball, and scoring a touchdown. Add on social recognition and praise to an athlete’s career, and you soon begin uncovering a formula for the “natural athlete”.
Think Darwinism here. The biggest, fastest, strongest, and most skilled get the most attention…and then they get better.
Yes, genetics are involved, but they are the only natural part of an athlete. Our culture creates the rest. Without deliberate practice, we do not use the genes that are handed to us.
(BehaviorFit advisory board member, Paulie Gloves and I review deliberate practice in this article about the “sweet science”)
It’s funny when people say a “talent” is wasted when because they are often referring to one’s physical size. This is more routine when NBA players are called “draft busts”. All that “talent”, or a 7-foot frame, goes to waste. NO! They were just a giant of a human, and whatever the reason, a lack of skill, coaching, opportunity, motivation to play the game, a professional sports career fizzled.
Back to selection…
The cream rises to the top, and then rises even more.
Selection and specialization is not a new idea. Today, we see young athletes sticking to one sport and practicing year around. It is no wonder that some of best baseball and football players come from the south.
(They can practice their sport, outside, year-round)
I sometimes wonder how my life would have been different if I competed in one sport instead of cross-country, wrestling, and baseball. Eh, life’s a gamble.
By saying athletes are NOT natural, I mean that athletes are part of the process of selection whether we realize it or not…and it occurs throughout an athlete’s entire life.
STAGE 1: DEVELOPING A GENERAL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY REPERTOIRE
The “natural athlete” as a toddler likely engaged in a lot of physical play. The basics. The more children experience their environment, they better they get a climbing, balancing on odd objects, running, jumping, and throwing things. Effective interactions with their environment are reinforced. They are masters of their domain.
In general, there is a bit of a window of opportunity that closes. You need to have some certain level of physical activity and fitness by a certain age or you will be left behind. Kids who cannot catch, run fast, or throw get picked last at kickball.
Growing up, you can remember those individuals who just didn’t get “it”. They ran weird and could not throw a dodgeball straight even if their life depended on it.
Let’s pause for an important point here…
Never blame a child or adult for a skill a deficit.
Given an equal opportunity, every individual can develop general physical activity skills. However, It is likely the case that each individual has not played hard or long enough to develop a general physical activity repertoire. They are better at other things like videos games or sedentary leisure activities (e.g., art, writing, reading, computer programming).
A general physical activity repertoire sets up the first round of selection: Children who do not gain an interest in athletics, will not have those types of behaviors reinforced (e.g., throwing, running fast), and will likely not register for little league, ballet class, or karate.
(With the sad rates of physical inactivity and childhood obesity, it is almost an imperative that ALL kids develop a stage 1 physical activity repertoire)
STAGE 2: DEVELOPING SKILLS AND THINNING THE HERD
Parents place their children in different sports and athletic activities. Those children that developed a general physical activity repertoire in stage one now will develop sport-specific skills. Secondary repertoires begin or are sharpened like: agility, strength, and coordination.
They learn to hit curveballs, land back handsprings, and finish butterfly strokes.
Separation between the higher- and lower-skilled athletes begins.
Coaches run practice and wrestle over starting lineups. High-performing athletes outshine their teammates. They soon receive more attention, are given more feedback, and improve at even faster rate than their lower-skilled peers. Success leads to more success.
In his book, Outliers, Malcom Gladwell, makes this point beautifully about professional hockey players.
The best hockey players today are typically born between January and April. The age cutoff allows this group of athletes to be the biggest and strongest in their leagues, which indirectly gives them more opportunity to succeed.
A quick aside on physical size and selection…
Generally speaking, larger players will dominate smaller players based on size and skill. Today, the average offensive lineman stands 6’5” and weighs 312 lbs. A lineman in the 1920’s stood 6’1” and weighed only 220 lbs! There are are exceptions to the rule like undersized quarterback Doug Flutie and point guard Isaiah Thomas. Physical size is a predominant driver in selection, but not everything.
Back to stage 2…
Variation on a team is important. Differences emerge between teammates, which allow coaches to better field a team. Players with stronger arms play outfield. A player with butterfingers is kindly asked to stop playing receiver. Left-handed throwers are asked to be pitchers.
I likely would have not made my high school baseball team if I didn’t pitch (as a lefty). I almost left tryouts before telling the coaches I could pitch. Phew! I am glad I selected myself onto the team.
With two-layers of selection on our foundation of creating a “natural athlete,” let’s move to stage 3…
STAGE 3: ALL-STARS, COLLEGIATE ATHLETICS AND PRO-SPORTS
This stage is classic Darwinism. Selecting the finest athletes to an the all-star team.
The best of the best right? What starts happening? All-stars teams get in front college scouts and play each other on ESPN. The all-regional athlete surround themselves with other all-regional athletes…they are no longer the big fish in a small pond. These athletes begin competing with each other…if you can’t switch hit, shoot with both hands, or run a certain time, then you are removed from the athletic talent pool.
When these athletes return from these super-competitive events, they soon realize there are specific skills that are selected at even higher levels: learning to defend a certain way, having a sense of “situational awareness”, or throwing a better off-speed pitch. These higher levels skills are further shaped from the sport-specific repertoires learned in stage 2.
Individuals go on to win titles such as Gatorade High School Player of the Year. Lebron James, Alex Rodriguez, and Lisa Leslie have won this award.
Eventually…
PLAYERS ARE DRAFTED (OR SELECTED) by pro sports teams!
I can’t say I totally agree with this, but even middle schoolers are signing letters of intent to successful college football programs. Selection creeping in even earlier…
BONUS STAGE: Parent Experience
If you are an aspiring athlete and have parents who were former amateur or professional athletes, then you have an EVEN GREATER advantage over your peers.
Is there a Manning passing gene that passed from Archie to Peyton and Eli? No! What passes on (no pun intended) is the knowledge of how to throw a football AND understanding the amount of effort that goes into being a successful quarterback.
Parents who rose to the top in their athletic careers, know what it takes to make it. They have been there.
Christian Pulisic is touted to be the United States’ first soccer superstar. Bigger than Landon Donovan or Alexi Lalas. Bruce Arena, the United States Men’s National Team Head said in a recent interview with 60 minutes.
(I am sad to report that, as of two days ago, the United States did NOT qualify for the World Cup next year, so his rising soccer stardom may have taken a huge hit…time will only tell)
Back to Christian, he plays for a top club (Dortmund) in Germany’s highest league (The Bundesliga), got signed at 16, and scored his first league goal at 17, but what’s unique about him related to selection?
His environment. Specifically his parents.
Both of Christian’s parents were collegiate soccer players. They had the experience, and already went through various stages of selection and had an expert eye on the soccer system. Do you think this affected the opportunities for Christian to be come a “natural”?
I think so.
Wrapping Up
By the time an athlete is noticed on TV and worthy of sports commentary, they have been through many practices, road trips, and most importantly repetitions of their craft. There is nothing natural about this process.
Thousands of hours commuting to practice and competition developed an athlete. NOT a natural athlete.
The Term “Natural Athlete” Adds Nothing To The Plate
A problem arises when we use labels in sports. We are simply making things up like an ‘innate’ ability or ‘talent’ that somebody magically possesses. If anything, the label tells the rest of the world:
“I have no idea how this athlete got to where they are today.”
We do not know their history of general physical activity, experience in others sports, or how often they practiced…Maybe Christian Pulisic was a terrible baseball player, could not throw very well, did not receive the necessary instruction in little league, turned to soccer instead, and the rest is history.
Saying “natural” is shortsighted, especially in sports.
Yes, we know they are athletes, that’s why they are playing in the championship. Let’s dig deeper and talk about something worthwhile. We hear stories of how icons like Larry Bird who practiced hundred’s of free throws before school everyday.
Is that natural talent? I don’t think so. But still Larry Legend.
Just because we cannot peel back the layers that create the athlete before you, does not give us the right to label them anything other than the athlete we see before us.
A lesson from Ray Allen.
Ray Allen is the NBA’s record holder for 3-point shots made. Someone commented that his shot was “God-given.”
People do not see his game-day routine. His daily work. The shots taken everyday. “God-given implies” that his shot was butter since day one and doesn’t have to practice. Do you think he would still be on the team if he didn’t?
Natural – indicates that no training has occurred.
Athlete – indicates that specific training has occurred.
- The general physical activity repertoire they developed as children
- The sport specific skills there were learned
- The way sports culture select the finest.
- How previously successful parents can give their children an advantage
Athletes are the most unnatural things out there.
Keep moving my friends
– Nick
