ABSTRACT
Many observers wonder how expert athletes are able to achieve, maintain, and improve upon their outstanding performances. The majority of people agree that engagement in practice is an important part of this process. In this chapter, we review a particular type of practice activity known as deliberate practice. Deliberate practice is both an activity in sport and a scientific theory. We begin the chapter with an outline of the theory and a review of the original research study that introduced it (Ericsson, Krampe, and Tesch-Römer, 1993). In the second section, we briefly define deliberate practice as an activity in sport and review the research on it with athletes. In recent times, deliberate practice has become a somewhat maligned activity and theory (e.g., Hambrick et al., 2013; Tucker & Collins, 2012). We believe the scientific interrogation of theories and concepts is an important part of their development, and should be encouraged. Therefore, in the third section of the chapter, we review the concepts associated with deliberate practice that have been subject to criticism. We address some misinterpretations of the research findings from studies that have examined deliberate practice. In the final section, we detail the concepts of deliberate practice that we consider essential parts of the acquisition and improvement of expert performance in sport.
