Advanced search
Publication Cover
Journal of Sports Sciences Volume 38, 2020 - Issue 2
Submit an article Journal homepage
5,250
Views
60
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Social and Behavioral Sciences

Towards a science of the acquisition of expert performance in sports: Clarifying the differences between deliberate practice and other types of practice

K. Anders EricssonDepartment of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USACorrespondence[email protected]
View further author information
Pages 159-176 | Accepted 30 Oct 2019, Published online: 12 Nov 2019

Citations (60)

Keep up to date with the latest research on this topic with citation updates for this article.

Subscribe to citation updates

Read on this site (11)

Sarina Verwijmeren, Juriena D. de Vries & Arnold B. Bakker. (2024) Playful sport design: A game changer?. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology 36:1, pages 45-74.
Read now
Kirill Pervun, Dirk Libaers & Ninon Sutton. (2024) From athletes to entrepreneurs: Participation in youth sports as a precursor to future business endeavors. Journal of Small Business Management 62:1, pages 521-562.
Read now
A. Mark Williams & Nicola J. Hodges. (2023) Effective practice and instruction: A skill acquisition framework for excellence. Journal of Sports Sciences 41:9, pages 833-849.
Read now
Dave Collins, Alan C. MacPherson, Ray Bobrownicki & Howie J. Carson. (2023) An Explicit Look at Implicit Learning: an Interrogative Review for Sport Coaching Research and Practice. Sports Coaching Review 0:0, pages 1-22.
Read now
Malte Brinkmann & Martin Giese. (2023) Practising the practice. Towards a theory of practising in physical education from a Bildung-theoretical perspective. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy 0:0, pages 1-14.
Read now
Mark Steven Whiteley. (2022) Current Best Practice in the Management of Varicose Veins. Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology 15, pages 567-583.
Read now
Hatem Ben Mahfoudh & Bachir Zoudji. (2022) The role of visuospatial abilities and the level of expertise in memorising soccer animations. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology 20:4, pages 1033-1048.
Read now
Nicola J Hodges & Keith R Lohse. (2022) An extended challenge-based framework for practice design in sports coaching. Journal of Sports Sciences 40:7, pages 754-768.
Read now
D. Barker, G. Nyberg & H. Larsson. (2022) Coaching for skill development in sport: a kinesio-cultural approach. Sports Coaching Review 11:1, pages 23-40.
Read now
David W. Eccles, Emma J. Leone & A. Mark Williams. (2022) Deliberate Practice: What Is It and How Can I Use It?. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action 13:1, pages 16-26.
Read now
Gareth Irwin, Genevieve K. R. Williams, David G. Kerwin, Hans von Lieres und Wilkau & Karl M. Newell. (2021) Learning the High Bar Longswing:I. Task Dynamics and Emergence of the Coordination Pattern. Journal of Sports Sciences 39:23, pages 2683-2697.
Read now

Articles from other publishers (49)

Albert Deuker, Bjoern Braunstein, Jia Yi Chow, Maximilian Fichtl, Hyoek Kim, Swen Körner & Robert Rein. (2023) “Train as you play”: Improving effectiveness of training in youth soccer players. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching 19:2, pages 677-686.
Crossref
Dai Sugimoto, Kristin E. Whitney, Pierre A. d’Hemecourt & Andrea Stracciolini. (2024) Youth Sport Specialization: Current Concepts and Clinical Guides. HSS Journal®: The Musculoskeletal Journal of Hospital for Special Surgery.
Crossref
Arne Güllich & Michael Barth. (2023) Effects of Early Talent Promotion on Junior and Senior Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine 54:3, pages 697-710.
Crossref
Daryl Mahon. (2024) ‘Don't just magically assume you're going to get better as a therapist as time goes on’: An exploration of the use of deliberate practice. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research.
Crossref
David O'Regan. (2024) Making a Stand. Journal of Surgical Education 81:2, pages 167-171.
Crossref
Selenia di Fronso, Claudio Robazza, Dario Pompa & Maurizio Bertollo. (2024) Dreaming while awake: The beneficial effects of yoga Nidra on mental and physical recovery in two elite karate athletes. Heliyon 10:1, pages e24180.
Crossref
Martin Grill, Amanda Ulfdotter Samuelsson, Erik Matton, Edit Norderfeldt, Max Rapp-Ricciardi, Christine Räisänen & Pernilla Larsman. (2023) Individualized behavior-based safety-leadership training: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Safety Research 87, pages 332-344.
Crossref
Daryl Mahon. (2022) A scoping review of deliberate practice in the acquisition of therapeutic skills and practices. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research 23:4, pages 965-981.
Crossref
F. Delvaux, J.-L. Croisier & J.-F. Kaux. (2023) La spécialisation précoce du jeune sportif : la route vers le succès ?. Journal de Traumatologie du Sport 40:3, pages 155-160.
Crossref
Merim Bilalić, Ratko Đokić, Maida Koso-Drljević, Nermin Đapo & Thomas Pollet. (2022) When (deliberate) practice is not enough – the role of intelligence, practice, and knowledge in academic performance. Current Psychology 42:27, pages 23147-23165.
Crossref
m. c. schraefel & Michael Jones. (2023) Discomfort: a new material for interaction design. Frontiers in Computer Science 5.
Crossref
Hanne C. Staff, Guro Strøm Solli, John O. Osborne & Øyvind Sandbakk. (2023) Long-Term Development of Training Characteristics and Performance-Determining Factors in Elite/International and World-Class Endurance Athletes: A Scoping Review. Sports Medicine 53:8, pages 1595-1607.
Crossref
Arne Güllich, Michael Barth, David Z. Hambrick & Brooke N. Macnamara. (2023) Participation patterns in talent development in youth sports. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living 5.
Crossref
Sean Müller, Tim Gabbett & Dominic McNeil. (2023) Reducing Injury Risk and Improving Skill: How a Psycho-Perceptual-Motor Approach Can Benefit High-Performance Sport. Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach 15:3, pages 315-317.
Crossref
Patrícia Coutinho, Ana Ramos, José Afonso, Cristiana Bessa, João Ribeiro, Keith Davids, António M. Fonseca & Isabel Mesquita. (2023) To Sample or to Specialise? Sport Participation Patterns of Youth Team Sport Male Players. Children 10:4, pages 729.
Crossref
Bradley W. Young, Stuart G. Wilson, Sharleen Hoar, Lisa Bain, Malgorzata Siekańska & Joseph Baker. (2023) On the self-regulation of sport practice: Moving the narrative from theory and assessment toward practice. Frontiers in Psychology 14.
Crossref
Veronique Richard, John Cairney & Carl T. Woods. (2023) Holding open spaces to explore beyond: Toward a different conceptualization of specialization in high-performance sport. Frontiers in Psychology 14.
Crossref
Sergio Costa, Marika Berchicci, Valentina Bianco, Pierpaolo Croce, Francesco Di Russo, Federico Quinzi, Maurizio Bertollo & Filippo Zappasodi. (2023) Brain dynamics of visual anticipation during spatial occlusion tasks in expert tennis players. Psychology of Sport and Exercise 65, pages 102335.
Crossref
Sunday Bolade. (2023) Towards a Measurable Substance of Organizational Knowledge. Journal of the Knowledge Economy.
Crossref
Paul Larkin, Dijana Cocić, David T. Hendry, A. Mark Williams, Donna O’Connor & Merim Bilalić. (2023) Gritting One’s way to success – Grit explains skill in elite youth soccer players beyond (deliberate) practice. Psychology of Sport and Exercise 64, pages 102328.
Crossref
François Ducournau, Laela El Amiri, Paul Vernet, Marie-Cécile Sapa & Philippe Liverneaux. (2022) Methods of assessment of the level of surgeons for minimally invasive fixation of distal radius fractures: “expertise” versus “performance”. International Orthopaedics 47:1, pages 193-199.
Crossref
Bradley Fawver, Brady S. DeCouto, Benjamin Trachik, Michael Dretsch & A. Mark Williams. 2023. Fostering Innovation in the Intelligence Community. Fostering Innovation in the Intelligence Community 81 112 .
Kristin E. Whitney, Pierre A. d’Hemecourt & Andrea Stracciolini. 2023. Psychological Considerations in the Young Athlete. Psychological Considerations in the Young Athlete 179 191 .
Cam M. K. Rechenmacher, Michael Keating, James D. Nichols & Jonathan M. Nichols. (2022) An evidence-based approach to assessing the effectiveness of training regimen on athlete performance: Youth soccer as a case study. PLOS ONE 17:11, pages e0276762.
Crossref
Carrie M. Peters, David T. Hendry & Nicola J. Hodges. (2022) A scoping review on developmental activities of girls' and women's sports. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living 4.
Crossref
Edson Filho, Tammy-Ann Husselman, Luca Zugic, Eduardo Penna & Nadezhda Taneva. (2022) Performance Gains in an Open Skill Video-Game Task: The Role of Neural Efficiency and Neural Proficiency. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback 47:3, pages 239-251.
Crossref
Charlotte G. Casey & Jonathan Redshaw. (2022) Developmental changes in children's choices of practice strategies. Learning and Instruction 80, pages 101625.
Crossref
Brendan Clark, Kyle Harwell, K. Anders Ericsson & Walter R. Boot. (2022) Applying aspects of deliberate practice to help low performers improve manual control in a complex task. Acta Psychologica 228, pages 103656.
Crossref
Teresa Iona, Simona Raimo, Daniele Coco, Patrizia Tortella, Daniele Masala, Antonio Ammendolia, Alice Mannocci & Giuseppe La Torre. (2022) Specialization and Injury Risk in Different Youth Sports: A Bio-Emotional Social Approach. Frontiers in Psychology 13.
Crossref
Betina Ristorp Andersen, Ida Ammitzbøll, Jesper Hinrich, Sune Lehmann, Charlotte Vibeke Ringsted, Ellen Christine Leth Løkkegaard & Martin G Tolsgaard. (2022) Using machine learning to identify quality-of-care predictors for emergency caesarean sections: a retrospective cohort study. BMJ Open 12:3, pages e049046.
Crossref
Agnes M. Schitter, Lorenz Radlinger, Nicolas Kurpiers & Peter Frei. (2022) Application areas and effects of aquatic therapy WATSU – A survey among practitioners. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice 46, pages 101513.
Crossref
Stefano Puliatti, Pietro Piazza, Rui Farinha, Thomas Raju & Anthony G. Gallagher. 2022. Robotic Urologic Surgery. Robotic Urologic Surgery 421 426 .
Dino Poimann, Holger Eckhardt, Tobias Cibis & Markus Wirth. 2022. Engineering and Medicine in Extreme Environments. Engineering and Medicine in Extreme Environments 269 307 .
Stefano Puliatti, Pietro Piazza, Ahmed Eissa, Lorenzo Bianchi, Eugenio Brunocilla & Salvatore Micali. 2022. Practical Simulation in Urology. Practical Simulation in Urology 331 345 .
Sam Robertson & Carl T. Woods. (2021) “Learning by Design”: What Sports Coaches can Learn from Video Game Designs. Sports Medicine - Open 7:1.
Crossref
Emma Anderson, Joseph Antony Stone, Marcus Dunn & Ben Heller. (2021) Coach approaches to practice design in performance tennis. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching 16:6, pages 1281-1292.
Crossref
Luca Oppici, Kim Grütters, Alessandro Garofolini, Robert Rosenkranz & Susanne Narciss. (2021) Deliberate Practice and Motor Learning Principles to Underpin the Design of Training Interventions for Improving Lifting Movement in the Occupational Sector: A Perspective and a Pilot Study on the Role of Augmented Feedback. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living 3.
Crossref
Jack Thorley. (2021) Age-related changes in the performance of bowlers in Test match cricket. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching 16:5, pages 1138-1151.
Crossref
Edson Filho, André Aroni, Guilherme Bagni, Jean Rettig & Jodie Ellis. (2021) Psychomotor Efficiency in Golf: The Role of Physiological Responses on Putting Performance. Biofeedback 49:3, pages 77-80.
Crossref
William Crossan, Milos Bednar & Ronald Quinn. (2021) Perceptions of coaching success: an exploratory analysis of Czech coaches views on success. Physical Culture and Sport. Studies and Research 91:1, pages 1-12.
Crossref
Timothy D. Lee & Heather Carnahan. (2021) Motor Learning: Reflections on the Past 40 Years of Research. Kinesiology Review 10:3, pages 274-282.
Crossref
Toby Staff, Fernand Gobet & Andrew Parton. (2021) Early Specialization and Critical Periods in Acquiring Expertise: A Comparison of Traditional Versus Detection Talent Identification in Team GB Cycling at London 2012. Journal of Motor Learning and Development 9:2, pages 296-312.
Crossref
Rhiannon L. Cowan, Bradley Fawver, Keith R. Lohse, Troy Taylor, Paul R. Ford & A. Mark Williams. (2021) Modeling talent development pathways in alpine ski racers. Psychology of Sport and Exercise 55, pages 101942.
Crossref
Dagmara Budnik-Przybylska, Adrian Kastrau, Patryk Jasik, Maria Kaźmierczak, Łukasz Doliński, Paweł Syty, Marta Łabuda, Jacek Przybylski, Selenia di Fronso & Maurizio Bertollo. (2021) Neural Oscillation During Mental Imagery in Sport: An Olympic Sailor Case Study. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 15.
Crossref
Edson Filho, Urska Dobersek & Tammy-Ann Husselman. (2021) The role of neural efficiency, transient hypofrontality and neural proficiency in optimal performance in self-paced sports: a meta-analytic review. Experimental Brain Research 239:5, pages 1381-1393.
Crossref
Philip E Kearney & Ronnie Lidor. (2020) Response to Moradi, J. (2020). Benefits of a Guided Motor Mental Preperformance Routine on Learning the Basketball Free Throw. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 127, 248–262. . Perceptual and Motor Skills 128:1, pages 5-10.
Crossref
Kaline Rocha, Victor Marinho, Francisco Magalhães, Valécia Carvalho, Thayaná Fernandes, Marcos Ayres, Eric Crespo, Bruna Velasques, Pedro Ribeiro, Mauricio Cagy, Victor Hugo Bastos, Daya S. Gupta & Silmar Teixeira. (2020) Unskilled shooters improve both accuracy and grouping shot having as reference skilled shooters cortical area: An EEG and tDCS study. Physiology & Behavior 224, pages 113036.
Crossref
David Z. Hambrick, Brooke N. Macnamara & Frederick L. Oswald. (2020) Is the Deliberate Practice View Defensible? A Review of Evidence and Discussion of Issues. Frontiers in Psychology 11.
Crossref
Jolan Kegelaers & Raôul R. D. Oudejans. (2020) A Process Evaluation of a Performance Psychology Intervention for Transitioning Elite and Elite Musicians. Frontiers in Psychology 11.
Crossref

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Order Reprints Request Corporate Permissions

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

Request Academic Permissions

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.

Related research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.