Athletes: Where You Are Today Is Only Part Of The Story

Malcolm Gladwell’s bestselling book Outliers examines why certain people become exceptionally successful. His argument is simple but important: success is rarely the result of talent alone.

Talent matters. Hard work matters. But so do opportunity, environment, timing, coaching, repetition, and the people you surround yourself with.

For high school athletes, that is an important lesson.

Every year, I see young athletes become overly concerned with determining how “talented” they are. They compare themselves to teammates, opponents, rankings, social media highlights, recruiting lists, and other athletes their age.

But where you are today is only part of the story.

Small Advantages Can Become Big Advantages

One of Gladwell’s major ideas is something called cumulative advantage.

An athlete gets a small advantage early. Maybe he matures physically before everyone else. Maybe he makes the better team. Because he makes the better team, he receives better coaching. Because he receives better coaching, he improves faster. Because he improves faster, he gets more playing time.

More playing time creates more experience.

More experience creates more confidence.

And suddenly a small advantage at age 12 has become a significant advantage at age 17.

The important thing to understand is that the process can work in the other direction, too.

Maybe you weren’t the best player at 13.

That doesn’t mean you cannot become one of the best players at 17.

Put in the Hours

Outliers became famous for Gladwell’s discussion of the 10,000-hour rule—the idea that exceptional performance often requires an enormous amount of quality practice.

The exact number is less important than the message behind it:

You have to put in the work.

There are no shortcuts around repetition.

A baseball player needs thousands of swings.

A basketball player needs thousands of shots.

A quarterback needs thousands of throws.

A wrestler needs thousands of repetitions.

And virtually every athlete benefits from years of intelligently building strength, speed, coordination, conditioning, and durability.

You cannot cram athletic development.

One brutal workout on Saturday cannot replace consistent training Monday through Friday.

Take Advantage of Your Opportunities

Gladwell also points out that highly successful people frequently received unusual opportunities—and then took advantage of them.

That second part matters.

If you have access to a weight room, use it.

If you have a good high school coach, listen to him.

If someone is willing to stay after practice and work with you, appreciate it.

You don’t need every private coach, showcase, camp, travel team, advisor, trainer, and gadget available.

Sometimes athletes become so busy chasing opportunities that they fail to take advantage of the basic ones already sitting in front of them.

Practice.

Lift.

Eat well.

Sleep.

Compete.

Repeat.

Your Environment Matters

One of the biggest lessons from Outliers is that nobody succeeds completely alone.

The people around you matter.

Teammates matter.

Coaches matter.

Parents matter.

Training partners matter.

Culture matters.

If you surround yourself with athletes who complain, skip workouts, make excuses, and treat practice casually, eventually some of that behavior will rub off on you.

Surround yourself with people who work.

A good training environment raises everyone’s standards.

Don’t Confuse Your Current Position With Your Potential

Perhaps the most useful lesson for a high school athlete is this:

Your story isn’t finished.

A freshman sitting on the bench may become a senior starter.

A skinny sophomore may become a powerful senior after three years in the weight room.

A player overlooked by select teams at 14 may become an All-District player at 17.

Development isn’t always linear.

Some athletes mature earlier. Others mature later. Some receive opportunities immediately. Others have to create their own.

What you control is what you do with the opportunities you have.

Talent opens doors.

Opportunity provides a path.

But consistent work is what allows you to keep moving forward.

You don’t need to be an outlier today.

You need to become a little better today—and then do it again tomorrow.

Work hard. Stay patient. Take advantage of your opportunities.

Over several years, those ordinary days can produce extraordinary results.

-Scott