The belief that you can get athletes to overachieve is common on the collegiate level and even more so on the professional level. This belief is so ingrained that coaches believe that their job is to find the key to unlock the abilities of the athletes so that the athletes overachieve, or at a minimum, achieve everything they are capable of.
Can this belief however, be substantiated? From all indications it cannot. It cannot be backed up on a scientific or even theoretical level, because it stems from the myth that an athlete’s abilities are genetic, not developed by man. Many coaches know otherwise, but there are still coaches who believe strongly that all abilities are genetic.
What is misunderstood is that genetics, although they play a role in determining the limits to an athlete’s abilities, up to 70% of an athlete’s development comes from environmental factors. This means physical factors such as speed, explosive power, strength, agility, etc. are determined by the training that the athlete undergoes. They are not genetic!
Perhaps even more important is that genetics is held accountable for technical factors such as the athlete’s skills and abilities to execute as needed in game play. However these traits are learned. No one is born with these abilities except perhaps on a rudimentary level as for example, innate coordination patterns. These patterns however, must still be molded and strengthened as needed for the particular sport.
As a result, coaches operating on the myth regarding the role of genetics in sports, fail in addressing the technical elements of skill execution and the physical factors that relate specifically to the technical factors. Most important of these is skill technique, the most important factor for being successful in sports.
Because of this they are not able to improve the athlete’s performance so that he can achieve his potential, let alone overachieve. And yet, many coaches are hired on their ability to get close to the players so that they can confide in them so that they would be capable of unlocking the athlete’s potential.
For more information see Build a Better Athlete.