The debate regarding whether an elite or high-level athlete is genetically gifted or only well trained still continues. Most coaches appear to believe that an athlete is born with his physical and technical abilities and no one can improve athletic skill. This is why recruiting is such a big factor in colleges and universities and scouting in the pros. It appears that teams always need more money to buy (recruit) the blue-chip athlete.
As a rule, coaches do not evaluate athletes for their potential, i.e., how much growth and development is possible in regard to strength, speed, quickness, skill and explosive power. Because of this they look for the ready-made athlete, not one who must or could be trained in order to become great.
Most coaches do not believe that athletic talent can be improved. When asked if it genetics or training they say it is genetics. As a result, they spend most of the time (and money) on recruiting, coaching strategy and tactics. But, practice as well as research has proven that most athletic potential must be trained.
This means that what the athlete does in practice and in gameplay is the key to how great he or she will become. Most athletes are not genetically gifted. This means that do not have the genetic make-up to excel in any one sport. They can only have a predisposition to be greater in one or another sport but they must still spend most of their time training in order to become great.
For example, some athletes may have more fast twitch fibers while others may have more slow twitch fibers. The athlete with more fast twitch fibers will be able to exhibit greater speed and explosive power. The one with more slow twitch fibers will be better in the endurance events that require the ability to perform over great distances or time.
Genetics only determine approximately 30% of your success. The remaining 70% is determined by the training that you undergo. Statistics show that approximately one out of every one hundred thousand athletes may be genetically gifted and have the ability to outdo other athletes when the training is equal. These are typically the Olympic and world champions.
Most team sport athletes as in baseball and football, have basically the same ratio of muscle fibers and thus they are fairly equal in their potential and in their abilities. This is why training on the high school and collegiate levels is so important. These athletes can be improved to perform better. In fact, an athlete who doesn’t have the same genetic potential, can surpass the genetically gifted athlete through his training.
This has been proven from biopsies on different athletes. An athlete had who had only 40% fast twitch fibers was as fast as another athlete who had 60% fast twitch fibers. The difference in performance was in their training. Training is the critical factor if you desire to become a more successful athlete.
For example, having greater amounts of fast twitch fibers will not allow you to last very long in a game with outstanding performance. You simply run out of energy and the muscle fibers will not be able to handle continual work. An analogous situation holds true with the slow twitch fibers. They allow you to last the game, but you do not have the ability to execute quick burst of speed or power.
The bottom line is that regardless of your genetic endowments, you must still train to develop your abilities to their fullest. It is the training that determines the final outcome for both the genetically gifted and the not so genetically gifted athlete. How you train is the key to not only your development but also sports success.
For more information see Build a Better Athlete.