Review of Sports Gene by David Epstein

I bought it, started to read it, then couldn't put it down.  The Sports Gene is one of those books that gets you thinking like you have never done before.  There are very few drawn out scientific sections where a layman would get confused despite Epstein being a scientist.  He also does a good job of connecting seemingly unrelated scenarios with each other and tying them together by the end of each chapter.

There is something that you should think about as well: There are two types of non-fiction works. Ones that answer questions, and ones that raise them.  Interestingly enough this book does both.  The book is not for those who are afraid to admit that there are genetic differences in the human population.  Epstein's writing is not for those who think that simple determination is the root of all success.  What he exposes, and in a very terse manner, is that success is grafted from the combination of both work ethic, timely circumstance, and predisposition for greatness.

The key to all of what we consider athleticism is already inside you.

I don't want to give too much away because I highly recommend you read for yourself, but some points to highlight are as follows:

1) Epstein dispels the 10,000 hour rule that Gladwell talks about in his book Outliers (to be fair I haven't read Outliers yet and I don't believe that the 10,000 hour rule is totally Gladwells idea).  Epstein makes no bones about practice being a highly important aspect of success and that even those with high natural talent can't reach their peak performance without it.  He shows how international success can take only a few hundred hours of practice to achieve, while some people practice for over 20,000 hours and don't reach the ultimate level.

2)  Talent comes in many varieties.  Because our genetic code is so vast, there are many opportunities to have a certain "talent" or variances that manifest themselves.  One of his main points is, when athletes train in groups and they all do the same workouts, it cannot simply be work ethic that accounts for why some athletes do much better than their peers.  It is the combination of specific natural traits as well as work ethic that create the phenoms of sports.

3)  Iron will and determination are not without merit.  Sure, if your natural code entails you to be allowed to perform at a higher level at your peak than someone else, perhaps your higher ceiling will keep you above the competition, but so few people actually train to their peak abilities.  A person with "marginal talent" for a specific activity or sport can simply work harder (especially from an earlier age) and perhaps out perform the more "talented" competition.  This doesn't contradict the first point, it simply illuminates that there is no hard and fast rule on hours one must train, but training vs not training produces irrefutable results.  If you want to get better, you have to train.  Also, with a relatively lazy western society it is much easier to outwork the competition domestically.

Getting back to the fact that the book raises as well as answers questions, I would contend it does this:  Is an athlete relegated to a predisposition for their athletic endeavors and/or how does one progress?  There is an undeniable genetic limiting factor in athletes, all of them, though some have a higher ceiling for performance than others (within respect to specific activities, not overall), but one can overcome the odds if they are in the right place and the right time (the right sport with the right coaching or training) and they have the determination to succeed.

For in-depth analysis get a copy of the book.  I bought it on Google Play for eleven dollars.  It is well worth it.