WRESTLING WITH THE NATURE OF EXPERTISE - A SPORT SPECIFIC TEST OF ERICSSON, KRAMPE AND TESCH-ROMER (1993) THEORY OF DELIBERATE PRACTICE

Ericsson, Krampe Tesch-Romer (1993) have concluded from work with musi cians that expertise is the result of <<deliberate practice>>, so how valid is this conclusion in sport? Four groups of male amateur wrestle rs (n = 42); 2 international and 2 club (current and retired) recalled the number of hours they had spent in wrestling and everyday activiti es since beginning wrestling. All groups had begun wrestling at a simi lar age (M = 13 yrs) and had been wrestling for 10 years or more. Data were examined as a function of age an years spent wrestling. Contrary to Ericsson et al. practice alone activities did not differentiate be tween the groups, only practice with others. At 6 years into their car eers, the international group practised 4.5 hrs/week more than the clu b wrestlers. At 20 years of age the international wrestlers had accumu lated over 1000 more hours of practice with others compared to the clu b wrestlers. Evaluations of wrestling related activities showed that a ctivities judged to be relevant were also rated high with regards to c oncentration and enjoyment. Diary data were collected from current wre stlers to validate the retrospective reports. The time spent in all wr estling related activities was comparable for the club and internation al wrestlers, however, the international wrestlers spent longer travel ling to practice, which reflected the necessity to train at a club wit h the best sparring partners. Practice with others yielded hgh correla tions between estimates for a typical week and the diary data for the international wrestlers. In conclusion Ericsson et al.'s definition of <<deliberate practice>> needs to be considered, especially as <<relev ance>> correlates highly with <<enjoyment>>. It is recommended that fu ture studies focus on what it is that motivates people to spend the ne cessary hours of practice to achieve expertise.