Most coaches believe they’re running good practices.
There’s structure. There’s energy. There are drills, reps, even competition. Athletes are moving, sweating, and getting touches.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth:
Activity is not the same thing as improvement.
And most practices—even well-run ones—are built around activity.
Not deliberate practice.
What Deliberate Practice Actually Means
The term deliberate practice comes from the work of Anders Ericsson, and it’s often misunderstood.
It doesn’t mean:
- Working hard
- Doing more reps
- Practicing longer
It means practicing with intention, precision, and feedback, specifically designed to improve performance—not just perform.
According to Ericsson, deliberate practice must include four key elements:
Specificity
You’re working on a distinct part of your game—not just “passing” or “defending,” but something targeted and identifiable.
Challenge
You cannot live inside your comfort zone. What you are training must be just beyond your current capability—where mistakes are likely and growth is possible.
Feedback
There has to be a way to understand how well it was done—whether that comes from a coach, a teammate, or yourself. And here’s the part we often overlook: self-feedback is incredibly powerful. Asking yourself how it felt, what you saw, or what the outcome was are important. Using that information to make changes or adjustments is important.
Focus
You must be mentally present during the training. Deliberate practice requires attention—not mindless repetition. You need intentional execution, consideration for how successful it was, and awareness of the adjustments you should make.
If your practice doesn’t include these elements, it might still be valuable—but it’s not deliberate.
The 10,000 Hour Myth (And Why It Matters for Coaches)
You’ve probably heard the idea that mastery takes 10,000 hours—popularized by Malcolm Gladwell.
And while it’s catchy, it’s also a bit misleading.
The original research from Anders Ericsson never claimed that simply accumulating hours leads to expertise. It emphasized how those hours are spent.
In fact:
- Not all practice is equal
- More time does not automatically mean more improvement
- Mindless repetition can actually reinforce poor habits
This is where many environments get it wrong.
Athletes are told: “Just get your reps in.”
But reps of what? At what level of challenge? With what feedback? With what focus? I had a history teacher in middle school who shared a story with us about bowling. He informed us that he practiced forever and never improved. He eventually came around to the idea that, “practice makes perfect” is a lie — and shared with us that, “PERFECT practice makes perfect.” In other words, being intentional and aware of what you’re doing and learning is the only way to get the specific outcome and improvements you are looking for.
Without those elements, time becomes maintenance, not development. And you may find your improvement plateaus fairly quickly/early.
Talent Still Exists (And That Matters)
There’s another layer to this conversation that often gets ignored.
In the book, “The Sports Gene”, David Epstein explores the role of genetics and natural ability in performance—and the primary takeaway is clear:
Not all athletes start from the same place.
Some athletes:
- Pick up skills faster
- Adapt more quickly to new environments
- Require fewer repetitions to achieve the same outcome
- Have different genetics that predispose them to being better at certain things
This doesn’t mean practice doesn’t matter—it does.
But it does mean:
The same volume of practice does not produce the same results for every athlete.
And importantly, many elite performers did not follow a rigid “10,000 hour” pathway. Some specialized later. Some progressed rapidly once placed in the right environment.
And REMEMBER – many, many, many, many of them played multiple sports throughout their lives.
What This Means for Coaches
If both things are true:
- Practice quality matters more than quantity
- Athletes develop at different rates
Then coaching has to evolve.
It’s not about:
- Who trains the longest
- Who completes the most reps
It’s about:
- Who is being challenged appropriately
- Who is receiving meaningful feedback
- Who is developing skills that actually transfer
Your job isn’t to force every athlete through the same training volume.
It’s to design environments where each athlete can improve from where they are.
Why Play Beats Mindless Repetition
Here’s where both research and real coaching experience align:
Learning through play—especially game-based, constraint-driven environments—consistently outperforms purely didactic instruction for skill acquisition and transfer.
In skill acquisition research (ecological dynamics, constraints-led approaches), athletes training in game-like environments show:
- Better retention of skills
- Stronger skill and game IQ transfer to competition
- Greater adaptability under pressure
Because play:
- Forces decision-making
- Adapts to unpredictable situations
- Requires perception, timing, and problem-solving
- Naturally creates variability (critical for learning)
In contrast, repetition-heavy, isolated drills:
- Remove context
- Reduce thinking
- Often stay inside the comfort zone
This means understanding that the brain forms stronger and faster connections through play is a game-changer for coaching. When athletes are placed in playful, exploratory environments, their brains are more engaged, emotionally invested, and open to learning. Play naturally increases dopamine, which enhances motivation, attention, and memory formation. Instead of forcing athletes to consciously process every instruction, play allows them to experience solutions, recognize patterns, and build neural connections more efficiently. This leads to deeper learning that is more adaptable and transferable to real-game situations.
For coaches, this means shifting from overly rigid, instruction-heavy (didactic) sessions to environments that invite curiosity, problem-solving, and freedom. Small-sided games, constraints-based activities, and competitive challenges aren’t just “fun extras”—they are neurologically aligned with how athletes actually learn best. When players are given space to explore and make decisions, they develop not only skill execution but also game intelligence and confidence. Embracing play isn’t lowering standards; it’s elevating the quality and durability of learning.
Deliberate practice doesn’t mean removing play—it means designing play with intention.
The Problem With Most Practices
Most sessions are built like this:
Warm-up → Drill → Drill → Scrimmage
It looks organized. It feels productive.
But here’s what’s missing:
- Are athletes being pushed beyond what they can already do?
- Are mistakes being identified and corrected in real time?
- Is the task forcing adaptation?
Too often, athletes are just repeating what they already know.
And repetition without challenge doesn’t create growth—it reinforces the current level.
What This Looks Like in Real Coaching
Let’s make this practical. Instead of:
“We’re working on passing today.”
Deliberate practice sounds like:
“We’re improving passing under pressure when the next option is unclear.”
That shift changes everything. Now your design might include:
- A constraint that limits time on the ball
- A rule that removes the obvious passing option
- A scoring system that rewards decision-making, not just execution
And most importantly:
- You’re coaching within the reps, not just observing them
Feedback Is the Multiplier
Here’s where most coaches fall short—not because they don’t care, but because it’s hard.
Deliberate practice requires constant specific feedback.
Not just:
- “Good job”
- “Unlucky”
- “Keep going”
But:
- “Your body shape closed off the next option”
- “You saw the pressure late—scan earlier”
- “That worked because your first touch created space”
Specific concurrent feedback connects action → understanding.
And when athletes learn to give that feedback to themselves?
That’s when improvement truly accelerates.
It’s Supposed to Feel Hard
If your practice always flows smoothly, you should question it.
Deliberate practice is:
- Messy
- Frustrating
- Slower
Because athletes are operating just beyond what they can currently do.
That discomfort?
That’s where development lives. Often, when it looks the most messy, disorganized, confusing, and chaotic… that is when the most constructive and impactful learning is happening.
A Better Question to Ask as a Coach
Instead of asking:
“Did we get through everything today?”
Start asking:
“What did we actually improve today?” or, “what did we actually learn about the game or ourselves today?”
Because the goal isn’t to complete your plan.
It’s to change your athletes.
One Small Shift You Can Make Tomorrow
Pick one moment in your next session and upgrade it:
- Identify a specific problem
- Add a constraint that forces adaptation
- Build in feedback (including self-reflection) – you can write some prompts out until this becomes more natural to you
- Demand focus in the reps – this can be done by encouraging athletes to digest what worked/did not each time they touch they ball.
That’s it.
You don’t need to redesign your entire practice.
You just need to start being more intentional within it.
In summary, deliberate practice isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing more of what matters—on purpose. And when you start coaching that way, everything changes.
Join the Women Coaches Collective
You’ve just taken one step toward more deliberate coaching. The next step? Practicing it consistently—with support, feedback, and real conversations. That’s exactly what we do inside the Women Coaches Collective.
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