Neurology of Success?

I just read an article that detailed some of the complex brain functions that might help explain success and ability in athletics. It explained that something called "myelin" wraps around nerve fibers in the brain. Myelin grows and becomes more dense with repetition of a skill. As the myelin increases around the nerve fibers, it creates more insulation. This insulation stops the "leaks" in nerve fibers when neurons are reacting. Imagine a hose as the nerve fiber and the water as the neurons firing. Someone has poked a bunch of holes throughout the hose and you lose a certain amout of water before it gets to the end. The amount of water at the end of the hose is the information received as a result of the neuron stimulation and dictates the level of raw skill that can be produced. Myelin acts like duct tape for the hose. It seals up any leaks that might prevent someone completely benefitting from the neuron stimulation. The more repetition, the greater amount myelin wrapping around a nerve fiber.

It went on to detail a woman in Russia who runs a tennis academy that produces a disproportionate amount of the best tennis players in the world. The facility is barely comprable to a sub-par health and fitness center, yet these players are some of the best. Why? She focuses almost all of her teaching on technique. Constantly pushing her students to improve their technique through constant feedback and repetition. She's cultivating their myelin. She facilitates a culture of hardwork and very focused attention to detail in their swings.

"Every talent, according to Ericsson [scientiest who studies this], is the result of a single process: deliberate practice, which he defines as 'individuals engaging in a practice activity (typically designed by teachers) with full concentration on improving some aspect of their performance.'...Deliberate practice means working on technique, seeking constant critical feedback and focusing ruthlessly on improving weaknesses. "

How is this relevant to ultimate?

It reinforces the urgency to make beneficial use of pre-practice tossing. When I try to stress the importance of taking those 10-15 minutes seriously, it now makes scientific sense. If you come to practice everyday and work on certain throwing skills, that repetition will pay off. (Of course that time is not enough to develop exceptional skills, it merely reinforces the work you should be doing outside of practice/during drills and scrimmage as well.)

It shows that your brain responds to consistent hardwork and attention to detail. You will slowly accumulate a wealth of myelin that will increase the efficiency of your neuron reactions in the brain. Throws, cuts, laying out, etc. if properly cultivated will become more better through practice.

Is this something you didn't know though? Practice gets you better? Of course, that's obvious.

What it does reveal are few interesting implications:
1. There is neurological science that corroborates the popular notion that "practice (almost) makes perfect."
2. "Natural talent" only gets someone so far. There is definitely something else to skill and myelin cannot just magically wrap around nerve fibers. There has to be an internal motivation to desire the cultivation of these neurological benefits.

I think it is clear that a biological explanation for athletic skill MUST be accompanied by the intangibles (motivation, passion, focus). As much as this article taught me about the scientific explanations for improving skills, it equally taught me that there is a internal force that has a symbiotic relationship with those neurons. One could not survive without the other. You must have the desire to get better and put in that honest effort. Putting together a bike isn't necessarily fun, but the finished product is. You have take each piece, properly assemble it, and create the end the product; it does not just magically appear. Once you have finished it though, you can enjoy the fruits of your labor and ride the bike.

Those are some of the things that you need to think about in your off season training. Repetition, attention to detail, and constantly looking to improve.