Those who made it world class: -Had more multisport than specialized practice -Started their main sport later -Accumulated less practice -Initially progressed slower than national class peers

Those who performed well when young, but didn't progress to world-class: -started their main sport earlier -specialized, engaging in more practice in one sport -Made quicker progress.

Consider this a message to all the little league parents trying to go all-in on soccer, baseball, football, etc. when a child is 8: chill out! Let them play, explore their talents, and figure out (on their own) what they want to sink their effort into.

Similarly, outside of sport, the same researchers found Nobel laureates had slower early progress and more multi-disciplinary work. Breadth allows for depth. Depth too early gets in the way.

The same is true in music. In comparing one hit wonders versus musicians that sustained performance, they found: Musicians who tried to copy popular genres early were one hit wonders. Those who had diverse creative work early in their career, had sustainable success

As the researchers concluded: "focusing on products that reflect what is popular at the time may be the most likely and efficient path to initial success, but taking this path may undermine the likelihood of sustaining success"

A few practical takeaways and insights: 1. Stop over-indexing on early progress. 2. Progress is non-linear. It often comes in spurts and plateaus. 3. Early success can narrow and cement our sense of self. 4. Early success often shifts our motivation. 5. Slow progress can be good

1. Stop over-indexing on early progress. We assume progress = talent. But for kids, it often is just a quirk of biology. A kid reaches puberty 6 months earlier than their peers, and they are going to look really talented. That often goes away when others catch up

2. Progress is non-linear. It often comes in spurts and plateaus. Don't freak out. Just ride it out. Plateaus are a great time to ingrain intrinsic motivation and a passion for the sport or game itself.

3. Early success can narrow and cement our sense of self. Being really good at something at a young age narrows your world. It seems like nothing else matters. That's false. We need mentors and adults in the world to provide perspective.

Often, adults do the opposite. They contribute to the narrowing. Sending an often unintentional message to the kids that the only way to connect and gain status/identity is through sport.

Athletes are particularly susceptible to identity foreclosure. We stop exploring who we are, and ultimately feel 'trapped.' This often pushes us towards playing out of fear.

Those who don't achieve early, often have a slightly easier path in this regard. They got to explore who they were and what they were interested in. Those who specialized got locked in early.

4. Early success often shifts our motivation. We start of pursuing something because we enjoy it. As we achieve, gain notoriety, and accolades, our motivation is often dragged towards the extrinsic.

Part of making it from early success to sustained is in making sure that you are still cultivating that inner fire.

5. Slow progress can be good! If we learn how to deal with plateaus early, that setbacks are normal, the skills we learn to make it through the plateau serve us well later on. If we have quick progress, we often come to expect that's the norm.

If I had one message to parents of youth sports athletes it would be: Chill out!

f you enjoyed this thread, I post similar research-backed performance ones every week. Follow along at @stevemagness And if you'd like to take a deeper look into my work, check out my new book!

Looks wonderful! Will check it out. Thanks, Scott!