#245 NYT Bestselling Author David Epstein: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World in Sports, School and Life (replay)

Nov 5, 2021

David Epstein (@DaviidEpstein) is the author of Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, and of the New York Times bestseller The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance. He has master’s degrees in environmental science and journalism and has worked as an investigative reporter for ProPublica and a senior writer for Sports Illustrated. He is also one of the smartest and most fascinating people to talk to when it comes to ideas about nature vs nurture in sports, the 10,000 hour myth, multi-movement vs single sport specialization, and more. This interview was first recorded when Range was released in 2019, and is such an amazing conversation we had to share it again. 

 

Highlights from the Podcast:

• The debate between Epstein and Gladwell, and why the 10,000 rule is wrong
• “Breadth of training predicts breadth of transfer”
• “Teaching with hints”
• How to use “spacing” to increase learning
• Why current performance is not a good indication of learning
• Sport sampling and the fear of leaving the “sports pipeline”
• The world’s finest youth academy is not the best developmental system
• The diversity of movement and lowering the chance of overuse injury
• The true meaning of GRIT and the studies that explain it

Resources Mentioned:

• The debate between Epstein and Gladwell [video]
• Joy of the People [article]
• Relative age at U17 euros [article]
• Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman [book]
• The Talent Lab: The secret to finding, creating and sustaining success by Simon Timson [book]
• Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth [book]

Connect with David Epstein

• Website: https://www.davidepstein.com/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidEpstein

Do you want to access all of our videos from the 2021 Way of Champions Conference? They are now available here: Click Here to Learn More. This includes sessions with Steve Kerr, Brad Stevens, Cindy Timchal, Jenny Levy, George Mumford, Tara VanDerveer, and Quin Snyder along with Anson Dorrance. It is hours of top level coach education on connecting with your athletes, building your culture, and winning the “Inner Game.”

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