RATING: 7 out of 10
Once again, Malcolm Gladwell is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. This book is intriguing, insightful and eye opening. Highly recommend.
THEMES
ATHLETICS | “GENIUS” MINDS | ORIGINS | ANOMALIES | GREATNESS | SUCCESS
KNOWLEDGE FROM THE PAGE
OPPORTUNITY… it all comes back to opportunity.
Gladwell uses an example of an elite youth hockey team in Canada to highlight the importance of opportunity when it comes to athletic greatness (this example is just one anecdote but there are many more in all areas outside of athletics). He examined the Junior National Hockey League in one of (if not the) most hockey crazed places on earth (Canada) and found that a staggering 40% of players on this elite squad were born between January – March and 30% were born between April – June. Meaning that 7 out of 10 players on the team aka 7 out of 10 of the best youth players in Canada are born at the beginning of the year. This fact could easily be overlooked and we would just assume these players are the best for their age and move on but that’s not Malcolm’s style so lets dissect this a bit.
The explanation for this is fairly simple, he states, in Canada the eligibility cutoff for age-class hockey is January 1. A boy who is born on January 2, then, could be playing alongside someone who doesn’t turn 10 until the end of the year. And at this pre-pubescent age, a 12 month gap represents an enormous difference in physical maturity and ability. Coaches start to select players for the traveling “rep” squad (the all-star team) at the age of 9 or 10. They clearly are more likely to view the bigger and more coordinated players as better… these kids also have had the benefit of critical extra months of maturity.
And now, what happens when a players gets chosen for the all-star squad? He gets better coaching, and his teammates are better so the team is better, and he plays 50 or 75 games per season as opposed to 20 games per season like those left behind in the “non all star” team. In the beginning (at age 9 or 10), it isn’t so much that he is inherently better but only that he is a little older. But by age 13 or 14, with the benefit of better coaching and all the extra practice under his belt, he really IS better, so he’s the one more likely to make it to the Major Junior League, and from there into the big show.
So, this “anomaly”, “once in a lifetime” athlete may have talent but he got where he is due to opportunity and hard work… not skill alone. He may seem like an outlier but he was built to become one.
This book dives into many scenarios similar to this example. All are equally as fascinating and really open your eyes to the power of opportunity and hard work.
Lastly, google the Roseto Mystery. Then go talk to your neighbor 🙂