The Path to Excellence – A God Given Talent?

By Damon Leedale-Brownb, Sports Scientist & Conditioning Specialist

How often do we watch a world class athlete or musician perform and marvel at the talent they possess – surely they were destined for excellence and were given natural abilities, ‘a gift’ that you and I can only wish to have had! At that same time it is easy to dismiss our own potential for excellence with statements like “I am not a natural athlete” or “My reactions are too slow” or “I lack the coordination to be good in this sport” or “I don’t have a musical bone in my body” or “I am just not talented enough.” But what do we really mean by talent? Does it really exist or is it simply a mythical term that is cast out far too easily to explain why certain individuals are able to reach levels of excellence that we could only ever dream of?

In squash it is common to hear coaches refer to certain junior players as “talented” or “having a natural feel for the game,” or “showing great promise for the future.” But what is it they actually see in a player to make such statements—is it the way they strike the ball; the tactical choices they make during rallies? What about their determination, competitive drive, passion for the sport, ability to see failures as positive learning opportunities? Why do many of these so called talented juniors “never fulfill their potential,” while juniors who were hardly noticed at younger age groups are suddenly making the national team a few years later? Peter Nicol was by no means the best junior player in the World and yet he went on to dominate the Men’s Pro Tour for five years as World No. 1. As a junior, Nick Matthew was considered by many to ‘lack the talent’ to be one of the best players in the World and yet he now stands proudly on top of the World rankings. If we start to dig a little deeper into the path that has been taken by these World Class performers, only then do we start to understand some of the critical factors that have truly defined their success in the sport.

I have just spent two weeks training in Colorado with Laurens Jan Anjema (LJ)— the Dutch No. 1 Men’s player with a highest World Ranking of No. 9. When you spend time training with LJ you are quickly taken in by the intensity and focus he gives to every single training session, his ability to continually challenge his boundaries mentally and physically during training, his single-minded drive to become a better player, and his continual thirst for knowledge to help with this goal. It was a great opportunity to interview LJ and map out the path that he had taken from his first beginnings in the sport, right up to the point he became one of the top players on the World Tour.

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Whether climbing or running at altitude, Laurens Anjema pushes himself to his limits, all in the pursuit of being as fit as possible for propelling him to top of the World rankings.

The Early Stages:
LJ was first introduced to the sport at age 5 by his father who was a 12-time Dutch National Champion. LJ played three different sports until he was 17—tennis, field hockey and squash. From the age of 10 onwards he began to play increasingly more squash with his dad and his dad’s friends, many of whom used to be on the national team.

Key Influences:
An important factor in LJ’s sporting upbringing was his mother who had played tennis at a high level as a junior including competition at Wimbledon. She drove him to many tennis tournaments at the ages of 13-15, and he can vividly remember many conversations in the car on the way home from tournaments when he was emotionally down because he’d lost or behaved poorly. Both parents showed him the way to create a better mindset for sport, helping him understand key areas he could improve upon as a young athlete, primarily having to do with his mental approach to training and competition.

When LJ was a junior there was a coach at his local club named Rory Watts from New Zealand who was a former World No. 12 player. His dad set up lessons for LJ on a weekly basis as he believed that LJ would be much more likely to take advice from a qualified coach rather than his own dad!. Rory helped LJ create a strong foundation as a junior player. Another inspiration for LJ was his tennis coach at the time who had a very professional approach to junior player development. He educated young players on nutrition, physical training and mental aspects of the game. He helped LJ understand the initial phases of being a professional in sport.

Creating the spark:
At the age of 14-16 there were three top Australian players who lived in The Hague and trained at LJ’s local club—John White, Billy Haddrell, and Liam Kenney. They played for the club’s first team in the Dutch National League. LJ would always come to watch their matches and was amazed by what they did on the squash court. If he was at the club in the afternoon they would let him join in their practice for the last five or ten minutes and basically send him the wrong way with every shot! Being able to watch and get on court with these World Class players really ignited his passion for the game both at a club level and also the thought of becoming a professional player.

So we can already see some of the opportunities, influences and sparks that started LJ along the path towards professional squash. In the next article we will look deeper into LJ’s mindset, and consider the key decisions that were made at that start of his professional career that had a major influence on his long term development as a pro player. So we can already see some of the opportunities, influences and sparks that started LJ along the path towards professional squash. In the next article we will look deeper into LJ’s mindset, and consider the key decisions that were made at that start of his professional career that had a major influence on his long term development as a pro player. I will also revisit the concept of “Talent” and give examples from leading scientific research that go a long way to explaining what is really behind excellence