Wrestling with the nature of expertise: A sport specific test of Ericsson, Krampe and Tesch-Römer's (1993) theory of ≪deliberate practice≫

Ericsson, Krampe and Tesch-Römer (1993) have concluded from work with musicians that expertise is the result of ≪deliberate practice≫, so how valid is this conclusion in sport? Four groups of male amateur wrestlers (n = 42); 2 international and 2 club (current and retired) recalled the number of hours they had spent in wrestling and everyday activities since beginning wrestling. All groups had begun wrestling at a similar age (M = 13 yrs) and …