Jannik Sinner just won the Men’s Wimbledon title. Interestingly, tennis was not his first or even second sport. As a child, he was an alpine skier and football prodigy. Tennis ranked third. He actually won the Italian Junior National Championship in Giant Slalom at age seven.
In his New York Times’ bestseller “Range” (2021), David Epstein made a compelling case for “why generalists triumph in a specialized world.” Yes, of course, elite specialists thrive in their niche worlds all the time, be it in chess, piano, dance, or tennis. Epstein cites Tiger Woods single-minded, monomaniacal, and emotionally burdensome focus on golf his entire childhood as one path. He uses tennis legend Roger Federer, however, to illustrate what I consider to be a healthier, alternative road to world-class excellence. As with Skinner, Federer diversified his childhood athletics, excelling in soccer, basketball, and tennis. Federer credits this range with improving his athleticism and eye-hand coordination as he does having had flexibility and options.
Epstein’s work underscores some of the pitfalls of hyperspecialization and the narrow-minded “cult of the head start.” He is correct in asserting that there are great benefits to adding a pinch of breadth to the recipe for developing depth. He champions “diverse experience, interdisciplinary thinking, and delayed concentration” in youth development for very good reason.
I’ve long believed that mixing breadth with depth also builds emotional intelligence and the capacity for nimbleness, resilience, and adaptability. This is especially true when broader development helps young prodigies emerge from hellacious, overbearing parents who try to whip their children into the college scholarships, wealth, and fame that so few of them ever actually obtain. So many of these young people end up hating and leaving the disciplines that were forced down their throats.
Another important consideration is physical. With the likes of Real Madrid in EuroLeague basketball signing players under age 10, is it any wonder that young bodies seem more at risk than ever? There are enormous advantages to the cross-training outcomes that accompany a more diversified approach to youth athletic development. Besides, could it be that the incessant focus on basketball only - with its singular workouts and overuse of certain muscles and joints over others - contributed to Jason Tatum, Tyrese Halliburton, and Damian Lilliard blowing out their Achilles Tendons?
Let’s celebrate Skinner’s win today by recognizing that there is more than one way to the top in developing world-class competitors and, most certainly, a preferred way in developing well-rounded, emotionally intelligent human beings.
Image courtesy of NBC News.