Jerry Rice is widely considered the greatest wide receiver in the history of the National Football League (NFL).
He is the league’s all-time leader for receptions, touchdowns, and receiving yards.
Over a twenty-year career, he was selected to the Pro Bowl 13 times.
Rice won three Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers. He is also a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Most people would look at Rice’s career and assume he was blessed with world-class talent.
The truth? He was not a natural.
Rice was an All-State receiver in high school, but none of the big-name college programs thought he was good enough to offer him a scholarship. As a result, he attended Mississippi Valley State University, a small college in Mississippi.
In college, Rice set many NCAA records. However, pro teams were still skeptical. He was considered slow by NFL standards.
So, how did Jerry Rice become the greatest wide receiver of all time?
He didn’t rely on inborn talent. Instead, Rice maximized his talent through a special kind of practice known as deliberate practice.
Before we discuss deliberate practice, let me share a personal example of how not to practice deliberately.
As a teenager, I was obsessed with basketball. I played on the varsity team for my high school. During the summers, practicing basketball basically became my full-time job.
Each day, I would get up, eat a quick breakfast, and head straight to the park- usually by myself. After a few hours of practice, I would eat lunch. Then, I would head back to the park for a few more hours of practice before returning home for dinner.
Sometimes, I would even practice after dinner.
On the rare summer day when I skipped the park and went to the beach or pool, my friends would tease me about my tan lines right above my ankles.
How do you get tan lines right above your ankles? You spend over 40 hours in the sun each week while wearing shorts and high-top basketball sneakers.
As a senior in high school, I led my team to only its third undefeated season in more than 50 years. My teammates named me team MVP, and the league selected me as First-Team All-County.
I then played basketball as a freshman in college. However, I wasn’t ready for the next level (mentally or physically). My career flamed out after my freshman year.
At the time, I thought I lacked the talent to play on the collegiate or pro level. I realize now that my problem was not a lack of talent. The issue was that I failed to practice deliberately
Deliberate practice is about practicing better, not more.
My basketball practice in high school was virtually 100% random, though.
I typically just did whatever I was in the mood to do. That usually consisted of shooting hundreds of shots by myself.
Jerry Rice definitely practiced better than I did. He became a world-class athlete because of deliberate practice, a special kind of practice that meets the following four criteria:
- Designed and evaluated by an expert
- Stretches you and is uncomfortable
- Requires your total concentration
- Consists of a lot of repetition
While my summer practice time included a lot of repetition, it failed to meet the other criteria.
No one designed or evaluated my summer practice time.
Because no one monitored me, I rarely pushed myself as hard as I could have. Looking back, my high school practice time was way too easy and comfortable.
Jerry Rice had a vastly different approach to practice.
He had a group of expert coaches and trainers helping him.
He also pushed himself beyond his limits, regardless of whether anyone was watching. His offseason workout program became legendary.
In the mornings, Rice would run five miles uphill. Later in the day, he would attack the weight room with the same ferocity. Other players would sometimes join him for workouts, only to quit or get sick.
Rice also overcame a lack of world-class speed. He spent countless hours practicing and refining his route-running ability. This valuable skill helped him get separation from NFL defenders, many of whom were actually faster.
Talent will only take you so far in any line of work.
Practicing longer than other people is not the secret either.
Deliberate practice is the key to becoming world-class at any skill, no matter what you want to improve.
References
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Rice
- Colvin, Geoff. Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everyone Else. New York: Portfolio, 2018.
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About the Author
Pete Leibman is a speaker and author who helps consultants, lawyers, and advisors build the energy, focus, and resilience to sustain high performance. He delivers webinars, keynotes, workshops, and programs for leading consulting firms, law firms, and financial services firms. He also speaks at universities and at conferences. Pete is the author of three books and more than 300 articles on high performance. His latest book is Stronger Advisor: High-Performance Habits for Consultants, Lawyers, and Advisors.
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