I heard a presentation that it takes about 300 games at a level in order to be ready for the next level. Now I do not know if that is true and it was also said that some will probably move faster and some will take longer. But this number is a gauge to show how ready you could be if you work enough.

Peace

How Do You Get To Carnegie Hall ???
 

There are so many folks who say that athletes are madeup of a certain genetic predisposition, or that Mozart was a unique diamond in the rough. But is that true? According to Malcom Gladwell, mastery of anything, whether it's the Beatles in music, or Bill Gates in the computer world, takes 10,000 hours of practice. The only requirement for the individual is to find the money to create time for practice, have a strong desire to commit to the work, and practice, practice, practice until they achieve success.

That is just not true.

The person must first have the necessary physical and mental tools. Without them, no amount of practice will make a person good at something they just can't understand or physically do.

I could practice for 100,000 hours and, no matter how hard I try, I really doubt I could ever sing like Celine Dion (not that I'd want to) but I might be able to sound like Bob Dylan.

Some people, no matter how hard they try, are just not going to understand quantum physics, brain surgery, semiconductor physics, etc.

Someone who is female is probably not going to make and NBA team, no matter how long they practice...they're just not going to match up with Dwight Howard, Rondo, or anyone in between...nor is a guy who is 5'2" (with a very rare exception which will probably never happen again).

Outliers: The Story of Success ...
 

Tell it to Malcom Gladwell.

In Outliers: The Story of Success, Gladwell examines the factors that contribute to high levels of success. To support his thesis, he examines the causes of why the majority of Canadian ice hockey players are born in the first few months of the calendar year, how Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates achieved his extreme wealth, and how two people with exceptional intelligence, Christopher Langan and J. Robert Oppenheimer, end up with such vastly different fortunes. Throughout the publication, Gladwell repeatedly mentions the "10,000-Hour Rule", claiming that the key to success in any field is, to a large extent, a matter of practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours.

I feel I am the epitome of that statement.

I began officiating at the age of 18 while in college for beer money. I worked intramural basketball for two years, and I was then told to get licensed by the IHSA. I worked for two years on the JV circuit (I think I've worked 5-10 youth/JV games total), and I was then told to go to a NCAA-W camp by a varsity official who saw me work a BJV game. In my third season (fifth of officiating) I was hired in three NCAA-W conferences, and I now work a full NCAA-W schedule with about 15 BV HS contests in my seventh year of officiating.

Not once in my career have I moved up to my own accord. Each time I was noticed and told to move up by veteran officials. YMMV

Even Malcolm Gladwell will tell you that his book doesn't mean anybody can do anything if they practice for 10,000 hours. His book, at its root, is all about what the greatest did to separate themselves from others who would have had similar natural talents but didn't do that work.

There does seem to be something magic about the 10,000 hours, but I'm never, no matter how much time and effort I spend, going to be able to compete on the NBA floor. I'm neither tall enough nor have the build, structure, and genetics to be quick enough. 10,000 hours of training won't make me quick enough.