On the eve of the opening of the FIFA World Cup and in the midst of the NBA finals, a study has just been published in the journal Psychological Science that coaches should take into account in order to win two championships.
Contrary to what it may seem, having too much talent on a team can backfire . The research, led by Professor Roderick Swaab, showed that the presence of a high number of athletes with natural ability undermines the willingness of players to coordinate their game, compromising the overall performance of the team. “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships,” said Michael Jordan.
The key to success does not lie in bringing together as many prodigy athletes as possible. Thus concludes the research carried out by the INSEAD scientist, which has shown that the relationship between talent and performance is not directly proportional, but that, in the case of sports with high levels of interdependence such as soccer and basketball, the Individual quality facilitates team performance only up to a point. If we go beyond that “marking line”, the benefits of having superstars in our ranks decrease, as the players fail to harmonize their game and the performance of the team declines . In the case of more individualistic sports, such as baseball, high levels of talent do not appear to impair group tactic.
This information can be of help both for the coaches and for the athletes themselves, since it is not the only harm derived from playing alone: previous studies have shown that those who do not cooperate are harmed in the long term.
