Despite decades of psychological research to the contrary, the myth that natural ability makes an athlete superior persists. In fact, if you listen to the commentary of nearly any sporting event you will hear the “expert” describe the “natural talent” a given player exhibited throughout his or her life, which has culminated in present day successes.
Everyone believes in talent. Especially the experts. And the reasons are somewhat intuitive. A person has more fast-twitch muscle fibres, so she MUST have been born to be a sprinter. Another athlete is simply so tall she was always going to be a gifted basketball player. Or perhaps an athlete always showed promise, literally from the day she first crawled or walked. Physical endowment is visible. Shape and size, agility, and strength are all visible. That is what makes the “natural” argument so obvious.
Yet several decades of research has more or less debunked the claim that there is any such thing as “natural” ability. That is not to say that genetic endowment is irrelevant. Genetics provide a “natural capacity”, but the ability to perform at high levels is something that is developed, acquired.