The bell curve is a powerful information source

Is the population bell curve for physical capacities more than a statement about gifted and lesser skill-sets?  Yes, the information we can take from the curve is more profound than it might first appear. 

Recall that a bell curve is the shape of the data points when we plot a trait for a representative group of people (normal distribution).  If we plot height for a representative group of the population, we find that there is a small number of abnormally very tall (right edge) and abnormally very short individuals (left edge), but most (of the population) range in the area above and below the average; hence the curve looks like an upside down ‘bell’.

When we look at the curve for a group of basic physical skills, e.g. jumping and sprinting performance, or throwing and catching skills, we are actually seeing the skill development curve.  An individual might appear, at a moment of time, in the bottom half of the curve but, far from being a fixed statement about talent, it tells us where that skill or set of skills has developed to.  There are several important facts that arise from this idea:

1.       Because skills can be improved, an assessment of talent does not have to be a fixed or permanent statement about an individual’s future – it only says was it is today

2.       The process of improving skills is a ‘vertical’ or ‘linear’ pathway.  For example, young children learn to crawl, then stumble, then walk with greater efficiency and, in turn, to run.  The key to improving any skill is an understanding of what the basic (underlying) resources and steps are (we call these tools)

3.       The development of all physical skills and capacities takes time – we adapt in very small steps.  The earlier we begin, the further a skill may be extended.  In a sense, this is the greatest difference between the highly skilled and the rest of us.  For one reason or another, their bodies accumulated information and instituted strategies more effectively - they use time to better effect

4.       Recovery from physical injury, remediation of modifiable physical deficits, long-term physical and athletic development and conditioning are essentially all expressions of the skill development curve – understanding the curve provides huge scope in the area of health and fitness