Does Practice Make Perfect in Trampoline?

How many times have we heard our parents and coaches tell us that practice makes perfect? If I had a nickel for every time, I’d have at least a dollar. While their intention is to motivate us, this adage is not always true.

Practice is certainly a good idea. Through it, we gain competence in skills and behaviors, becoming adept at what we practice. According to conventional wisdom, repetition is the best way to learn. And granted, it can be – but here is the rub: if you perform the same movement one hundred times incorrectly, it becomes a habit. And as we know, habits are hard to break.

Think of an athlete trying to correct a skill that has been performed incorrectly for a long time. Despite their best efforts, breaking the pattern can feel almost impossible, often taking months of targeted work to restore proper execution. One common example in trampoline and gymnastics is incorrect head positioning while flipping backwards.

For coaches, dealing with an athlete who arrives with deeply ingrained technical errors is a familiar challenge. In both scenarios, the ultimate solution is executing correct practice from the very first time a skill is attempted. Over practicing bad habits can be actively detrimental to long-term skill development.

The Science of Myelination: Quality Over Quantity

To understand why the quality of practice trumps quantity, we need to look at a neurological process called myelination.

Myelin is an electrically insulating material that forms a protective layer around the axons of neurons, and it is essential for proper nervous system function. Its primary purpose is to dramatically increase the speed at which electrical impulses propagate along nerve fibers.

Neuroscience shows that myelination is the direct result of repeated neural activity. As neural pathways are used, the myelin layer thickens, increasing both the speed and strength of electrical impulses. Stronger myelin sheaths allow impulses to fire rapidly and efficiently along the exact required pathway rather than drifting into weaker, unintended patterns.

What This Means for Athletes and Coaches

Practice will not make you perfect. In fact, it won’t even make you good at what you want to learn if you learn it incorrectly from the beginning.

Yes, you should always practice and do so consistently enough to achieve true competence in your chosen sport. However, the golden rule is clear: always insist that athletes repeat only what is right according to the technical standards and expectations of the sport.