What Makes a Champion? How the Best Are Made

This is an overview of a pop science book written by one of sports sciences leading authorities, Professor Mark Williams, and journalist Tim Wigmore.

Every week, millions of people marvel at the world’s top athletes across numerous different sports. Whether it’s watching Serena Williams dominate on the court, seeing Lionel Messi carve open a defence, or holding our breath during the final seconds of a penalty shoot-out: elite performance captures our imagination. But behind the moments of brilliance lies a far more complex story. What really creates greatness in sport?

In this deep-dive post, I’ll be looking at the key insights from The Best: How Elite Athletes Are Made, a fascinating and accessible book by Professor Mark Williams and Tim Wigmore. The book combines personal stories of world-class athletes with research from sports science and psychology. What emerges is not a formula, but a fuller understanding of how talent develops and thrives.

We’ll look at how environment, mindset, and training shape the best performers. We begin with one of the most important and least understood foundations of elite sport: family.

Why are younger siblings often better?

In sports families, younger siblings are more likely to go further. That may sound surprising at first. You might assume that firstborns have the advantage of time, resources, and attention. But the book explains that younger siblings gain something different: a daily, in-house challenge. They grow up trying to keep up, often competing against older siblings who are bigger, faster, and more experienced. That challenge builds resilience. It also fosters creativity and tactical skill. You can’t just out-muscle your older sibling, so you have to out-think them.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the Norwegian middle-distance runner, is a perfect example. As the youngest of seven, he grew up training with older brothers who had already won European titles. By the time Jakob was a teenager, he was surpassing them, winning gold at the European Championships before he was even allowed to drive.

The invisible hand of family support

The journey to elite sport rarely happens alone. Athletes often describe a sibling or parent who supported, sacrificed, or simply made the journey possible. Raheem Sterling, for example, recalls how his older sister took him on three buses to training every day. Without that support, he says, his career wouldn’t have happened.

But the kind of support matters. The book makes a compelling case against “helicopter parenting,” the well-meaning but overbearing involvement that removes responsibility from the child. Elite athletes often describe parents who gave structure and encouragement but also let them solve problems, make mistakes, and figure things out on their own.

Judy Murray, mother of tennis stars Andy and Jamie, knew how to set high standards without micromanaging. She gave her sons autonomy, even while playing the role of coach, chauffeur, and mum. That balance of support without control, helped shape two very different but equally successful champions.

Learning together

Families can also create powerful environments for learning. Siblings often play together informally, inventing games and setting their own challenges. These moments, though unstructured, are far from meaningless. In fact, they may be more valuable than formal coaching. Playing in the garden, wrestling in the living room, or kicking a ball around after dinner helps children experiment, adapt, and build skills in varied and realistic conditions.

Younger siblings also benefit when parents learn from experience. The youngest child often gets better coaching, more appropriate challenges, and more informed decisions from parents who have already made mistakes with their older kids. In a way, each child builds on the last.

It’s tempting to look at elite athletes and think they were simply born that way. But this book shows that family: its shape, structure, and daily habits, plays a bigger role than we often realise. Behind many sporting triumphs is a household that created space for learning, competition, and growth.

The Geography of Greatness: Why Place Matters More Than You Think

We tend to talk about talent as if it exists in isolation. But talent always grows somewhere. The book shifts to look at the surprising role that geography, schools, and local cultures play in shaping future champions.

The Best opens our eyes to the places that consistently produce elite athletes, not just the obvious national training centres and academies, but also small towns, overlooked schools, and communities where something powerful is happening behind the scenes.

Why mid-sized towns are athletic goldmines

One of the most surprising insights in the book is that many champions come from mid-sized towns rather than large cities. These towns are small enough to give young athletes access to facilities and local competition, but big enough to offer variety and challenge. Wagga Wagga in Australia is a case in point: Despite its modest size, it has produced a remarkable number of top athletes across different sports.

Children in towns like Wagga Wagga often play multiple sports, which builds all-round physical literacy. They are known by name in their community, so they get chances to play up an age group or try something new. Crucially, these towns are often close enough to big cities to attract scouts and coaches. This combination of access, variety, and visibility, gives young athletes an edge.

Schools as springboards

The school environment is another crucial site for athlete development. For example, Millfield School in Somerset has sent more athletes to the Olympics than some entire countries! Its success is not just about elite facilities (although those help); what stands out is the culture: sport is valued, supported, and integrated into daily life. Training is personalised, coaches are highly qualified, and students are surrounded by peers who push them to improve.

Being in a place where success feels normal changes what young athletes believe is possible. It gives them role models, competition, and a clear sense of the level required. This community of practice, where learning happens between peers, not just from coaches, forms a vital part of athlete development.

Inequality and access

At the same time, the book doesn’t shy away from hard truths. Many of the environments that support elite development (e.g., private schools, expensive catchment areas, specialist academies) are not accessible to everyone. In countries like the UK, private school students are hugely overrepresented in Olympic teams. Talent may be evenly distributed, but opportunity often is not.

Yet sport still offers glimmers of fairness. Football and basketball, for example, remain more open than other sports. In these games, local parks and playgrounds continue to serve as breeding grounds for greatness. But even here, place matters. Urban areas with strong informal cultures of play, like the suburbs of Paris, consistently produce a high number of elite players.

Inside the Mind of a Champion: Perception, Pressure and the Psychology of Winning

Talent is often visible. We see it in the speed, skill, and decision-making of elite athletes. But what lies beneath the surface? What mental skills separate great performers from everyone else?

In the third section of the book, Williams and Wigmore explore how the best athletes see, think, and feel during competition. Drawing on sports psychology, neuroscience, and firsthand accounts to show that mental performance is not just about motivation. It is about perception, memory, anticipation, and resilience.

How do athletes react so quickly?

One of the most fascinating chapters explores how athletes hit a ball that reaches them in under half a second. It turns out they don’t watch the ball all the way to the bat or racket. Instead, they pick up cues from the opponent’s body: the shoulder, the hip, the wrist. These clues allow them to anticipate what’s coming before it actually happens.

The best performers develop an ability to read the game in real time. They don’t just react; they predict. And they do this under pressure, often in chaotic situations. This is not a magical gift. It’s a skill developed through practice, video analysis, and experience in high-level play.

The "quiet eye" and focused attention

A key concept is the “quiet eye” - the ability to fix your gaze on a critical location at just the right moment. In golf, this might be the hole; in football, it could be the keeper’s body position during a penalty. Research shows that elite athletes spend slightly longer focusing their eyes on these key targets. That brief pause helps them filter out distractions and commit to a decision.

It’s a reminder that elite performance is not about doing everything faster. Sometimes, it's about knowing when to slow down your attention.

The psychology of pressure

We also learn about why athletes choke. Pressure disrupts focus. It causes athletes to overthink movements that should feel automatic. But some players thrive under pressure. Ian Poulter in golf’s Ryder Cup, for instance, consistently outperforms expectations. What sets them apart?

Confidence helps, but preparation matters more. The best athletes practise under pressure, simulate high-stakes moments, and develop coping routines. Whether it's deep breathing, mental rehearsal, or self-talk, these tools help them stay present and respond rather than panic.

In the final post of this series, we’ll look at how all of this comes together in training. How do athletes build these mental and physical skills over time? What does smarter training really look like? And what role do coaches play in shaping champions?

Smarter Training, Better Coaching, and the Science Behind Getting Great

In the final part of the book, consideration is given to how elite athletes are made through training: not just long hours, but thoughtful, adaptive practice. This includes the role of coaches, the growing use of technology, and the mindset that sets top performers apart.

Why practice isn't just repetition

Many people assume greatness comes from doing the same thing over and over again. But the best athletes practise differently. They vary their routines, simulate real match situations, and seek feedback. The goal is not to perfect a movement in a sterile environment, but to adapt it under pressure.

Elena Delle Donne, one of the greatest free-throw shooters in basketball history, developed her skill through a blend of repetition and creative variation. She practised under fatigue, in noisy environments, and with different types of pressure. This helped her maintain composure and accuracy no matter the situation.

The coach as facilitator

The book highlights coaches who don’t just instruct, but guide. Danny Kerry, who coached Great Britain’s women’s hockey team to Olympic gold, transformed his approach after studying skill acquisition. He moved from telling players what to do to designing sessions that forced them to solve problems.

The best coaches create environments where athletes own their development. They set challenges, ask questions, and encourage reflection. The athletes who respond well often become self-directed, motivated learners who can adapt in real time.

The next frontier: technology and the brain

From virtual reality to neuro-tracking, technology is playing a growing role in training. FC Barcelona uses simulations to train players’ decision-making. Athletes can now review split-second choices, replay scenarios, and learn to react faster and smarter.

But technology is only useful when paired with the right philosophy. At its best, it supports learning. At its worst, it becomes a distraction. The real key is how coaches and players integrate new tools into meaningful practice.

A final thought

Throughout this review of The Best, one message has been clear: there is no single path to greatness. Talent matters, but it is shaped and nurtured by families, communities, coaches, and the choices athletes make every day. The best are made through a blend of nature and nurture, structure and freedom, science and art.

Understanding how greatness develops helps us appreciate sport more deeply. And for those working in coaching, education, or youth development, it offers lessons that reach far beyond the playing field.