Excellence, and the building of it, resides in the repetition of deep practice.  It is through repetition that skills are developed to the level of automaticity.  It is why even professional players skill practice with the same drills that beginners do.  The goal is to some finely hone the skills needed that they are second-nature, that muscle memory takes over, that the responses and actions are, well, automatic.  And to do so, takes practice.

To build the mental circuitry to create automatic muscle responses requires practice, but also the right kind of practice.  It takes what has become known as deep practice.  A focus on deep learning, correcting mistakes and visualizing errors, their corrections and then fixing them instantly.    The development of the right environment is critical for the best coaches to create increased repetitions and therefore more highly honed skills.  In general, you play how you practice, but maybe more importantly, and observed by the best coaches, practice should be harder than the game.  If you are pursuing excellence, evaluate how you are developing the skills you need, and the environment in which they are honed.  Maybe you need to look at how you practice in a different light.

If you don’t practice, you don’t deserve to win. Andre Agassi

Good ideas are not adopted automatically. They must be driven into practice with courageous patience. Hyman Rickover

It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.  John Wooden