“I Didn't Make It, but…”: Deselected Athletes' Experiences of the Talent Development Pathway

Abstract

The experiences of youth athletes on specialized talent development pathways has received considerable attention in both the media and literature. Despite the low conversion of pathway entrants into senior athletes, the experiences of deselected athletes have received less attention. The purpose of this study therefore was to explore the talent pathway experiences of youth athletes who were deselected from a pathway and to consider how those experiences influenced their life post deselection. Ten participants were purposefully sampled based on their prior involvement in a formalized and selective talent programme. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted, and data was analyzed via a thematic analysis. Participants identified constructs of the talent development environment, psychobehavioral skills for future development and personal responsibility for future development as facilitators for future success beyond the talent pathway. Specifically, environmental constructs, such as high performance support systems and expectations of professionalism positively contributed toward the acquisition of transferable psychobehavioral skills, such as a determination to be successful, a confidence to back oneself and social maturity. Youth athletes reported feeling empowered to take personal responsibility for development, through attributes such as a commitment to be the best they can be and an intrinsic motivation to succeed. These findings suggest positive experiences, built around the development of transferable skills and behaviors, can accrue from being on the talent pathway. As such, the talent pathway can be a successful foundation for both success in that sport and as a facilitator of success beyond sport.

Do youth soccer academies provide developmental experiences that prepare players for life beyond soccer? A retrospective account in the United Kingdom.

“…A wide variety of personal and life skills were attributed to academy involvement, especially: a strong work ethic, discipline, resilience, self-regulation, determination, a willingness to reflect, interpersonal skills and team work, (social) confidence, good manners and a respectful attitude. These findings add to the existing evidence that TIDS can be conducive towards positive development (e.g., Henriksen, 2010;Jones & Lavallee, 2009;Jørgensen et al, 2020;Strachan & Davies, 2015;Williams & MacNamara, 2020). However, as recent studies (e.g.…”

“…As such, the moral justification and healthiness of entering youths into very intensive training environments has increasingly been questioned (e.g., Bergeron et al, 2015;Sabato et al, 2016). Perhaps as a result, there is a growing call for elite youth sport contexts to promote healthy performance and positive personal development (e.g., Mathorne et al,2020;Williams & MacNamara, 2020).Indeed, advocating a holistic ecological approach and focusing specifically on athletic talent development environments (ATDEs), Henriksen and Stambulova (2017) pose that successful environments are not only good at nurturing athletes to become successful elite senior athletes, but should also take a whole-person approach and develop athletes' competencies and skills that allow them to meet the challenges they face both in sport and other spheres of their life. Such an approach would also ensure youth athletes have requisite skills to be successful after the inevitable (and for many early) exit from sport (e.g., Bergeron et al, 2015;Grey-Thompson, 2017).…”

Selected, Deselected, and Reselected: A Case Study Analysis of Attributes Associated With Player Reselection Following Closure of a Youth Soccer Academy

“…It is also possible that as a duty of care, the Academy Director and age group coaches may have utilized their network to assist players in continuing to play academy-level soccer. Such processes have previously been reported by deselected athletes across other sports (Williams and MacNamara, 2020 ). We propose that previous exposure to a TD programme may explain the prevalence of reselection we observed.…”

Premature Professionalisation or Early Engagement? Examining Practise in Football Player Pathways

“…Williams and MacNamara ( 2020 ) found that high-potential young athletes who were deselected reported that the experience of the talent pathway provided the foundations for future success in other sports, careers, or education opportunities. The talent pathway can provide an environment that develops valuable constructs, (i.e., professionalism and positive performance behaviours), psychobehavioural skills (i.e., social awareness and effective communication), and personal responsibility (i.e., self-motivation and personal drive/desire) which can crossover to alternative domains outside of sport and prove advantageous (Williams and MacNamara, 2020 ). Similarly, Neeley et al ( 2018 ) identified that deselection from the talent pathway can be accompanied by subsequent personal growth experiences.…”

“…The authors noted that, despite not progressing, deselected athletes experienced an enhanced sense of personal strength, developed closer social relationships, and recognised new and alternative opportunities. Therefore, it is possible that if structured appropriately, players can have many positive experiences during their time in football academies leading to the development of multiple skills and behaviours that are transferable to many other parts of their lives (Williams and MacNamara, 2020 ).…”