Talent Development in Adolescent Team Sports: A Review

Abstract

Traditional talent development pathways for adolescents in team sports follow talent identification procedures based on subjective games ratings and isolated athletic assessment. Most talent development models are exclusive rather than inclusive in nature. Subsequently, talent identification may result in discontentment, premature stratification, or dropout from team sports. Understanding the multidimensional differences among the requirements of adolescent and elite adult athletes could provide more realistic goals for potential talented players. Coach education should include adolescent development, and rewards for team success at the adolescent level should reflect the needs of long-term player development. Effective talent development needs to incorporate physical and psychological maturity, the relative age effect, objective measures of game sense, and athletic prowess. The influences of media and culture on the individual, and the competing time demands between various competitions for player training time should be monitored and mediated where appropriate. Despite the complexity, talent development is a worthy investment in professional team sport.

Late maturers at a performance disadvantage to their more mature peers in junior Australian football

“…We found seated height to be a significant predictor of 20 m sprint time (32%), however height was not included in the analysis due to issues with collinearity (e.g., seated height and leg length). The RAE is well documented in the football codes (Mujika et al, 2009;Till et al, 2010;Williams, 2010) and has been shown to result in short-term and long-term differences in sport outcomes as a result of birth date (Burgess & Naughton, 2010;Cobley et al, 2009;Meylan, Cronin, Oliver, & Hughes, 2010), although the phenomenon is not always associated with significant advantages in physical fitness or transition to professional ranks (Carling, Le Gall, Reilly, & Williams, 2009). Not surprisingly, the RAE is primarily attributed to differences in chronological age, although age category, skill level and sport context also contribute to RAE (Cobley et al, 2009).…”

Impact of the Talent Development Environment on Achievement Goals and Life Aspirations in Singapore

“…Athletes will face many challenges over time (Bloom, 1985;MacNamara, Holmes, & Collins, 2008), whether it be performance, development or lifestyle-related (Martindale, Collins, & Abraham, 2007), and personal characteristics such as intrinsic motivation have been shown to play a crucial part in overcoming those challenges and becoming a world class athlete over time (Abbott & Collins, 2004;Bloom, 1985;Martindale et al, 2007). Furthermore, athletes who maintain strong task orientation have been shown to be less stressed, better learners and more intrinsically motivated (Deci & Ryan, 2008;Duda & White, 1992), which leads to less burn-out and drop out through the system (Burgess & Naughton, 2010). Although this is just one example, it highlights the need to understand how personal characteristics are influenced by the talent development environment.…”

“…A consistent criticism of most TID models is that they are both exclusive and do not comprehensively take into account the multidimensional aspects of TID to ensure that realistic goals are set for those who are included (Vaeyens, Lenoir, Williams, & Philippaerts, 2008). This is important if you want to avoid dropout and ensure that appropriate reward schemes reflect the relevant needs of long-term and successful development (Burgess & Naughton, 2010). Singapore has a total land area of about 700 square kilometers and a total population of less than five million.…”

What Performance Characteristics Determine Elite Versus Nonelite Athletes in the Same Sport?

“…Several variables have been investigated to define the elite athlete, including anthropometric and physiologic characteristics, 2,3,33-35,45,61,62,66,77,74,92 balance, 44 the role of the athlete on the team, 11,77 length of training, 45 type of performance training, 13,24,44,46,65 talent development and maturation, 1,3,19,66,74,88 and physical performance. 7,15,91 The multiple variables attest to the complexity of the elite athlete.…”