Talented football players' development of achievement motives, volitional components, and self‐referential cognitions: A longitudinal study^†

Abstract

Adolescence is regarded as a key developmental phase in the course of talented football players' careers. The present study focuses on early adolescent players' development of achievement motives, volitional components, and self-referential cognitions. Based on the multidimensional and dynamic nature of talent, the development of multifaceted personality characteristics is an important issue in the context of sports talent research. According to previous findings in psychology, personality characteristics' development is defined by both stability and change, and the current study analyses four different types: differential stability (I), mean-level change (II), individual-level change (III), and structural stability (IV). The sample consists of 151 male players in the talent development programme of the German Football Association. Psychological diagnostics of the personality characteristics are implemented across longitudinal sections over a time period of three seasons, from the U12 to U14 age classes. The results reveal that the personality characteristics show (I) moderate test-retest correlations over one-year intervals (.43 ≤ rtt ≤ .62), and lower coefficients for a two-year period (.26 ≤ rtt ≤ .53). (II) Most of the personality characteristics' mean values differ significantly across the age classes with small effect sizes (.01 ≤ [Formula: see text] ≤ .03). (III) Only minor individual-level changes in the football players' development are found. (IV) The personality characteristics' associations within a two-factor structure do not stay invariant over time. From the results of the present study, conclusions are drawn regarding the talent identification and development process.

Psychological talent predictors in youth soccer: A systematic review of the prognostic relevance of psychomotor, perceptual-cognitive and personality-related factors

“…In addition, scholars have argued such diagnostics often consist of test batteries that assess performance independent of athletes’ maturity [ 64 ], which results in the frequently discussed relative age effect that can lead to maturation-related biases in diagnostics (e.g., [ 65 , 66 ]). While fluctuations in physical and physiological characteristics throughout (adolescent) development is well-etablished [ 67 ], information about the stability of psychological factors and how they adjust during early years of an athlete’s career are limited [ 36 , 68 ]. Consequently, for a comprehensive understanding of talent identification and development, it would be worthwhile for researchers to investigate the prognostic relevance of individual talent predictors in all developmental stages [ 5 ], which would provide greater insight into the importance of possible structural adjustments for a given factor in a particular stage of factors.…”

Perceptions of Parenting Practices and Psychological Variables of Elite and Sub-Elite Youth Athletes

“…For example, parenting styles seem to indirectly influence on young athlete’s behaviors, while parental practices have a direct effect on young athlete’s behavior (Holt et al, 2009). Also, various personality characteristics have been associated with talented soccer players, including self-concept, fear of failure, hope for success or self-optimism (Feichtinger and Höner, 2015), and expectancies for success have long been recognized as important variables to explain achievement behaviors, such as task persistence and task choice (Fredricks and Eccles, 2004). Third, it should be recognized that findings of this study might differ depending on adolescent’s gender (Fredricks and Eccles, 2005).…”

Systematizing coaches’ ‘eye for talent': Player assessments based on expert coaches’ subjective talent criteria in top-level youth soccer

“…Information about the predictive validity of a test could be obtained by conducting long-term studies in which youth players are accompanied until they reach higher levels of performance. 49,51 Unfortunately, cross-sectional studies are often preferred over longitudinal approaches due to economic considerations. 3 An important implication of the current findings for coaches and other people involved in the talent identification process (e.g.…”