Talent Identification And Development In Youth Sports

Identifying talent in athletes and developing that ability to its fullest potential is a central concern of sport scientists, sports coaches and sports policy makers. This book offers a comprehensive synthesis of current knowledge in talent identification and development in sport, from the biological basis of ability to the systems and processes within sport through which that ability is nurtured. Written by a team of leading international experts, the book explores key factors and issues in contemporary sport, including: genetics secondary factors such as birth date, cultural context and population size perceptual motor skill acquisition and expertise sports development policy in-depth case studies, including European soccer, East African running and US pro sports. With an emphasis throughout on practical implications and processes for all those working in sport, the book offers an authoritative evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of contemporary systems for identifying and developing talent in sport. This is important reading for any student, researcher or practitioner with an interest in skill acquisition, youth sport, elite sport, sports coaching or sports development.

Identifying athletic talent and developing that talent to its full potential is a central concern in sport. Understanding talent identification and its implications for both positive and negative developmental outcomes is crucial to sporting success. This is the first comprehensive resource for scientists, researchers, students, coaches, analysts and policymakers looking to improve their knowledge of the talent identification and development process. With contributions from leading researchers and practitioners, this book offers a complete overview of contemporary talent identification and development from in-depth discussion of methodological and philosophical issues through to practical applications. Adopting an international and multi-disciplinary approach, it addresses all key aspects of the talent identification and development process, including skill acquisition and motor learning, psychological factors and family influences, creating optimal environments for performance, and dealing with injury and rehabilitation. Presenting an unrivalled wealth of research, the Routledge Handbook of Talent Identification and Development in Sport is an essential resource for any undergraduate or postgraduate degree course in sport studies, sport science, sport coaching or sport management, as well as for sport policymakers, analysts and coaches.

We are delighted to share our Special Issue on Talent Identification and Development in Youth Sports. In 2020, the editorial team had several informal discussions about the growing interest from researchers and practitioners in these disciplines, and subsequently wanted to create a platform to help advance this field of literature. Following these conversations, we decided to use the Personal Assets Framework (Côté et al., 2014, 2016) to outline our objectives and the potential research topics for our Special Issue. In doing so, it was hoped that the studies included can inform evidence-based youth sport policies and athlete development programmes. Submissions were encouraged from a diverse range of quantitative and qualitative research methods to examine the current context of talent identification and development in youth sports, as well as reviews to synthesise expert knowledge within these disciplines. In light of the articles that have been included within our Special Issue, we believe our initial aims of progressing the talent identification and development literature have been achieved, and now hope that the research presented can be utilised by key stakeholders (e.g., administrators, coaches, parents, practitioners) and organisational structures (e.g., national governing bodies, professional clubs, recreational teams, youth sport associations) to create more appropriate youth sport settings.

We are delighted to share our Special Issue on Talent Identification and Development in Youth Sports. In 2020, the editorial team had several informal discussions about the growing interest from researchers and practitioners in these disciplines, and subsequently wanted to create a platform to help advance this field of literature. Following these conversations, we decided to use the Personal Assets Framework (Côté et al., 2014, 2016) to outline our objectives and the potential research topics for our Special Issue. In doing so, it was hoped that the studies included can inform evidence-based youth sport policies and athlete development programmes. Submissions were encouraged from a diverse range of quantitative and qualitative research methods to examine the current context of talent identification and development in youth sports, as well as reviews to synthesise expert knowledge within these disciplines. In light of the articles that have been included within our Special Issue, we believe our initial aims of progressing the talent identification and development literature have been achieved, and now hope that the research presented can be utilised by key stakeholders (e.g., administrators, coaches, parents, practitioners) and organisational structures (e.g., national governing bodies, professional clubs, recreational teams, youth sport associations) to create more appropriate youth sport settings.

The last decade witnessed a plethora of literature about talent identification and talent development. Most of the research is descriptive. In addition, an enormous quantity of publications attempted to define normative guidelines, but mostly with relatively little empirical evidence to support them. We believe it is time to overview the field, critically appraise the situation of research, and map the topics, trends, and gaps. The large part of recent research has focused on talent identification and the factors that reveal talents. In contrast, relatively less research has addressed the question how young talents develop in a long-term process towards becoming senior high-performers. This is an evolving field and research is still in a primarily explorative stage. A variety of different study designs and methodological approaches have been employed to explore different factors and outcomes of talent development, yielding heterogeneous findings.

The modern day youth sports environment has taken the enjoyment out of athletics for our children. Currently, 70% of kids drop out of organized sports by the age of 13, which has given rise to a generation of overweight, unhealthy young adults. There is a solution. John O’Sullivan shares the secrets of the coaches and parents who have not only raised elite athletes, but have done so by creating an environment that promotes positive core values and teaches life lessons instead of focusing on wins and losses, scholarships, and professional aspirations. Changing the Game gives adults a new paradigm and a game plan for raising happy, high performing children, and provides a national call to action to return youth sports to our kids.

Identifying and developing talented athletes to their fullest potential is a central concern of sport scientists, sports coaches, and sports policy makers. The second edition of this popular text offers a state of the science synthesis of current knowledge in talent identification and development in sport, from the biological basis of talent to the systems and processes within sport through which that talent is nurtured. Written by a team of leading international experts, the book explores key factors and issues in contemporary sport, including: nature and nurture in the development of sporting talent designing optimal developmental environments long-term modelling of athlete development understanding the complexity of talent selection in-depth case studies of successful talent development systems. With an emphasis on practical implications for all those working in sport, the book offers an authoritative evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of contemporary systems for identifying and developing talent in sport. This is important reading for any student, researcher, or practitioner with an interest in skill acquisition, youth sport, elite sport, sports coaching, or sports development.

Development of the Youth Athlete offers a single-authored, well-illustrated, evidence-based, and integrated analysis of the development and trainability of the morphological and physiological characteristics which influence sport performance in youth. The book critically analyses the development of the youth athlete in the context of current and future sport performance and long-term health and well-being. Development of the Youth Athlete identifies the principal controversies in youth sport and addresses them through sport-specific examples. Presenting a rigorous assessment and interpretation of scientific data with an emphasis on underlying physiological mechanisms, the book focuses on the interactions between growth, maturation, and: Sport-related fitness Sport-specific trainability Sport performance Challenges in youth sport Providing the only up-to-date, coherent critical discourse on youth athlete development currently available, Development of the Youth Athlete is essential reading for students, lecturers, sport medicine practitioners, researchers, scholars, and senior coaches with an interest in youth sport, exercise science, and sport medicine.

Blending contemporary sports science theory with youth specific coaching practice, this book offers soccer development strategies that are tailored to the needs of young players.