Talent development in sport: A critical review of pathways to expert
performance
Introduction
• nature vs nurture
◦ nurture: examined athletes’ sport participation from a developmental perspective in order
to understand what could influence the development of expert performance (e.g. parental
support, peer influence, coach behaviours, birthdate and birthplace effects, etc.) →
constitutes to what optimal environment for athletic development
▪ found that:
(1) the amount of deliberate practice (i.e. relevant, effortful activities done with the
specific goal of improving performance) is a key factor in distinguishing performers
at different skill levels;
(2) deliberate play (i.e. intrinsically motivating activities that provide immediate
gratification and are designed to maximize enjoyment) is also an important early
learning activity in the development of expertise in sport;
(3) both early specialization (i.e. investment in one activity and in deliberate practice
from a young age) and early diversification (early participation in a wide variety of
sports with high levels of deliberate play and low levels of deliberate practice) are
suitable pathways to reach expertise in sport
• main purpose: review the role of developmental activities and participation trends in the
acquisition of expert performance and talent development → review developmental sport
activities and the models that have been proposed to explain how athletes develop in sport &
propose new directions for future research
Method
• criteria for including study in review:
(1) focus on athlete development, talent development, developmental pathways, learning
activities or athlete development model
(2) be in English
(3) peer-reviewed
• included 54 articles
Results
Theoretical background in talent development research
1. The role of developmental activities in talent development
◦ developmental activities undertaken by children in specific learning environments are
important contributors for skill development and should be explored when examining
early talent development programs in sport
◦ found that the most effective learning occurs through involvement in deliberate practice
activities → fosters skill development and performance enhancement
▪ focuses on factors such as concentration, effort, motivation and relevance
▪ optimal learning and improvement of performance occur when involved in activities
that lead the individual to focus on, persist in, and tolerate high levels of specific,
appropriate and pertinent practice, wherein they ‘are motivated to practice because
practice improves performance
▪ individuals who start early and practice at the higher levels will have a higher level
of performance throughout development than those who practice equally hard but
start later → young athletes who are involved in high amounts of deliberate practice
early will have a better chance to develop into elite performers
, ▪ early specialisation approach to talent development in sport includes an early start
age in one sport and an early investment in focused intensive training such as
deliberate practice
• research in sport has shown that expert athletes have usually accumulated
between 4000 to 6000 hours of sport-specific practice before reaching an expert
level of performance
• there re other important activities and experiences other that quantity of
deliberate practice that contribute to development of expertise in sport
▪ additionally to quantity of deliberate practice throughout development, the subjective
experience that defines deliberate practice was studied as well
• subjective experience that differentiates deliberate practice from other sport
activities consists of a series of tenets related to the effort and enjoyment of
deliberate practice → high effort, low enjoyment (mixed results)
• focus on specialized training during the early stages of development has been
associated with several negative consequences (e.g. increase risk of injuries and
decrease in enjoyment and stifle psychosocial development
• by reducing the number of opportunities for growth in these areas) → reducing
our understanding of the talent development process by only considering the
involvement in a single form of activity (i.e. deliberate practice) fails to
acknowledge the important role of other activities in the acquisition of expert
performance (e.g. informal free-play activities of infant)
◦ deliberate play: early developmental activities that are intrinsically motivating, provide
immediate gratification, and are specifically designed to maximize enjoyment →
essential activity in the early involvement of athletes in sport
▪ athletes who had a diversified early sport experience and engaged in deliberate play
during childhood could achieve an elite level of performance in sport
▪ early diversification is thought to lead to sport expertise because of the intrinsic
motivation that stems from the fun, enjoyment and competence children experience
through their sporting involvement
▪ still unknown about the possible transfer of learning across different sport activities
experienced in the early stages of development and its contribution to sport expertise
and whether early diversification and the development of expertise are a result of a
delayed start in deliberate practice in the primary sport, the child’s intention to have
fun during the early sport experiences, diversification across several sports or a
greater amount of time spent in child-led activities compared to adult-led activities
◦ Although the theoretical framework for early specialisation/deliberate practice and early
diversification/ deliberate play has been important in guiding research about athletes’
development research in the last several years, empirical evidence has demonstrated that
deliberate practice and deliberate play are not exclusive activities within expertise
development → three additional types of activities that can be included on the
continuum between deliberate practice and deliberate play:
(1) play practice: share most of the characteristics of deliberate practice (i.e. prescribed
by an adult and designed to improve performance), however, emphasise fun and games
→ typically represents the games played by young people and is designed to keep them
motivated
(2) spontaneous practice: informal learning and is organised by children in their free
time (as deliberate play); nevertheless, it is structured with the main goal of improving
aspects of athletes’ sport skills (e.g. child practice skill without being told/monitored by
adult)
(3) organized competition: activity that is highly enjoyable and not specifically
structured to improve performance, though it requires concentration and effort and is led
by adults
performance
Introduction
• nature vs nurture
◦ nurture: examined athletes’ sport participation from a developmental perspective in order
to understand what could influence the development of expert performance (e.g. parental
support, peer influence, coach behaviours, birthdate and birthplace effects, etc.) →
constitutes to what optimal environment for athletic development
▪ found that:
(1) the amount of deliberate practice (i.e. relevant, effortful activities done with the
specific goal of improving performance) is a key factor in distinguishing performers
at different skill levels;
(2) deliberate play (i.e. intrinsically motivating activities that provide immediate
gratification and are designed to maximize enjoyment) is also an important early
learning activity in the development of expertise in sport;
(3) both early specialization (i.e. investment in one activity and in deliberate practice
from a young age) and early diversification (early participation in a wide variety of
sports with high levels of deliberate play and low levels of deliberate practice) are
suitable pathways to reach expertise in sport
• main purpose: review the role of developmental activities and participation trends in the
acquisition of expert performance and talent development → review developmental sport
activities and the models that have been proposed to explain how athletes develop in sport &
propose new directions for future research
Method
• criteria for including study in review:
(1) focus on athlete development, talent development, developmental pathways, learning
activities or athlete development model
(2) be in English
(3) peer-reviewed
• included 54 articles
Results
Theoretical background in talent development research
1. The role of developmental activities in talent development
◦ developmental activities undertaken by children in specific learning environments are
important contributors for skill development and should be explored when examining
early talent development programs in sport
◦ found that the most effective learning occurs through involvement in deliberate practice
activities → fosters skill development and performance enhancement
▪ focuses on factors such as concentration, effort, motivation and relevance
▪ optimal learning and improvement of performance occur when involved in activities
that lead the individual to focus on, persist in, and tolerate high levels of specific,
appropriate and pertinent practice, wherein they ‘are motivated to practice because
practice improves performance
▪ individuals who start early and practice at the higher levels will have a higher level
of performance throughout development than those who practice equally hard but
start later → young athletes who are involved in high amounts of deliberate practice
early will have a better chance to develop into elite performers
, ▪ early specialisation approach to talent development in sport includes an early start
age in one sport and an early investment in focused intensive training such as
deliberate practice
• research in sport has shown that expert athletes have usually accumulated
between 4000 to 6000 hours of sport-specific practice before reaching an expert
level of performance
• there re other important activities and experiences other that quantity of
deliberate practice that contribute to development of expertise in sport
▪ additionally to quantity of deliberate practice throughout development, the subjective
experience that defines deliberate practice was studied as well
• subjective experience that differentiates deliberate practice from other sport
activities consists of a series of tenets related to the effort and enjoyment of
deliberate practice → high effort, low enjoyment (mixed results)
• focus on specialized training during the early stages of development has been
associated with several negative consequences (e.g. increase risk of injuries and
decrease in enjoyment and stifle psychosocial development
• by reducing the number of opportunities for growth in these areas) → reducing
our understanding of the talent development process by only considering the
involvement in a single form of activity (i.e. deliberate practice) fails to
acknowledge the important role of other activities in the acquisition of expert
performance (e.g. informal free-play activities of infant)
◦ deliberate play: early developmental activities that are intrinsically motivating, provide
immediate gratification, and are specifically designed to maximize enjoyment →
essential activity in the early involvement of athletes in sport
▪ athletes who had a diversified early sport experience and engaged in deliberate play
during childhood could achieve an elite level of performance in sport
▪ early diversification is thought to lead to sport expertise because of the intrinsic
motivation that stems from the fun, enjoyment and competence children experience
through their sporting involvement
▪ still unknown about the possible transfer of learning across different sport activities
experienced in the early stages of development and its contribution to sport expertise
and whether early diversification and the development of expertise are a result of a
delayed start in deliberate practice in the primary sport, the child’s intention to have
fun during the early sport experiences, diversification across several sports or a
greater amount of time spent in child-led activities compared to adult-led activities
◦ Although the theoretical framework for early specialisation/deliberate practice and early
diversification/ deliberate play has been important in guiding research about athletes’
development research in the last several years, empirical evidence has demonstrated that
deliberate practice and deliberate play are not exclusive activities within expertise
development → three additional types of activities that can be included on the
continuum between deliberate practice and deliberate play:
(1) play practice: share most of the characteristics of deliberate practice (i.e. prescribed
by an adult and designed to improve performance), however, emphasise fun and games
→ typically represents the games played by young people and is designed to keep them
motivated
(2) spontaneous practice: informal learning and is organised by children in their free
time (as deliberate play); nevertheless, it is structured with the main goal of improving
aspects of athletes’ sport skills (e.g. child practice skill without being told/monitored by
adult)
(3) organized competition: activity that is highly enjoyable and not specifically
structured to improve performance, though it requires concentration and effort and is led
by adults
