Talent development in sport
th
Exam: Oct. 27 ; 8:30u – 9:30u
HC1 Introduction to sport sciences and talent development (05/09)
Learning goal: After the 1st lecture the student has an understanding of the design and set
up of the Minor Sport Science and specifically of the course ‘Talent development in sport’.
What makes a talent?
Age: scouted at a young age;
Discipline: you have to have motivation
Performing better than peers
Influenced by injuries
Mental part more important than physical
Injuries
Training: putting all the effort in it
Sacrifice
Patience: it takes time to see results of training
Has the potential to become an elite athlete in the future
Anthropometrics: size, weight, BMI, leg/arm length
Environment plays a role: having support from parents/teachers.
Self regulation: proactive with going to teachers/coach; how to regulate your homework;
what do you want to improve in training; metacognitive, motivationally and behaviourally
active in his/her own learning process.
Low success rate, elite sport is exclusive
Talent development is a long term process with many intervening factors
Sport performance is influenced by:
, Individual factors
o Anthropometrics: size, BMI, leg/arm length
Task factors
Environment factors
o Such as support parents/teachers
Definition of talented athlete
“A talented athlete is someone who performs better than peers during training and
competition, AND has the potential to become an elite athlete in the future” (Howe, 1998)
An alite athlete can’t do things on their own, it
needs support from for example their family
supportive environment has positive influence
Self-regulation a self-regulated athlete is someone who is metacognitive, motivationally,
and behaviourally active in his/her own learning process.
For example: Sanne Wevers is always in control, which is shown by ‘the book of Wevers’.
After her performance, she writes directly in a diary how she feels, what she did wrong, what
she thought was going well; she directly reflects her performance.
Other side of the coin
Talents are individuals and not machines and therefore science is not all.
Adults who are in anyway fostering a young talent, should keep thinking about what is best
for the talent.
Use sport science to understand processes and use it as guidelines to improve yourself and
people around you.
Other side of the coin examples: moving out of parents house at an early age, depression,
eating disorders (anorexia).
Example: on the way home
Many children report receiving criticism on their performance in the car ride home. While
some children may be able to block out the yelling from the sidelines during a game, it is
impossible to escape the criticism post-game. Not only does this contribute to sport dropout
rates, but it can negatively affect a child’s self-esteem, and contribute to fatigue.
Attitude may be the biggest contributor to whether children continue to enjoy sports or not,
and will help shape how confident they are as a player.
What is sport science?
No driving the decision-making process.
Yes Providing data and information to inform the decision-making process;
Sport science is not deciding, but supporting!
,HC2 How to study talent? (07/09)
Learning goal: After the 2nd lecture the student can argue how talent can be studied in terms
of definition, different models and study designs.
Learning questions:
1. Explain why in a definition of talent, both a youth athlete’s current level of
performance and his/her future level of performance need to be included. Relate this
to a sport of your own choice.
2. Give an example of a design that researchers can use to study talented athletes. In
addition, give two features of your chosen study design.
What is talent?
Nature: genetics
o A natural ability; skill; genes
o Still: the best people need practice
o It is beneficial to be very good in something by nature
Nurture: due to training you learn stuff; social environment;
o Influence of external factors after conception e.g. the product of exposure,
experience and learning of an individual
Curiosity self-regulation; curious about your own development
Passion put effort in the development;
Definition of talent: A talented athlete is a youth athlete who performs better than peers
during training and competition AND has the potential to become an elite athlete in the
future.
Potential multifactorial (many factors play a role); you cannot predict the future
o People can show up at a young age, but also at a older age;
, Different models
How is the development going from child to expert performer?
Model Vaeyens
Being better than peers/potential to be a talent
(=detection) based on the whole group of peers
Detection: discovery of potential performers who are
not currently involved in the sport yet
Selection: choosing the most appropriate (group of)
athletes to complete a specific task (in a team)
In each (age) level the talent needs to be confirmed;
Model Ericsson/Janelle
The higher the level of
performance, the less people
participate
Model Cobley Cooke
In the normal population, a few people have the talent. There will be identification of these
talents. Towards the stages of talent development, there are a few people who have the
potential to become elite athletes.
Eventually you develop yourself as a talent
People can quit in the trajectory as an elite athlete (no support, lack of motivation); but
people can also be thrown back to an original level (you can continue yourself further as a
talent)
th
Exam: Oct. 27 ; 8:30u – 9:30u
HC1 Introduction to sport sciences and talent development (05/09)
Learning goal: After the 1st lecture the student has an understanding of the design and set
up of the Minor Sport Science and specifically of the course ‘Talent development in sport’.
What makes a talent?
Age: scouted at a young age;
Discipline: you have to have motivation
Performing better than peers
Influenced by injuries
Mental part more important than physical
Injuries
Training: putting all the effort in it
Sacrifice
Patience: it takes time to see results of training
Has the potential to become an elite athlete in the future
Anthropometrics: size, weight, BMI, leg/arm length
Environment plays a role: having support from parents/teachers.
Self regulation: proactive with going to teachers/coach; how to regulate your homework;
what do you want to improve in training; metacognitive, motivationally and behaviourally
active in his/her own learning process.
Low success rate, elite sport is exclusive
Talent development is a long term process with many intervening factors
Sport performance is influenced by:
, Individual factors
o Anthropometrics: size, BMI, leg/arm length
Task factors
Environment factors
o Such as support parents/teachers
Definition of talented athlete
“A talented athlete is someone who performs better than peers during training and
competition, AND has the potential to become an elite athlete in the future” (Howe, 1998)
An alite athlete can’t do things on their own, it
needs support from for example their family
supportive environment has positive influence
Self-regulation a self-regulated athlete is someone who is metacognitive, motivationally,
and behaviourally active in his/her own learning process.
For example: Sanne Wevers is always in control, which is shown by ‘the book of Wevers’.
After her performance, she writes directly in a diary how she feels, what she did wrong, what
she thought was going well; she directly reflects her performance.
Other side of the coin
Talents are individuals and not machines and therefore science is not all.
Adults who are in anyway fostering a young talent, should keep thinking about what is best
for the talent.
Use sport science to understand processes and use it as guidelines to improve yourself and
people around you.
Other side of the coin examples: moving out of parents house at an early age, depression,
eating disorders (anorexia).
Example: on the way home
Many children report receiving criticism on their performance in the car ride home. While
some children may be able to block out the yelling from the sidelines during a game, it is
impossible to escape the criticism post-game. Not only does this contribute to sport dropout
rates, but it can negatively affect a child’s self-esteem, and contribute to fatigue.
Attitude may be the biggest contributor to whether children continue to enjoy sports or not,
and will help shape how confident they are as a player.
What is sport science?
No driving the decision-making process.
Yes Providing data and information to inform the decision-making process;
Sport science is not deciding, but supporting!
,HC2 How to study talent? (07/09)
Learning goal: After the 2nd lecture the student can argue how talent can be studied in terms
of definition, different models and study designs.
Learning questions:
1. Explain why in a definition of talent, both a youth athlete’s current level of
performance and his/her future level of performance need to be included. Relate this
to a sport of your own choice.
2. Give an example of a design that researchers can use to study talented athletes. In
addition, give two features of your chosen study design.
What is talent?
Nature: genetics
o A natural ability; skill; genes
o Still: the best people need practice
o It is beneficial to be very good in something by nature
Nurture: due to training you learn stuff; social environment;
o Influence of external factors after conception e.g. the product of exposure,
experience and learning of an individual
Curiosity self-regulation; curious about your own development
Passion put effort in the development;
Definition of talent: A talented athlete is a youth athlete who performs better than peers
during training and competition AND has the potential to become an elite athlete in the
future.
Potential multifactorial (many factors play a role); you cannot predict the future
o People can show up at a young age, but also at a older age;
, Different models
How is the development going from child to expert performer?
Model Vaeyens
Being better than peers/potential to be a talent
(=detection) based on the whole group of peers
Detection: discovery of potential performers who are
not currently involved in the sport yet
Selection: choosing the most appropriate (group of)
athletes to complete a specific task (in a team)
In each (age) level the talent needs to be confirmed;
Model Ericsson/Janelle
The higher the level of
performance, the less people
participate
Model Cobley Cooke
In the normal population, a few people have the talent. There will be identification of these
talents. Towards the stages of talent development, there are a few people who have the
potential to become elite athletes.
Eventually you develop yourself as a talent
People can quit in the trajectory as an elite athlete (no support, lack of motivation); but
people can also be thrown back to an original level (you can continue yourself further as a
talent)
