Talent Identification and Development Systems in Youth Sports - Book Report/Review Example

Talent Identification and Development Systems in Youth Sports Introduction Many children have been striving for a long time to achieve excellence in sports. However, there lacks a standard framework through which talent identification and development should be done. Additionally, there have been a lot of concerns and debates about the validity of the models used in evaluating the talents in children since these models are rarely assessed. As a result, many children give up in sports at an early adolescent age due to the inefficient models and development programmes, which focus only on the current performances and pay little or no attention to the future (Baly, Way and Higgs 2013, p. 45). The essay discusses the problem associated with talent identification in youth due to the inefficiencies in models and development programmes. Talent identification can be defined as the process of recognizing players who have certain talents, which can facilitate their success in sports in the future. Talent development, on the other hand, refers to the creation of a learning environment so as to realize the potential in the identified players (Pankhurst and Collins 2013, p. 234). Talent identification models have been questioned severally where people claim that they are not scientifically proven. Research has shown that the traditional talent identification model known as the cross-sectional design has been problematic to many club teams and national federations in improving the players’ performance. The problems posed by the model include use of wrong variables in measuring the current players’ performance, maturity related problems, dynamic nature of youth talents and their development and focus of a limited range of variables in determining performance (Whitehead, Telfer and Lambart 2014, p. 101). Problems associated with Talent Identification and Development Systems The cross-sectional designs focus on predicting success in adult by measuring the current sports performance in adolescents. The measurement of sports performance is mainly based on physical, psychological, tactical characteristics of the adolescents. As stated earlier this talent identification model has posed a lot of problems to the club teams and national federations (Cater and Fraser-Thomas 2011, p. 75). The model requires that you extrapolate the particular characteristics that lead to success in adulthood to identify and nurture the young talented players. However, it has been revealed that the youngsters who have these characteristics do not necessarily mean that they will perform well during adulthood. In addition, club teams have claimed that this approach has achieved little or no success in their sports matches. As a result, many people have, therefore, discarded this model in practice and adopted the simple selection of players according to their performance. Another problem that has affected talent identification is the impacts of rate of maturation on sports performance. This is a common problem to many club teams who have adopted the cross-cultural approach in determining adult performance in their identified youngsters. It has been revealed that biological characteristics in adolescents rarely progress at the same rate with age. For example, the most targeted biological makeups include aerobic power, muscular endurance and strength and general intelligence. Note that these characteristics are essential in sports and remain the key aspect in coaching and physical exercises directed by coaches. However, the traits usually change with age, and some adolescents end up decreasing their performance over time. Studies have shown that the problem is caused by model inefficiencies, as well as, the club teams who administer development systems to adolescent at very early ages and thus ruining the characteristics (Wiium et al. 2010, p. 34). The third problem brought about by the cross-cultural talent identification model is the dynamic nature of youth talent and its development. After identification of talents in youngsters, the specific adolescents are admitted to various development systems. These development programmes are usually meant to grow the talent, as well as, the players’ physical and psychological abilities. However, it has been shown that the talent itself changes over time in the adolescent age. There are some differences in individual growth rates and response to the development systems. It has been found that some adolescents may take a long time to learn and achieve success while others learn and develop sport skills very fast. However, most coaches are unaware of this fact and thus eliminate the youngsters who don’t show up their abilities in the first months or years. Therefore, they end up losing some talented adolescents due to the use of the cross-cultural model (Epstein 2013, p. 91). The last problem created by the model is that it focuses on a limited range of variables inadequately. For example, the coaching philosophy is that talents should be nurtured similarly for all players by improving the physical, biological and tactical attributes (Dominguez and Hager 2013, p. 21). This norm has caused problems in that some adolescents in the development systems don’t perform and they are expected. This is connected to the fact that some characteristics are compensatory in nature. For example, adolescents subjected to strict training schedules may have problems in performing physically (USA Volleyball (Organization) 2009, p. 78). If the coaches don’t realise that fact, they may eliminate talented youngsters by using the criteria for talent identification. #2 Impacts of the Problems associated with Talent Identification and Development The problem posed by cross-cultural model inefficiencies has affected my beliefs in many ways. First, I thought that talent identification is the most effective method as compared to talent selection. The fact that talent identification models are problematic to the implementers irritates me in that I have lost confidence in them. Secondly, I thought that future of our club teams will become successful when everybody adopts the talent identification models. However, the problems discussed earlier reveals to me that youth sports’ development will take a lot of time to improve. It is irritating that most national federations and clubs have invested in these development systems, which eventually turn out unsuccessful. I think we should embark on researching on better models that will facilitate talent identification and development (Meehan 2011, p. 34). I think that the problems discussed earlier in the essay affects the public perceptions towards youth sports negatively. Most parents and guardians give up their children to the coaching teams so as to nurture their talents. However, some of the children are eliminated in the course of training while others eventually fail to succeed in sports (Hallman and Petry 2013, p. 76). Thus, the society becomes frustrated by the entire youth development system since it doesn’t achieve its goals. It seems that the challenges posed by talent identification methods are not only felt within the clubs but also in the entire society. Although, the training programmes achieve success in some cases, there remains dissatisfaction in the midst of the community. The parents may as well feel left out if the talent identification models are not changed with time (Hodge and Londsale 2011, p. 321). The ineffective talent identification models seem to have changed the coaching philosophy that is based on nurturing the youngsters by comparing them with the adults in sports. The whole process of training adolescents consumes a lot of resources and time, but, eventually gives unexpected results. This is irritating to the club managers who adhere to the old norms of training adolescents and achieve success. It is evident that club managers have also trusted the models and talent development systems for a long time. They may feel threatened by parents because of eliminating some of the adolescents in their training programmes. It seems that the inefficient models not only defies the dreams and beliefs of the parents but also limits the achievement of club teams’ objectives (Nash and Sproule 2012, p. 70). The problems have also impacted on the behaviours of club teams, the society and even the adolescents whose talents are being nurtured. First, the youngsters undergoing training may feel discouraged after they are eliminated from the club teams and as result, quit sports in their entire lives. Secondly, the club teams may adjust to the simple selection of players according to their current performance instead of focusing on the future performance. Thirdly, the society may disregard and withdraw their resources including the children from sports completely (Cushion, Ford and Williams 2012, p. 100). Solutions and Recommendations Research shows that the inefficient talent identification models can be revised and give better results. Additionally, it is recommended that the club teams should provide many development opportunities by creating a large pool of adolescents who are interested in sports (Handcock and Cassidy 2014, p. 67). In this way, the coaches will realize the full potential possessed by individual youngsters and thus achieve success. The newly developed talent identification model should focus on the varying needs and characteristics of the youngsters and nurture them so as to achieve the set goals. As discussed earlier, you have seen that the rate of maturity growth impacts on the biological characteristics differently where some adolescents grow normally and others unusually. The problem can be solved by applying the new model to nurture the youngsters individually other than using the collective approach to all of them. As indicated earlier, the traditional cross-cultural model assumes that if the adult characteristics of success are extrapolated to the youngsters, then their talents will be nurtured adequately. I think the assumption is wrong because it does not mean that an adolescent with adult characteristics of success will necessarily retain them until his/her old age. Obviously, some will change and others will not. This problem can be solved by applying the new model, which targets the individual in a talent development system because the coaches will discover these differences among the youngsters. Additionally, the club managers should ensure that no youngsters are subjected to the development age at an acceptable age. This is because most coaches have been training the youngsters at a very young age so as to achieve great success within a short time (Lara-Bercial and Duffy 2013, p. 60). References List Baly I, Way R & Higgs C 2013, Long-term athlete development, Champaign, IL, Human Kinetics. Cater J and Fraser-Thomas J 2011, Youth involvement and positive development in sport. Sport Psychology: A Canadian Perspective 9(2), 226-255. Cushion C, Ford P and Williams A 2012, Coach Behaviours and practice structures in youth soccer: Implications for talent development. Journal of Sports Sciences 30(15), 1631-1641. Dominguez N and Hager M 2013, Mentoring Frameworks: Synthesis and Critique. International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in education 23(3), 171-188. Epstein D J 2013, The sports gene: inside the science of extraordinary athletic performance. New York, Routledge. Hallmann K & Petry K 2013, Comparative Sport Development Systems, Participation and Public Policy, New York, NY, Springer. Handcock P and Cassidy T 2014, Reflective Practice for Rugby Union Strength and Conditioning Coaches. Strength and Conditional Journal 36 (1), 41-45. Hodge K and Londsale C 2011, Prosocial and antisocial behaviour in sport: The role of coaching style, autonomous vs. controlled motivation, and moral disengagement. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology 33 (4), 527-547. Lara-Bercial S and Duffy P 2013, A Glimpse at the New International Sport Coaching Framework. Olympic Coach Publication 24(2), 29-36. Meehan W P 2011, Kids, sports, and concussion: a guide for coaches and parents, Santa Barbara, Calif, Praeger. Nash C and Sproule J 2012, Coaches perceptions of coach education experiences. International Journal of Sport Psychology 4(3), 33-52. Pankhurst A & Collins D 2013, Talent Identification and Development: The Need for Coherence between Research, System, and Process. Quest 6 (5), 83-97. USA Volleyball (Organization) 2009, Volleyball systems & strategies, Champaign, IL, Human Kinetics. Whitehead J, Telfer H & Lambert J 2014, Values in youth sport and physical education, New York, Cengage Learning. Wiium, N, Lie, S A, Ommundsen, Y & Enksen, H R 2010, Does relative age effect exist among Norwegian professional soccer players? International Journal of Applied Sports Sciences 22 (2), 66-76. Read More