Stages of Talent Development in Sport: Implications for the Player/Athlete Pathway

1. Stages of Talent Development in Sport: Implications for the Player/Athlete Pathway

2. CONTEXT

3. 3 Sections...... • Stages of Development • Practice • Pathway

4. Stages of Development Stage 1: Early years “Play” – unstructured and intrinsically enjoyable activity Stage 2: Middle years Structured activities, introduction to deliberate practice with greater emphasis on skill performance Stage 3: Later years Amount of deliberate practice is increased and advanced coaches are sought Bloom, 1985; Ericsson & Charness, 1994

5. Key Variables Skills learned Relationships formed

6. Developing Expertise • 10-year rule • 10,000 hours deliberate practice • Evidence from chess, music, soccer, hockey and wrestling (Starkes et al., 2001)

7. Some Limitations of Ericsson’s Theory • Quality of practice NB • Timing of practice • Not all skills require 10 years • Criteria of deliberate practice: Enjoyment? (Young, 1998) - Canadian runners’ diaries • Age of specialisation varies from sport to sport • Role of coaching/family variable

8. Role of Family • Some disagreement • Cote (2001), - parental support NB • but van Rossum and van der Loo (1997) found no significant effect of parental support

9. What next? • Analysis of practice patterns/enjoyed and least enjoyed training activites “It is time to focus on what should be practised, how it should be practised and how knowledge is best conveyed.” (Starkes et al, 2001)

10. Template for Player/Athlete Pathway 1 2 Transition 3 International Intl World Class Transition Transition 1 2 Recreational Participation Junior Development Introduction Introduction Introduction 1 2 3 Basic Movement Skills Multi-sport stage Stage of choice

11. The Player and Athlete Pathway? “Might be defined as the stages that athletes pass through in pursuit of their goals.......... recognising the stages of life passed through.”

12. Player/Athlete Pathway World Class International National Regional District Club Early Middle Later LIFE STAGE ‘10 Yr. Rule’

13. Principles of the Player and Athlete Pathway • Generally, expert performers will pass through 3 or four stages • Expert performance takes anything up to or beyond 10 years • What distinguishes the stages is: • the demands of the stage • the skills and capacities required at each stage • the nature of the relationships formed at each stage

14. Principles of the Player and Athlete Pathway cont’ • Competition and opportunity will vary within each and so too will the rate at which performers pass through the stages • The length of the Pathway will vary according to the demands of the sport • The length and type of journey through the pathway will vary from individual to individual • Success along the pathway results from a blend of a number of factors

15. Why a Pathway? • Provides a tool for athletes to plan their careers • Defines the competition, training and other demands at each stage • Identifies barriers to progression and thus a means of overcoming them • Identifies when stages are skipped

16. Why a Pathway? • Provides a framework within which relevant services can be delivered • Provides a framework for efficient planning, development and review • In order to actualise - one must visualise what one is trying to achieve

17. QUESTIONS?

18. Where to from here?