Lecture 22: Talent Identification (Part 2)

Question 1

Describe in detail Cote’s sport participation model.

Answer 1

Sampling –> Specialising –> Investment –> Maintenance or Recreational

Sampling (5-12):

Many sports
Transferable skills
Enjoyment is the priority
Reliance on parents

Specialisation (13-15):

Narowed focus
Enjoyment still important
Focus on sport-specific improvement
Emotional and financial support is required

Investment (16+)

One sport
Large amounts of financial and emotional support
Sacrifices by family
Skills and strategies developed for competition

Maintenance (16+)

Staying at the top
Focusing on quality of training not quantity
Stress from outside sources like sponsors

Recreational

Enjoyment and personal growth
Engaging in PA

Question 2

What are the three factors that influence children to choose one sport over another?

Answer 2

Recommendation from an older sibling
Relationship with coach
Inherent enjoyment of the sport

Question 3

What methods of data collection were used in Russle and Limle’s study looking at sampling vs. specialization?

Answer 3

Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale

Demographic Questionnaire

Question 4

What did Russle and Limle conclude about the effects of sampling vs. specialisation as a child, on participation in sport as an adult?

Answer 4

Specialisation resulted in less involvement in sport as an adult, but enjoyment as a child was the same

Question 5

What 6 factors have been identified as risks of sport specialisation?

Answer 5

Burnout 
Injury 
Extrinsic Motivation 
Motor Development 
Cognitive Development 
Stress

Question 6

Describe the ISSP’s postulations on sampling and specialisation.

Answer 6

1: Lots of sampling is not negative
2. Sampling linked to a longer career and longer team involvement
3. Sampling is linked to positive youth development
4. Builds a solid foundation for intrinsic motivation and enjoyment
5. Stimulates a range of cognitive and motor experiences
6. When finishing primary school, children should be given the opportunity to specialise or become involved in recreational sport
7. Late adolescents have the developed skills needed to specialise

Question 7

After applying four different burnout questionnaires, what did Strachan et al. identify about sampling and specialisation, and their role in burnout?

Answer 7

Sampling: positive effects on.. Family integration, relationships, social capital, community links (YES)

Specialisation: increased exposure to diverse groups (YES) but increased emotional and physical exhaustion

Question 8

What differences did Cote et al. find in the ‘getting there’ years of the sport participation model between experts and non-experts?

Answer 8

Experts performed more sampling early on but then specialised at an earlier stage

Question 9

What did Bloom et al. propose about player, coach and parent characteristics during the investment years?

Answer 9

Initiation: (Player) - joyful, excited, special (Coach) kind, encouraging, process-centred (Parents) helpful, positive, shared excitement

Development: (Player) - hooked, committed (Coach) - strong, skilled, demanding (Parent) - made sacrifices

Perfection: (Player) - obsessed (Coach) - high status, successful, emotional bond

Question 10

What did Cote et al. claim about the role of different social influences, as athletes moved through the sport participation model?

Answer 10

Coaches: helpers –> specialists

Parents: leaders –> supporters / direct –> indirect involvement

Peers: are involved in the same sport

Question 11

What are the disadvantages of talent identification?

Answer 11

Different physiological aspects within the same sport (even same position)
Different personalities in the same sport (what to look for?)
Negative consequences (burnout, injury, confidence, motivation)

Question 12

What is relative deprivation?

Answer 12

Forming of impressions locally rather than globally

Big-fish-little-pond