Talent ID: Which characteristics are associated with sporting success? - 10.2 - research Flashcards
Webdale er al. (2019)
Though the existence of Relative Age Effects (RAEs) has been documented through a multitude of studies spanning various sports and levels of play, application of solutions related to RAEs has been limited. In this review, the strengths and weaknesses of various proposed solutions to RAEs in youth sport are considered. Our objective was to identify, collate, and disseminate a comprehensive list of solutions related to the prevalence of RAEs in youth sport. English language, peer-reviewed articles were searched using the SPORTDiscuss database. Keywords ‘relative age’, ‘relative age effect’, and sport were used to locate research articles. The inclusion criteria were the following: (1) publication date between January 1980 and December 2018; (2) solutions were suggested related to RAEs. Sixty-three peer-reviewed publications contained proposed solutions to RAEs. Many solutions have been proposed to address RAEs in sport. Most are theoretical and there has been no attempt to implement them. Future research should test possible proposed solutions to RAEs in sport. However, implementing these solutions has the potential to both positively and negatively affect career and life outcomes for those athletes involved. Therefore, it is important to be cautious in how these possible solutions are tested.
Pickering et al. (2019)
genetic testing is being increasingly used
utilised as a tool to predict future elite athlete status
can guide nutrition and training recommendations and assist in the prevention of injury
should still be combined with other tools
use of genotype scores
Elite athlete status is a partially heritable trait, as are many of the underpinning physiological, anthropometrical, and psychological traits that contribute to elite performance. In recent years, our understanding of the specific genetic variants that contribute to these traits has grown, such that there is considerable interest in attempting to utilise genetic information as a tool to predict future elite athlete status. In this review, we explore the extent of the genetic influence on the making of a sporting champion and we describe issues which, at present, hamper the utility of genetic testing in identifying future elite performers. We build on this by exploring what further knowledge is required to enhance this process, including a reflection on the potential learnings from the use of genetics as a disease prediction tool. Finally, we discuss ways in which genetic information may hold utility within elite sport in the future, including guiding nutritional and training recommendations, and assisting in the prevention of injury. Whilst genetic testing has the potential to assist in the identification of future talented performers, genetic tests should be combined with other tools to obtain an accurate identification of those athletes predisposed to succeed in sport. The use of total genotype scores, composed of a high number of performance-enhancing polymorphisms, will likely be one of the best strategies in the utilisation of genetic information to identify talent in sport.
Podrigalo et al. (2018)
Purpose: To substantiate and develop a methodology for predicting success in kickboxing on the basis of analysis of morphofunctional, physiological, biomechanical and psychophysiological indicators. Material: it was examined athletes of kickboxing (n=185, age 18.58 +- 0.46 years). It was studied the features of physical development (n = 18). The main biomechanical parameters (n=45) were determined. Goniometric indices of limb joints (n=29) were studied. It was studied the features of psychophysiological reactions (n =76). The adaptive capabilities of the cardiovascular system were studied (n=17). The prognostication is carried out by means of a sequential Wald procedure. Prognostic coefficients and their informativity were calculated. Results: a prognostic table was developed containing the indicators of the functional state of kickboxing athletes. The table includes 31 criteria, the informativeness of which varied within 115,45 - 2,23. The content of the forecast consists in: an evaluation of the results; determination of the corresponding prognostic coefficient; summation of coefficients. The threshold was set at the level +- 13, which corresponds to a probability of 95% (p<0,05). Exceeding the positive threshold means a high level of success for the athlete. When the negative threshold is reached, the probability of success is low. Conclusions: The proposed methodology is based on a sequential analysis of Wald. The technique is a simple, informative and objective tool for monitoring and predicting the status of athletes.
Rogaleva et al. (2019)
Sport is a popular activity for young people. At the same time, they are often not psychologically ready to overcome the difficulties of sports activities. The purpose of the study is to identify the optimal coping strategies of athletes who ensure success in sports and to identify the features of psychological reliability among athletes of different skill levels. 60 student-athletes involved in various sports (climbing, judo, athletics, team sports, etc.) participated. The first group included athletes of the first category (27 people), and the second group of candidates for the master of sports (33 people). The study proved that coping strategies and mental reliability are closely related to the level of sportsmanship. Higher-level athletes (candidates and masters of sports) demonstrate more active coping strategies and have a higher level of competitive emotional stability. The data obtained must be taken into account when conducting psychological work with athletes and further research may be devoted to the study of conditions that ensure the formation of more adequate behavioral strategies for athletes that provide a higher level of their sportsmanship.
Harrolle and Klay (2019)
Our study examines the overall motivation of professional athletes in an effort to assist sport organizations in understanding their most important asset, the players. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the experiences and motivations of professional athletes within a team setting. Researchers conducted individual semi-structured interviews with 13 professional American football players. Seven themes were present within the data including a love of the game, selfmotivation, sense of community, professional development, engagement with fans, assist the league, and lack of financial support, which was identified as a deterrent to motivation. Teams should increase investment in the professional development of players as valuable human resources to increase overall organizational success.
Steca et al. (2018)
The present study investigates whether the Big Five personality traits are different among diverse sports populations. A sample of 881 male athletes and non-athletes completed a self-report questionnaire measuring their personality traits. The Exploratory Structure Equation Modeling (ESEM) approach is adopted to test measurement invariance and mean differences among groups. The results indicate that athletes who had experienced the most success in their sport scored higher than non-athletes in each personality dimension of the Big Five, with the exception of openness, while less successful athletes scored higher than non-athletes only in extraversion and agreeableness. The more successful athletes showed higher agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability than the less successful athletes. Individual-sport athletes were found to be more energetic and open than team-sport athletes. The current findings help clarify the relationships between personality traits, sports participation and athletic success.
Pitts and Evans (2018)
performance on the Wonderlic test is positively correlated with NFL performance
but not with draft position
Brox and Krieger (2019)
We present a simple model to illustrate how birthplace diversity may affect team performance. The model assumes that birthplace diversity increases the stock of available knowledge due to skill complementarities and decreases efficiency due to communication barriers. The consequence of these two opposing effects is a hump-shaped relationship between birthplace diversity and team performance. To verify this prediction, we exploit self-collected data on the first division of German male soccer. Our data set covers 7,028 matches and includes information about 3,266 players coming from 98 countries. We propose two different instrumental variable approaches to identify the effect of birthplace diversity on team performance. Our findings suggest that an intermediate level of birthplace diversity maximizes team performance.
Lupo et al. (2019)
RAE over a range of sports
born close to the beginning of the year = 1-2x more likely to reach higher levels
RAE present in at least one sport in each phase
Budziszewski (2018)
Past research has stressed the influence that environmental factors, such as population of one’s birthplace, can impact the likelihood of attaining success. Moreover, several studies of professional sports have found over-representations of successful athletes from small cities, while showing an under-representation of individuals from larger cities, with 500,000 inhabitants being the cut-off (e.g., Côté et al., 2006). To holistically examine the birthplace effect, the role of population density has also been explored, with varying results depending on sports and countries being considered (Hancock et al., 2017; Rossing et al., 2016). Taking both city population and density into account, the purpose of the present ongoing study is to investigate birthplace effects in male and female collegiate (NCAA) and professional (WNBA and NBA) basketball athletes. The US census was utilized to gather birthplace data for 8,060 NCAA, 400 WNBA and 382 NBA athletes. Data analysis is currently ongoing, and will involve computing odds ratios to examine whether certain populations or densities were significantly different from the general US population at the collegiate and professional levels. Based on prior research, the expected results should reveal an over-representation for both male and female basketball players in areas that have between 250,000- 500,000 inhabitants (MacDonald et al., 2007; Côté et al., 2006). By examining both collegiate and professional and male and female athletes while considering multiple casual variables, the present study helps shed light on environmental factors that lead to success in sport.
Brown et al. (2018)
Appraising supporters as caring and understanding enabled support to be effective.
Family and peers (other retired athletes) were the most effective supporters.
Participants often found it difficult to seek support and ask for help.
Social support played a positive role in reshaping the participants’ sense of self.
Providing support to others was just as effective as receiving support.
