Full Description
Identifying talent in athletes and developing that ability to its fullest potential is a central concern of sport scientists, sports coaches and sports policy makers. This book offers a comprehensive synthesis of current knowledge in talent identification and development in sport, from the biological basis of ability to the systems and processes within sport through which that ability is nurtured.Written by a team of leading international experts, the book explores key factors and issues in contemporary sport, including:geneticssecondary factors such as birth date, cultural context and population sizeperceptual motor skill acquisition and expertisesports development policyin-depth case studies, including European soccer, East African running and US pro sports.With an emphasis throughout on practical implications and processes for all those working in sport, the book offers an authoritative evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of contemporary systems for identifying and developing talent in sport. This is important reading for any student, researcher or practitioner with an interest in skill acquisition, youth sport, elite sport, sports coaching or sports development.
Contents
Preface 1. Identification & Development of Sport TalentIntroduction to a Growing Field of Research and Practice Steve Cobley, Joerg Schorer and Joseph Baker Section One: Theoretical and conceptual models for understanding talent identification and development 2. Do genes predict potential? Genetic factors and athletic success Joseph Baker 3. Building talent development systems on mechanistic principles: Making them better at what makes them good AineMacNamara and Dave Collins 4. Environmental influences on early development in sports experts Sean Horton 5. What skill acquisition and expertise research tells us about talent identification and development Damian Farrow 6. Dynamical systems theory as a multi-disciplinary framework for understanding expertise and talent development in sport Ian Renshaw, Keith Davids, Elissa Phillips and Hugo Kerherve Section Two: International case studies of talent identification and development 7. Talent Identification and Development in Women's Artistic Gymnastics: The Talent Opportunity Program (TOPs) William A. Sands 8. Who are the superstars of tomorrow? Talent development in Dutch soccer Marije T. Elferink-Gemser and Chris Visscher 9. Talent identification, selection and development in UK Junior Rugby League: An evolving process Kevin Till, Chris Chapman, Steve Cobley, John O'Hara and Carleton Cooke 10. Back to the future - A case report of the ongoingevaluationprocess of the German handball talent selection and development system. Joerg Schorer, Dirk Busch, Lennart Fischer, Jan Pabst, Rebecca Rienhoff, Peter Sichelschmidt, and Bernd Strauss 11. Explaining African dominance in running Yannis Pitsiladis 12. Applying Talent Identification Programs at a System Wide Level: The Evolution of Australia's National Program Jason Gulbin 13. Lessons learned: The future of research in talent identification and development Joseph Baker, Joerg Schorer and Steve Cobley
