EDKP-492: Talent Identification in Sports Midterm

Who created this definition: "Qualities identified at an earlier time that promotes at a future time"

Baker, 2012

Who created this definition: "Mastery of systematically developed ability that places someone in the top 10% of peers"

Gagne, 2011

Who created this definition: "Likelihood of becoming competent in a field depends on the innate attributes"

Howe, 1998

T or F: There is a set definition for Talent

false, there is no universal agreement on a single definition

"Recognizing athletes who pass the potential to excel in a future high-level performnace"

Talent identification

"Enhancing abilities through structured training, coaching, strength and conditioning and mental support"

Talent development

What is the goal of Talent Development

To create the best environment for learning and skill improvement

What is the Money Ball approach

Talent assessment based off data

Where did Money Ball originate from

-Based on baseball

-Beane (baseball athelte)

What is the goal of the Moneyball

To find undervalued athletes to buy with his limited budget

What's the earliest evidence of Talent Identification

Ancient Greece

Describe how talent identification was like in Ancient greece

-> Young athlete trained from a young age

-> Based on citizenship and moral

-> Trained for 10 months

What were the sports involved in talent identification in the 19th century?

mainly cricket, soccer and tennis

What was the selection process in the 19th century

- based on social class at first

- working class started getting involved

- selection was chosen through word of mouth

What are the problems with the concept of 'talent'? (3)

1. Creates a false divide between the talented and untalented

2. Ignores environmental influences

3. Focuses too much on early performance, causing athletes who aren't selected to quit too soon

What are some biases in Talent ID (3)

- Relative age effect: Older kids often seen as more talented

- Bithplace effect: Athletes from some regions are overrepresented in elite sports

- Socioeconomic factors: Access to resources, coaching, and equipment influences who gets labelled as 'talented'

What are the emerging views of what 'talent' is

- Innate

- Multidimensional

- Emergic

- Dynamic

- Symbiotic

Who's this definition of talent is by?

"The mastery of an outstanding systematically developed ability that places them in the top 10 % of their age group among activate participants"

OR

Cross-discipline

(Gagne, 2004; 2011)

Who's this definition of talent is by?

"A functional relationship developed between a performer and specific performance environment."

OR

Ecological dynamic

(Davids et al, 2017)

Definition of 'expertise', based on physiology

McKay et al. (2022)

who Definitied 'expertise', based on psychology

Swann et al. (2015)

What is the Burton place effect?

If you're born in a small to medium-sized city, it gives you more opportunities / higher chance of becoming an elite athlete

What are the 2 Main Methods of Identifying Talent ?

Scouting and training camps

Why the Actuarial Approach is used to identify talent? (Den Hartigh, 2018)

- Combined score (irrespective based on the athlete)

- Strict approach

- Reduces the likelihood of cognitive bias

What are some drawbacks of the actuarial approach?

- The 'seven variable' rule is too strict

- Can hurt some egos (coaches and scouts)

- Costly in the short term (data + resources)

- Investment (involves people with various expertise)

What is deliberate practice, according to Anders Ericsson?

To be good at something, you have to do it for 10,000 hours

How many hours of practice according to Joe Baker?

4,000 hours

Who came up with Diversification vs. specialization

Jean Coté

________ helps prevent injuries

Diversification

Why is diversification important

younger athletes tend to quit or retire early

genetics, physiology, inborn traits

nature

environment, coaching, training opportunities

nurture

Cognitive, physical, psychological, and social dimensions combined.

Multidimensional talent

Name two people who believe we should remove the term talent?

Kathyn Johnston and Joe Baker

Two people who believe we should keep the term talent?

David Mann and Daniel Fortin-Guichard

Why does Kathryn Johnston believe the term should be removed?

- Too vague

- Leads to measurement error

- Talent is identified too early in an athlete's career

Why does Joe Baker believe the term should be removed?

- Thinks it should be TEMPORARILY removed

- Bring the term back when there is sufficient evidence to define it

- Believes that removing it will inspire scientists and researchers

Why does David Mann believe the term should be kept?

- Provides a common language with coaches

- Some alternatives that were tried: giftedness, skilled, expertise, but they are equally problematic.

Why does Daniel Fortin-Guichard believe the term should be kept?

- Thinks it's the most practical term

- Since experts already know talent is rare, he argues it's still a useful idea while research continues.

Why is Clinical Judgement hard to justify when trying to identify talent?

- Subjective

- Often leads to disagreement

- No specific set of rules

What are some strengths of using actuarial judgement? (4)

- Science-based

- Has rules

- Reduces biases

- Helps justify selections

What model did Gublin et al. (2013) create

Sport Life Path

What was the Sport Life Path, and what did it determine?

- Gathered many athletes and studied where they first started their sport (e.g., local club)

- Concluded that most athletes begin their sports path recreationally

What did Gublin's pyramid graph show?

- t's easier to a "talent transfer" in winter sports

-> There is not as much competition (fewer ppl practice winter sports)

What's Balyi & Hamilton's (2004) model

- It's the most common model in national federations

- There's no scientific evidence or testing to support it.

What are Bloom's stages of Development (1985)?

-Early years (6-8): Play, fun, family-supported, chance exposure.

-Middle years (11-13): Qualified coach, serious practice, internal motivation.

-Later years (15-16): Master teachers, self-analysis, full commitment.

Name a strength and a weakness of Bloom's stages of Development (1985)?

Strength: Useful framework.

Weakness: Based on past data, non-sport-specific.

What is the Deliberate Practice Framework by Ericsson (1993)? (4)

- Ericsson believed talent does not exist

- Performance = amount of deliberate practice

- Must involve effort, structure, supervision, and isn't always enjoyable

- Not all athletes need 10,000 hours

True or False: Ericsson believed that genetics does not play a role in potential

False. Ericsson acknowledged that genetics mattered in identifying potential.

-> Argued that deliberate practice is more important for reaching elite performance

What is an example Ericsson used to explain deliberate practice?

Chess players improved through practice, not innate ability

What was the Morse Code Study? (Anders Ericsson et al., 1993)

- The study focused on how beginners acquire and remember Morse code reception skills

- Concluded that repetition alone doesn't help, and correct training and effort matter

What was Brooke McNamara's argument toward Ericsson's theory?

Deliberate practice is important, but not everything

The volume of deliberate practice may be poorer in sports due to...

- Open skills: where athletes are likely to play larger roles in sports than in other tasks

- Physicality: Genetics are likely to play a role in sports than other tasks

- Variability in types of practice: There are many ways to practice for sports that may improve performance to different degrees.

What are the categories in Gagné's Differentiated Model of giftedness and talent (DMGT)?

Giftedness, Talent, Catalyst

What's giftedness in Gagné's (DMGT)?

Natural abilities; top 10%

-> This isn't purely innate, you develop over the whole life.

What's talent in Gagné's (DMGT) and how is it measured?

- Mastery of developed skills (top 10 %)

- Measured through observation

What's catalysts in Gagné's (DMGT)

- Developmental process, intrapersonal traits, environment, chance.

- Highlights interplay between nature and nurture and luck (genetic endowment).

What are the categories Côté's Developmental Model of Sport Participation (DMSP)?

deliberate play, early diversification, early specialization, diversification

What's deliberate play according to Côté's (DMSP)?

Voluntary, fun participation in sports (ages 6-13)

What's early diversification according to Côté's (DMSP)?

Trying different sports during ages 6-13 (sometimes 13-15)

results of early specialization according to Côté's (DMSP)?

Higher risk of injury, burnout, dropout

Why diversify according to Côté's (DMSP)?

Promotes enjoyment, health, longevity, and can still reach elite levels.

What is the definition of Talent Transfer?

- Moving from a donor sport to a recipient sport, reusing skills and experience.

- Often occurs at ages 16-19, also called athlete recycling

Give an example of an aerobic athlete who excelled in their second sport

Lauryn Williams

- Sprinting medalist (summer)

- Bobsled medalist (winter)

- Used her sprinting skills in bobsleigh

What type of sports do talent transfers excel most in ?

Aerobic sports because most of them are closed tasks or endurance-base

Which sport do athletes normally do better in?

In their second (recipient) sport because they peak in performance

Mature-age, talent identification, athlete recycling and cross-over are synonyms for __________ ?

Talent transfer

A term used to define an athlete's first sport?

Donor sport

What is a 'donor sport'

First sport, developed sport-specific and sport-generic skills that could be useful later on

what is the term used for an athlete's second sport

Recipient sport

T or F: Talent transfers can work in over a year

False- it is rare, it takes time and requires an environment that permits that

Who was the first talent transfer

Eddie Eagan

- Boxing to bobsleigh

- won an Olympic gold medal in both sports (only athlete to win gold in both sports as a talent transfer)

What is the first empirical evidence in talent transfer

Hoare & Wart (2000), evidence using soccer

What did Hoare & Wart's (2000) do?

- Conducted in Australia to attract female athletes

- Made female athletes with NO soccer backgrounds perform at the state level within 2 years

- 2 out of 71 respondents played state level

- Proof that talent transfer is possible

What country is the most advanced in sports science?

Australia

- A country with strong cultural connections with Canada and US

What was the first formalized model in talent transfer?

Van Harten et al., 2021

What was the Bullock et al. (2009) study on talent transfer? Name its goal and how it was conducted.

- Aim: Create an Olympian within 14 months of training.

- Chose female skeleton (few competitors).

- 10 athletes trained intensively; best finished 13th at 2006 Turin Olympics.

- Also from Australia, known for curiosity and strong sports development programs.

When does Talent Transfer usually occur?

- On average, around 19 years old.

- Anything before 16 = sampling, not transfer.

- Can occur in formal settings (coach/scout approach or new program fit).

What are some "triggers" for talent trasnfers to occur?

- Losing interest in donor sport.

- Performance ceiling (plateau but still potential).

Why are talent transfers beneficial according to van Harten's model

- Less expensive for the recipient sport

- Organizations of recipient sports spend less money to nurture athletes from the bottom up

True or False: Proportions will be able to rely only on talent transfers (bc higher percentage of TT are more successful than NHL pro likelihood)

false. proportions are important and talent transfers aren't the only possible solution. can’t rely on TT

True or False: Talent transfers happen in early childhood

True, about half occur between 16-19 years old

Who said this:

"Similarities in skills, physical, and psychological characteristics are required by the donor and the recipient sport"

a) Van Harten et al., 2021

b) Teunissen et al., 2021

c) Hoare & Wart, 2000

b) Teunissen et al., 2021

True or false: A recipient sport is generally less complex than the donor sport

true

What 4 main factors that facilitate successful Talent Transfer?

1. Similar physiological & technical demands.

2. Psychological traits: Self-regulation, confidence, motivation, resilience.

3. Supportive environment in the recipient sport.

4. Greater success in sports that peak later (e.g., endurance sports).

True or False: Smaller high-performance pool in recipient sport, recipient sport less complex than donor sport, and a later age peak (e.g., not gymnastics) are factors that facilitate successful Talent Transfer?

trueee

What's the difference between multi-sport athletes and talent transfers?A:

- Multi-sport: Competes in multiple sports using different skills simultaneously.

- Talent transfer: Moves from one sport to another, reusing and adapting learned skills.