What are the ways of Talent Identification in Sports?

Talent-identification is helpful in improvement of athletic performance. It helps in, what we have discussed earlier, in making training plans and preparing for sports. But, most training systems, particularly, those that are in the early stages of development, do not include complex talent identification systems because of two reasons, i.e., there is a desire to train all those who show an interest and commitment, whether talented or not, and there are other more important priorities, including providing adequate facilities and equipment, proper coaching, adequate financing for ‘ programmes and adequate competitions.

However, there are reasons why initiating some form of talent identification makes sense. If the goal is to develop top class athletes, it is efficient to concentrate development on those athletes who possess qualities that are necessary for success. It increases athletes’ confidence if they have been identified as possessing superior capabilities.

It helps create a larger group of talented athletes and increases the competitiveness amongst them in training. It increases the opportunity for developing a liaison with sport scientists who could also help with the training and regular evaluation of athletes. Many youngsters miss opportunities to excel or develop into good athletes because they don’t know what special attributes they possess, and are not directed towards sports in which they can excel.

Principles of Indentifying Talent

Some specific principles to identify talent in a group of children are as follows:

1. Physical Activity Stimulates Growth: Children need a variety of general movement experiences that helps in physical activity which stimulates growth.

2. A Wide Variety of Movements Makes them MASTER: Children with a wide variety of movement patterns in early life will most likely be able to efficiently master complex movement patterns in sport in their later years.

3. Growth Affects Athletic Performance: Structural and functional growth is factors which effect athletic performance.

4. Exposure is Essential for Growth: The intensity, length and frequency of exposure to an activity are essential components of growth in that activity. 5. Right Attitude: Usually, experienced coaches have developed their own subject criteria to “eyeball” talent or potential skills, i.e., one athlete seems more coordinated than others, appears faster or stronger than others, and seems to have the “right” attitude.

Sources of Talent

The best sources of potential athletic talent are:

1. Public and private schools with active recreation/sport programmes.

2. Community recreation programmes,

3. Existing sport clubs for children,

4. Areas within society where the population is very active,

5. Areas within communities where there is an existing keen interest in sports competition and activity.

Evaluation of Talent

Performance in competition usually provides opportunity to evaluate talent. A coach may even have developed a set of basic tests to help quantify, the skills or attributes that are important, e.g., the athlete can run a test distance faster than a standard, or the athlete has body measurements that suit a particular sport, or the athlete has certain physiological attributes such as a high maximal oxygen consumption, that distinguish him/her from others. Although a coach’s intuition is an important and often crucial element in assessing talent, the above mentioned methods may be too crude and not as accurate or discriminating as they could be in helping the coach confirm his initial impression.

For example: being tall may be an asset off an under developed basketball player but less important as the distinguishing feature among world calls players; a young athlete may possess extraordinary talent as a youth but after a further few years of growth and development, he may not be different or special. Thus, before implementing talent identification programmes, countries an individual sports need to undertake thorough examinations of the specific factors that influence performance in a particular sport, e.g., physiology, anthropometry, psychology, sociological and heredity factors.

The performance potential of the future athletes can be measured using various evaluation procedures.

Cyclic Affair of Talent Measurement

The whole measurement process include a six stage cyclic affair, which should be completed with the athlete especially the analysis and making decision of appropriate corrective action. These six stages of cyclic affairs are:

1. The selection of characteristics to be measured

2. The selection of a suitable method of measuring

3. The collection of that data

4. The analysis of the collected data

5. The making of decisions

6. The implementation of those decisions.

Use of the Test Results

The results from tests can be used to:

1. Predict future performance

2. Indicate weaknesses

3. Measure improvement

4. Enable the coach to assess the success of his training programme

5. Place the athlete in appropriate training group

6. Motivate the athlete.

Test Reliability

The test reliability may be influenced by some factors which have an impact on the results of a test. These factors are:

1. The time since the athlete’s last meal

2. Medication the athlete may be taking

3. The ambient temperature, noise level and humidity

4. The amount of sleep the athlete had prior to testing

5. The athlete’s emotional state

6. The time of day

7. The athlete’s caffeine intake

8. The test environment-surface (track, grass, road, gym)

9. The athlete’s prior test knowledge/experience •

10. Accuracy of measurements (times, distances, etc.)

11. The personality, knowledge and skill of the tester

12. It the athlete actually applying maximum effort in maximal tests

13. Inappropriate warm up

14. People present.

Information Necessary for Planning

Information provides the idea of right way to achieve success. It helps in making further plans. Therefore, for the coach it is important to monitor the programme of work, so as to maintain progression in terms of the volume of work and its intensity. Both coach and athlete must keep their own training records. A training diary can give an enormous amount of information about what has happened in the past and how training has gone in the past. When planning future training cycles, information of this kind is absolutely invaluable.

Recording of Information

The information to be recorded falls into two broad categories:

1. The day-to-day information from training, e.g.

(a) State of the athlete (health, composure)

(b) Physiological data (body weight, resting heart rate, etc.

(c) The training unit (speed, speed endurance, strength, technique)

(d) The training load (the number of miles, the number of sets and repetitions, the number of attempts)

(e) The training intensity (kilograms, percentage of maximum, percentage of V02) (J) the prevailing conditions (wet, windy, hot, etc.)

(g) The response to training (the assignments completed, the resultant heart rate recovery, felt tired, etc.)

2. Information that measures status. This can take the form of a test. If the test is repeated throughout the programme, it can then be used as a measure of progress within the training discipline. Examples of such tests are:

(a) Time trials-speed, speed endurance, endurance

(b) Muscular endurance – chins, pushups, dips

(c) Strength maximum – single repetitions’, maximurr*repetitions.

(d) Explosive strength – power bounding, vertical jump, overhead shot putt.

(e) Mobility – objective measurements of the range of movement. (/) Event specific