The Search for Sports’ Holy Grail: Challenges to Traditional Approaches to Athlete Identification and Selection
One of the most obvious challenges in youth sport is the increasing push to identify and stream young athletes into high-performance systems aimed at providing ‘optimized environments’ to increase athletes’ likelihood of eventual success. In many high-performance sport systems around the world, coaches, administrators, and systems are regularly tasked with identifying and selecting athletes who they believe are best suited for the rigours of elite development systems. This approach to athlete development can lead to a small number of athletes having access to the developmental resources necessary for skill development and learning. Unfortunately, selection decisions are often inaccurate, biased and ineffective at identifying those most deserving of these resources. These limitations can lead to an inefficient use of the already limited resources in sport. This presentation will shed light on the factors influencing ‘talent wastage’ and illuminate possible psychological pitfalls when making decisions under uncertainty. Understanding the factors that influence athlete identification and selection across different sports, countries, and systems will help us understand how to design and implement training settings and learning environments for all to thrive.
Speaker Bio
Dr. Joe Baker is the Tanenbaum Research Chair in Sport Science, Data Modelling and Sport Analytics at the University of Toronto. His research considers the varying influences on optimal human development, ranging from issues affecting athlete development and skill acquisition to barriers and facilitators of successful aging. Joe is the author/editor of hundreds of peer-reviewed articles and book chapters as well as 13 books, including the award winning The Tyranny of Talent: How it compels and limits athletic achievement… and why you should ignore it.
Personal website – https://www.bakerlab.kpe.utoronto.ca/
ORCID – https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5686-1737