Talent identification and development in the UK. Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) - Essay Example

?Running head: Essay focussing on talent identification and development in the UK Research paper Insert Insert Grade Insert 8 March 2011 Historical background Long- term athlete development (LTAD) focuses on the best practice in development of players at every level. Professional sports clubs invest heavily in talent identification and development; the United Kingdom uses LTAD to develop skills. Talent may be noted at an early age of a child’s life, but only trained specialists can identify it and be able to develop that talent to something better. However, the early indicators of talent may not necessarily determine whether one will reach an experts level, but they also give an indication as to whether one would succeed at some point in life. Most parents want their children to be active throughout their life due to the belief that physical education may enhance self-esteem, fitness, and teamwork in a child’s development. According to Spinks et al (2002, pg. 265), identifying sport potential at an early age, ensures that players receive specialized coaching to accelerate the talent development process. With increased need to develop and nurture young talented players, it is essential to determine the key elements of talent identification, for instance, in football. The authors also argue that talent may be genetically determined, complicated in structure and subject to environmental conditions. Moreover, the aim of talent identification is to increase the probability of selecting a future elite player at an early age. According to Stanford ( 2005, pg 63), LTAD model mainly insists that training, competition and retaining programmes should be set in relation to an individual’s development rather than age. Optimal windows of trainability should be identified and used while the structure of competition programme should be reviewed to optimize the ratio between competitive events and training; moreover, the overall system, needs to be aligned and integrated. Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) Model The LTAD model on sports focuses on bringing out the best out of a talented player. For instance, in this case, the main discussion revolves around football. There are key issues that should be considered when deciding on the talent identification and development of a player including: 1) the type of talent that could either be uni-sport or multi-sport talent, predictors of talent depending on weight and height, endurance and psychological factors, which include intelligence, decision making and skills. 2) The management should be able to choose a talent identification and talent development programme for football. 3) They should be able to identify the key factors in talent development in that particular sport. According to Hylton and Bramham (2007, pg 223), the LTAD model is a form of long-term scheduling of an athlete’s performance in sport. This model describes an athlete’s six-stage development, which includes fundamentals, learning to train, training to train, training to compete, training to win and active for life. Football as a sport Football (soccer) involves a multiplicity of skills, for instance, some are basic like running, others are goal oriented like scoring and while others are technical like passing, receiving and dribbling. In addition, characteristics of elite team players consist of different categories such as mental, technical, physical, tactical, and social factors. Mental category is associated with confidence, motivation, anxiety control, and concentration. Technical factors include skills such as passing, dribbling, receiving, and defending while physical qualities include flexibility, strength, power, and endurance. Moreover, tactical aspect usually includes pressurizing, creating space, and support, and finally, social factors include leadership and cohesion (Reilly, 1997, pg 201). Nevertheless, basic skills are assumed to be developed by a process of maturation, while the other skills have to be learned through practice or experience. In football, the first fundamental stage is mainly for the ages between 5 and 9 and it entails learning the “ABC” of this particular sport. The main objective of this stage is developing of the player’s physical capabilities, which include speed, power, and endurance, are developed using fun games. Generally, introduction to the rules of football and training programs are introduced based on a child’s school year/age, and appropriate techniques are taught based on the agility, balance, coordination, and speed of football. In this stage, the volume of training should be lower (Vaeyens et al, 2008). The second stage is mainly learning to train; this phase is suitable for children between the ages of 8-12, with the main objective of this phase being learning all fundamental skills of football. The trainees continue to develop endurance, and by fun games, introduction of basic flexibility exercises is enhanced. The trainees also develop knowledge on nutrition, warm ups, relaxations and focusing. The training programs are also based on a certain period. In this phase, competition is encouraged among the players. The third stage of this model is training to train, in which case, it comprises of players between the ages of 11 to 15 years. The main objective of this phase is to develop the player’s physical capabilities and enhance movement skills. The trainer should develop speed for the players, while the players should have pre-competitions, competitions and post competitions routine games. Flexibility and better nutrition should be encouraged fro the trainees. The fourth phase is the training to compete stage, which is appropriate for the ages between 16 to 18 years, with an objective being to enhance fitness and football skills. Players should mainly focus on tactic skills especially speed and fitness, while at the same time learning to implement these skills under competitive conditions. Regular training and competition in emphasized in this stage while psychological and physical preparation is tailored in this training stage. Moreover, skills like scoring, running, defending, blocking, and passing should be evident. The fifth phase in LTAD model is training to win, which maximizes on fitness and specific techniques. The players can now train as they wait for major competition. Training in this phase is done appropriately to prevent over training, as the players are now familiar with all skills of football, and each one of them knows what his specialty is in terms of: blocking, catching or running based on speed. The final stage is the retainment phase, where the management should work on strategies to be able to maintain their players such as motivating them, perhaps through better pay and allowances. Conclusion The successful identification and nurturing of talents depends on the strength of the established talent development programs. When talent is identified and nurtured, it brings the best out of a person. Many young people are gifted in different areas, in which they can develop their talents to success especially when they receive encouragement by adults or the society. The main aim of talent identification is to nurture the talent and enhance the development of the talent, as this will help the person to avoid being idle. This literally means that, if children are busy with some extra activity after classes, then they will have minimal or no cases of crimes, drugs, and mischief. Reference List Spinks, W. et al. 2002. Science and Football. NY: Routledge publishers. Stanfford, I., 2005. Coaching for long- term athlete development: to improve participation and performance in sport. Leeds: Coachwise publishers. Hylton, K. and Bramham, P., 2007. Sports Development: Policy, Process and Practice. NY: Routledge. Reilly, T. et al. 1997. Science and Football 111. London: Taylor and Francis Publishers. Vaeyens, R. et al. 2008. Talent Identification and Development Programmes in Sport: Current Models and Future Directions. Sports Medicine, Volume 38, Number 9, pp. 703-714(12). Adis International publishers. (Online). Available from: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/adis/smd/2008/00000038/00000009/art00001 (Accessed March 7, 2011). Read More