Week 1: Lecture 1
Psychological characteristics and the developing athlete; the importance of self-
regulation; Jonker
The process of developing talent
To reach high levels of expertise, athletes must outperform their peers during training and
games in youth competitions and fulfill their full potential towards senior competitive levels.
In a restricted time, youth athletes need to improve sport-specific characteristics to
compete at juniors and increase their likelihood of
reaching senior elite levels in their sport.
The figure 28,1 shows the contribution of
person-, task-related and environmental
characteristics to sport performance in talented
athletes. An athlete needs a specific combination of
person-related and environmental characteristics to
successfully perform a given sport-specific task.
Athletes must improve their performance over time,
while experiencing the interrelationships of task
demand, chance, personal characteristics and the
environment. During this time, one matures, learns
and trains, which changes the interrelationships.
Maturing and exposure to opportunities for learning
and training are determinants.
The importance of psychological characteristics
Model of skill acquisition and expertise lead to the need for athletes to possess specific
psychological characteristics, that vary over sport type.
Given the period to attain an expertise a motivational profile is necessary. Hereby is a
focus on long-term outcomes superior to short-term results. The proper psychological
characteristics is necessary to stay involved long enough to become expert. Training and
learning opportunities must be used in the most efficient way possible to maximize skill
development. A level of self-regulatory skills is needed form the athlete; this means clear
goals and taking responsibility for their own learning process. Athletes who have a high
level of self-regulatory skills are more successful in fulfilling their potential.
Self-regulatory skills and talent development
Self-regulation: the degree to which learners are
metacognitively (4 in the figure), motivationally and
behaviorally proactive participants to their own learning
process.
Motivation is the degree to which learners are self-
efficaciously, autonomously and intrinsically motivated to
attain a specific goal, with effort and self-efficacy. It helps to
learn more efficiently, because they plan. This reflects an
individual’s capacity to control his learning behavior. This
relates to awareness and knowledge about thoughts and
feelings.
The use of self-regulatory skills is associated with
success in a range of domains (sport and academics). Most
elite athletes are also high academic achievers, their
increased use of self-regulatory skills may be an underlying mechanism for both sport and
academic achievements.
The development of self-regulatory skills
,Metacognitive skills arise from 4 to 6 years of age and grow in the years thereafter. From the
age of 11/12 the skills further develop and transform from a set of domain-specific skills to a
more general repertoire that can be used across performance domains. From the age 12 on
one can be able to use motivational skills and balance their efforts to succeed and to
interpret their capabilities.
The self-regulatory skills do not occur naturally. They develop in a powerful, inspiring
and goal-oriented environment, with youth sport proposed to be an optimal setting. A
contextual aspect needs 4 factors for developing self-regulation. A context must 1) have
complex tasks, 2) allow students to have a choice in task and level of challenge, 3) provide
opportunities for evaluation, 4) and offer opportunities for collaborations.
Goal setting and appropriate feedback help to develop self-regulatory skills that assist
them in modifying their learning. One learns to set short- or long-term goals (or a coach sets
them) and to strive for them. They receive feedback about their performance (execution
and the process). Having an environment where students have high levels of control over
their learning process are best for developing self-regulatory skills.
The development of reflection and sport expertise
Elite athletes outscored their regional peers on reflection and effort at all ages. There is a
difference between international and national athletes and their level of reflection, this
suggest that reflection is a key characteristic for learning. It enables them to comprehend
knowledge and skills and turn it into action to improve future performances. By using
reflection, athletes can optimize time spent on learning, which is necessary for realizing
one’s potential.
The reflection score of elite athletes even increases between 12 and 17 years, while
the scores of regional athletes and non-athletes were more stable over this time. Those who
become senior athletes use greater reflection as junior athletes to make use of prior
experiences, set goals and reach these goals, and outdo their competitors. Athletes who
spent more hours per week on training showed an increased use of reflection.
The development of effort and sport expertise
The use of effort declined for all athletes between the age of 12-17, athletes who spent
more time on training per week and performing at a higher competitive level (elite athletes)
showed a less steep decline in the development of effort. An explanation is that from the
age of 12, a person can interpret if their effort to succeed is related to their capabilities to
the task. Elite athletes are very conscious about how much effort (reflection, hours etc.)
they have put forth withing their time to reach their goal. They seem to use reflective
thinking to be able to do more within hours of training related to their goals. These elite
athletes are more willing to practice regularly than regional athletes.
Practical implications
- How do elite athletes learn to perform at exceptional levels?
A measurement is possible to learning potential but struggles to determine who is potential
and a future international. This is related to multiple tasks, personal and environment-
related characteristics. Learning more efficiently by using reflection and putting in effort into
performance towards our goal, has benefits (looking from self-regulation).
High on reflection – knowing which task characteristics are required to perform well
and setting clear goals. The high level is needed to be more likely to make it to a higher
level.
High on effort – needed to sustain the hours of training required for adult expertise.
- How can coaches and trainers assist talented athletes on their way to the
top?
Coaches can help to set improvement goals and providing them with high-quality feedback
to improve their performance. This helps to develop effort and reflection.
, Autonomy-supportive coaches’ practices involve athletes in the processes of goal
setting and feedback, that take athletes’ developmental phases into account for improving
their performance. This gives motivation, let them develop reflection skills and willing to put
in effort. Coaching shout fit the athlete. Coaches must recognize them, value their learning
process objectively and provide them with space. Based on experiences and personal
strength and weaknesses, the goals set to progress differs between athletes. Sport
performance is based on interacting factors, such as the task, multidimensional
performance and environment. This asks for individual training schemes for athletes to
further personal development. Athletes should be stimulated to use their reflective thinking
skills outside the sport.
- Can knowledge from exceptional performers benefit less-gifted athletes?
Developing athletes are element of normal development. The sport context is considered an
optimal environment for developing self-regulatory skills and benefit from goal setting and
feedback at a young age. These skills may have a relevance for other domains of life.
In academia students have a difficulty using self-regulatory skills. The feedback
provided by the teacher is absent or delayed and based on the performance outcome. By
using self-regulatory skills, a student may be better able to recognize the important parts of
the study material and match their strengths and weaknesses. 12–17-year-old athletes,
regardless level of sport, who spent 3 to 6 hours on training showed an increased use of
self-regulatory skills.
, Week 1: lecture 2
Talent identification and development programmes in
sport
Talent identification (TID); the process of recognizing current
participants with the potential to excel in a particular sport.
Talent development (TDE); providing the most appropriate
learning environment to realize this potential.
Top teams and organizations are based on scientific
support to the preparation of elite athletes. The lack of
support on TID, suggested that we should focus on TDE and
guidance. Yet we invest in TID to identify exceptionally gifted youngsters at an early age to
accelerate the development process. TID has an advantage of early recruitment, however
they have low predictive value, and their validity and usefulness have been questioned.
1. Problems with the current designs
TID models predict success in adult competition by measuring the current performance on
physiological, physical, anthropometric or technical variables within age specific groups has
proven problematic.
First: Success in adult performance cannot reliably predict talent in children. Pre-
adolescent traits don’t always translate into exceptional adult performance, as maturation
and training impact development. Key qualities may emerge only in late adolescence.
Second: Maturation affects performance in areas like aerobic power, strength,
endurance, motor skills, and intelligence. Maturity differences can skew test results when
compared to age-specific norms, leading to misclassification by chronological age instead of
biological age.
Third: Talent development is dynamic and unpredictable, especially during pre-
puberty. Individual growth and training vary, making early performance predictions
unreliable. Success indicators also change with age and shifting task demands.
Fourth: Talent in sports involves multiple factors, but talent identification (TID)
models often focus narrowly on physical traits. Athletes can achieve excellence through
various combinations of skills, compensating for weaknesses in one area with strengths in
others. Psychological traits, though crucial, are often overlooked in TID models despite their
importance in predicting success.
2. Towards a clear and undisputed theoretical framework
Talent results from both nature and nurture. It stems from innate abilities and environmental
factors, with neither fully explaining its development. Gagné's Differentiated Model of
Giftedness and Talent (DMGT) distinguishes between giftedness (natural abilities) and talent
(developed abilities).
Giftedness is defined as the possession and use of high levels of natural ability in one
of four domains (intellectual, creative, socio-affective, sensorimotor), placing someone in
the top 10%. Talent refers to the mastery of skills, placing someone in the top 10% of a
field.
Sport is largely physical but also involves abilities
beyond sensorimotor skills, like leadership, which are
partly genetic and noticeable in young children. Talent
develops from gifts through maturation, learning,
training, and practice, with practice being key to skill
mastery.
Three catalysts—personal traits, environment, and
chance—affect talent development. Personal traits
include both physical and mental characteristics, while
