Applied Coaching Research Journal Research Journal 2 | Page 39
APPLIED COACHING RESEARCH JOURNAL 2018, Vol. 2
Conclusion
The purpose of a player development pathway is
to realise the most effective methods to support
young players to maximise their potential.
MacNamara and Collins (2011) suggest many
approaches to talent development have become
flawed by an “ill-conceived conception”, such as a
generalisation concerning the ability to perform
as an ‘elite’ player within a chronological age
group. Consequently, little consideration may be
given towards the multiple factors that contribute
to the eventual achievement of elite status as
a senior professional. Since the objective of
talent development should be to identify and
then develop young players towards the future
performance capacity of professional athletes,
attention should logically turn to those attributes
required to manage the route of development.
Therefore, this rationalised thinking could be
applied whilst using the LWNM, through focusing
on the characteristics that an individual has
regarding their capacity to learn and develop,
as opposed to concentrating on what the coach
already knows and how the player is performing at
a particular time during their development.
References
Abbott, A., & Collins, D. (2004). Eliminating dichotomy
between theory and practice in talent identification and
development: Considering the role of psychology. Journal
of Sports Sciences, 22(5), 395–408.
Buekers, M., Ibanez-Gijon, J., Morice, A. H. P., Rao,
G., Mascret, N., Laurin, J., & Montagne, G. (2017).
Interdisciplinary research: A promising approach to
investigate elite performance in sports. Quest, 69(1),
65–79.
Butler, R., J., & Hardy, L. (1992). The performance profile:
Theory and application. The Sport Psychologist, 6(3),
253–264.
Cushion, C., Ford, P. R., & Williams, M. A. (2012). Coach
behaviours and practice structures in youth soccer:
Implications for talent development. Journal of Sports
Sciences, 30(15), 1631–1641.
Darby, P. (2007). The new scramble for Africa: African
football labour to Europe. European Sports History
Review, 3(2), 217–244.
Elferink-Gemser, M. T., Jordet, G., Coelho-e-Silva, M. J., &
Visscher, C. (2011). The marvels of elite sports: How to get
there? British Journal of Sports Medicine, 45(9), 683–684.
Elliott, R., & Weedon, G. (2011). Foreign players in the
English Premier Academy League: “Feet-drain” or “feet-
exchange?” International Review for the Sociology of
Sport, 46(1), 61–75.
Forsman, H. (2016). The Player Development Process
Among Young Finnish Soccer Players: Multidimensional
Approach. Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of
Jyvaskyla, Finland.
Gagne, F. (2009). Building Gifts into Talents: Detailed
Overview of the DMGT. In MacFarlane, B., & Stambaugh, T.
(eds.), Leading Change in Gifted Education: The Festschrift
of Dr Joyce Van Tassel-Baska (pp. 61–80). Waco, TX:
Prufrock Press.
Grossmann, B., & Lames, M. (2015). From talent to
professional football – Youthism in German football.
International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 10(6),
1103–1113.
Gulbin, J. P., & Weissensteiner, J. (2013). Functional Sport
Expertise Systems. In Farrow, D., Baker, J., & MacMahon,
C. (eds.), Developing Sport Expertise: Researchers and
Coaches Put Theory into Practice – Second Edition (pp.
45–67). London: Routledge.
Holt, N. L., & Dunn, J. G. H. (2004). Towards a grounded
theory of the psychosocial competencies and
environmental conditions associated with soccer success.
Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 16(3), 199–219.
Holt, N. L., & Mitchell, T. (2006). Talent development in
English professional football. International Journal of
Sport Psychology, 37, 77–98.
Kelly, A. L. (2018). A Multidisciplinary Investigation into
the Talent Identification and Development Process in
an English Football Academy. Unpublished PhD Thesis,
University of Exeter, United Kingdom.
MacNamara, A., & Collins, D. (2011). Development and
initial validation of the Psychological Characteristics of
Developing Excellence Questionnaire. Journal of Sports
Science, 29(12), 1273–1286.
39