: Attitudes, beliefs, and practices pertaining to perceived sex-related differences in communication and interpersonal approach of strength and conditioning coaches in international women's rugby union.

Effective communication and rapport building with athletes are key tenets of coaching. As the majority of empirical evidence to date has adopted an androcentric view of strength and conditioning, a potential knowledge gap exists regarding sex-related differences in physical preparation and coaching approaches. Therefore, this study explored the attitudes, beliefs and practices of strength and conditioning coaches ( = 8; M/F, 6/2) in elite level (international) women's rugby union using semi-structured interviews (mean ±standard deviation duration 59 ± 15 min).

Coaching adaptive skill and expertise in Premier League football academies-paving a way forward for research and practice.

Within the domain of coach education researchers have long called for a paradigm shift, whereby the quality of coaching practice is no longer measured against a checklist of prescribed competencies. This desire to evolve coach education and development, has been aligned to the need to better identify, understand and utilise what adaptive skill and expertise looks, sounds and feels like across specific sport coaching contexts. This paper outlines a broader research plan for the Premier League to drive the progress of research informed practice, in turn shaping a coach development agenda focused on developing adaptive and skilful coaches within Academies.

International selection and competition in youth sport: pin the tail on the donkey or targeted intervention?

Across sporting contexts, there is growing debate surrounding the utility of junior international age group selection in sport. In this regard, there has been considerable focus on the age of selection, with the low conversion of athletes from junior to senior international level often used to critique the efficiency of such programmes. In this perspective article, we argue that there is a need for a more nuanced consideration of the effectiveness of international age groups in talent systems.

The selection advantages associated with advanced biological maturation vary according to playing position in national-level youth soccer.

This study investigated the extent to which biological maturation selection biases existed according to playing position in national-level youth soccer. A total of 159 players from the U13 to U16 age groups in the Football Association of Ireland's national talent pathway and international representative squads had their relative biological maturity status assessed using the Khamis-Roche method for the percentage of predicted adult height at the time of observation. Players were categorised as goalkeeper (GK), central defender (CD), full-back (FB), centre defensive midfielder (CDM), centre midfielder (CM), centre attacking midfielder (CAM), wide midfielder (WM) or centre forward (CF).

Psychological characteristics of developing excellence in talented female field hockey players.

Psychological Characteristics of Developing Excellence (PCDEs) are a range of psychological factors that play a key role in the realisation of potential. We examined PCDE profiles across a female national talent development field hockey programme in North America. Two-hundred-and-sixty-seven players completed the Psychological Characteristics of Developing Excellence Questionnaire version 2 (PCDEQ-2) prior to the competitive season.

The 3Ps: A tool for coach observation.

There is growing recognition of the value of "" coach development practice across a variety sporting contexts. Unfortunately, however, there remains a limited number of tools available with which to observe coaching practice. In this study, we pilot and test a quasi-systematic tool for observation in the form of the 3Ps.

Push and Pull Factors: Contextualising Biological Maturation and Relative Age in Talent Development Systems.

In this conceptual paper, we contextualise ongoing attempts to manage challenge dynamics in talent systems in sport. Firstly, we review the broad literature base related to biological maturation, relative age, and the proposed interventions to mitigate effects. We suggest that the relative age effect may be a population level effect, indicative of deeper phenomena, rather than having a direct effect on challenge levels.

Strategy in talent systems: Top-down and bottom-up approaches.

Building on a large volume of recent research in talent identification and development, this paper future directions for research and practice. We suggest that strategic coherence become a greater point of emphasis in both, with the Performance, Outcome and Process framework holding the potential to signal various markers of effectiveness. Secondly, greater recognition of the need to deploy limited resources where they promote movement toward these markers of effectiveness.

Stand up and Fight: A Case Study of a Professional Rugby Club Negotiating a COVID-19 Crisis, a Talent Development Perspective.

A wealth of literature examines the role of challenge from an individual psychological perspective, but research investigating how a talent development system can proactively support athletes to successfully meet the ever-increasing demands of top-level professional sport is less prevalent. This study takes advantage of a naturally occurring but highly atypical developmental challenge as a result of COVID-19 to examine factors influencing the efficacy and effectiveness of the talent development pathway at Munster Rugby. Players and staff ( = 12) took part in semi-structured interviews exploring their experiences of the build-up to the event, the game itself, and the impact post-event.

Variability in locomotor activity in a female junior international hockey team.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to estimate between and within-athlete variabilities, to form threshold values for interpreting changes in locomotor activity in a female junior international hockey team.

Design: Thirty-three female international hockey players (age: 20 ± 0.9 year; height: 166.

Challenge is in the eye of the beholder: Exploring young athlete's experience of challenges on the talent pathway.

The journey of young athletes on the talent pathway in sport has been identified as non-linear. Central to this has been the influence of challenging experiences, yet little is known on the experiences of currently young athletes during the challenge, particularly in the early years of the talent pathway. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of young athletes as they negotiated their self-identified most difficult challenge.

The Irish Football Player Pathway: Examining Stakeholder Coherence Throughout and Across the Player Development System.

Maximizing the efficiency of the player development system is a strategic priority for any professional football club or association. However, the successful development of a young footballer is largely dependent upon the roles and relationships of the different stakeholders invested in the developmental process. This study examined the level of horizontal (i.

Singing off the same hymn sheet? Examining coherence in a talent development pathway (part 2).

Existing literature highlights the common characteristics of successful talent development environments, notably the need for long-term development, individual athlete attention, communication, alignment, and psycho-behavioural development. Little is known however about the complex talent development environment of an international sport organisation where multiple contexts and various stakeholders exist. Considering the lack of research relating to females in talent development, we examined a female national hockey talent development environment and more specifically the level of coherence that existed within the talent development environment from different stakeholder perspectives.

Premature Professionalisation or Early Engagement? Examining Practise in Football Player Pathways.

There is a growing debate, both in the academic and sporting worlds, about the most appropriate pathway for high potential young players in sport. In this regard, there has been a considerable focus on the age of selection into structured talent development pathways and the nature of the experience once players have been recruited. Given the economic and reputational currency associated with developing professional footballers in particular, it is unsurprising that professional football clubs continue to invest significant financial resources into their academy structures.

Singing off the same hymn sheet? Examining coherence in a talent development pathway (part 1).

Although there is research available into successful Talent Development Environments (TDEs), the data mostly reflects TDEs in elite academies, national groups or in a single successful club. This literature provides insight into the positive characteristics that are commonplace in these effective TDEs. However, little is known about the TDE surrounding an entire amateur national organization where athletes regularly compete across multiple teams, simultaneously representing at both domestic and international level.

"I Didn't Make It, but…": Deselected Athletes' Experiences of the Talent Development Pathway.

The experiences of youth athletes on specialized talent development pathways has received considerable attention in both the media and literature. Despite the low conversion of pathway entrants into senior athletes, the experiences of deselected athletes have received less attention. The purpose of this study therefore was to explore the talent pathway experiences of youth athletes who were deselected from a pathway and to consider how those experiences influenced their life post deselection.

What About the Girls? Exploring the Gender Data Gap in Talent Development.

Although there is an extensive literature about talent development, the lack of data pertaining to females is problematic. Indeed, the gender data gap can be seen in practically all domains including sport and exercise medicine. Evidence-based practice is the systematic reviewing of the best evidence in order to make informed choices about practice.

Learning From Elite Athletes' Experience of Depression.

Sport has become increasingly aware of the challenges associated with Mental Disorders and, to a greater extent, mental health issues (MHIs). This study sought to explore in depth the subjective experiences of elite athletes who suffered from a specific clinical MHI, namely depression. In addition, we explored their perceptions of the prevalence and stigma surrounding MHIs in elite sport environments.

Development and initial validation of the Psychological Characteristics of Developing Excellence Questionnaire version 2 (PCDEQ2).

Given sport's ever-increasing value and competitiveness, the race to identify and develop the next generation of sporting talent has never been more intense. Accordingly, in an effort to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of talent development, and recognising the critical role that psychology plays in these processes, this paper seeks to develop a formative assessment tool that will allow practitioners to measure and monitor the development of the psychological skills, characteristics and behaviours - both adaptive and maladaptive - that underpin effective development. Following a process of item generation and justification, a 135-item questionnaire was completed by 512 developing male athletes from academy-based team sports.

"It's Your Problem. Deal with It." Performers' Experiences of Psychological Challenges in Music.

Musicians need to deal with a range of challenges during their performance career and in response to these have reported a number of conditions that impact on their performance. Although social support from peers and teachers has been identified as part of the process of dealing with these challenges, little is understood about musicians' coping methods, beliefs and their attitudes toward support. Therefore, this study aimed to explore (a) performers' previous experiences of psychological challenges, (b) the types of support they used and, (c) how this might inform future support programs in learning environments.

Much Ado about…? A response to Hardy et al.

Our response to the Great British Medallist (GBM) study focuses on three concerns. First, we discuss the extent to which the findings presented are actually novel and offer practitioners genuine guidance and information about how to structure talent development pathways. Second, we suggest that a lack of critical consideration of the findings against the considerable body of knowledge that already exists in this domain is a significant limitation.

Making Champs and Super-Champs-Current Views, Contradictions, and Future Directions.

In our 2016 paper (Collins et al., 2016a), we proposed that superchamps (athletes who have achieved the highest level in their sport) were differentiated from their less successful counterparts by their use of positive proactive coping and a "learn from it" approach to challenge. This skill-based focus to talent development (TD) is supported extensively in the literature (e.

Putting the Bumps in the Rocky Road: Optimizing the Pathway to Excellence.

There seems to be general agreement on the importance of challenge for effective development on the athlete pathway. What seems less coherent, however, are ideas on how much, when and how this challenge should be used. Reflecting our own experience as applied practitioners and our ongoing research, we offer a perspective on this work from a practitioner stance.

Examining the Role of Mental Health and Clinical Issues within Talent Development.

Although significant research supports the association between physical activity and mental wellbeing, current literature acknowledges that athletes are no less susceptible to mental illness than the general population. Despite welcomed initiatives aimed at improving mental health within elite sport, these programs often fail to target young athletes; an important concern given that the genesis of many mental illnesses are recognized to occur during this critical period. Given the importance of early intervention and effective treatment, and the potentially devastating consequences of clinical issues going undiagnosed, the implications for talent identification and development (TID) become obvious.