Selecting and developing talent in sports: From science to practice
Date and time: Wednesday May 27th, afternoon 2-5pm
Workshop Leaders:
- Prof. Dr. Ruud Den Hartigh, University of Groningen, The Netherlands7
- Ilse Peringa MSc., University of Groningen, The Netherlands
- Jan Verbeek MSc., University of Groningen; Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB)
- Koen Rikken MSc., University of Groningen; Royal Dutch Lawn Tennis Association (KNLTB)
Target audience:
- Researchers in sport science and psychology
- Practitioners in sport science and psychology
- Students and participants interested in working for sports associations and talent programs
Workshop content:
The selection and development of talent are core foci in sport psychology research and practice. Important questions are: What types of tests should we use when selecting talented athletes?; How do we combine and use the test scores; and, when talents are selected, how can we optimally develop them toward elite performers? This applied workshop will address these questions through a scientist-practitioner perspective. We will share the latest insights, developed in close collaboration between the University of Groningen and the biggest sports associations in The Netherlands (KNVB – soccer and KNLTB – tennis).
In the first part of the interactive workshop, we will provide you with tools and strategies to better select talented athletes. In the second part, we will discuss (a)typical pathways to the elite level in sports, and work on psychological strategies to foster athletes’ development. The evidence-based strategies of this workshop can directly be useful and applicable to different sports in which you are working or interested.
Session breakdown
Start: Brief introduction into the selection and development of talent (~ 10 mins)
By Ruud den Hartigh
The start of the workshop introduces the topics of talent selection and development, and their relevance to sport psychology. We will discuss the most important approaches to select and develop talent. For instance, what kinds of (psychological) tests are used to test soccer and tennis players? What types of test would be best practice to use, and why? We will also go into the role of coaches and scouts who need to assess players, and psychological insights they can use to improve their assessments. With regard to talent development, we will discuss the variety of complex developmental trajectories that athletes often undergo, and how their development may be stimulated. This background provides the starting point for the discussions and exercises in the next parts.
Interactive part 1: Optimizing talent selection in sports practice (~ 75 mins)
Session leaders: Ilse Peringa, Ruud den Hartigh
When selecting talented athletes, a coach or scout basically has to predict the performance of the athletes in the future. While this is a very complex task, there are best practices that can be used based on knowledge from the field of selection psychology. In the first part of the session, you are going to make some selection decisions yourself, based on performance information of different individuals. Next, using knowledge from selection psychology and insights from the sports associations, you will design a strategy to improve selection decisions. Insights gained in this part of the workshop can be beneficial to yourself, as well as coaches or scouts that are open to advice on improving their selection decisions.
Interactive part 2: Fostering youth development in talent programs of the KNVB and KNLTB (~ 75 mins)
Jan Verbeek and Koen Rikken
At different sports associations, including the KNVB and KNLTB, selected athletes enter the talent development programs at an early age, based on the assumption that more time spent in these programs with higher-quality coaching and training facilities will lead to greater success. At the start of the interactive session, you will explore how elite athletes have actually built up their careers, more specifically what their development looked like. Next, you will work on psychological interventions that you could implement in talent programs of sports associations to foster the development of youth athletes.
Who Is This Workshop For?
Designed for professionals working in and around sport, including:
- Sport psychologists
- Performance and Mental Skills Consultants
- Coach educators and developers
- Sport coaches
- PE teachers and practitioners working in performance and development contexts
About the Workshop Leader :
Prof. dr. Ruud den Hartigh is Professor of Talent Development, with a special focus on the sport and performance context. He is also the Research Director of the Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, The Netherlands. In his sport psychological research, he closely collaborates with various associations and clubs to study, and improve, the identification and development of talent, psychological momentum, and resilience.
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