Psychological attributes of young talents identification and development

Abstract

Over the past decade outstanding performances have been achieved in the vast majority of sports both in quantitatively measurable performances and in qualitatively observable skill executions. Several authors (Harre, 1971, Pandele, 1974, Matveev and Novikov, 1979, and others) claim that the best performances were achieved by those athletes who, as children, were exposed to a well organized and systematic training program. Coaches who are impatient and who force young athletes to achieve quick results, usually fail. Such athletes are either exhausted or quit before achieving athletic maturation. By correctly employing the principles of training and by organizing children's into systematic each with clearly defined objectives, one will produce healthy and outstanding athletes. However, prior to examining the specifics of each training phase, a brief description of children's growth and development will be presented. Any reader interested in furthering his/her knowledge in this area is referred to Tanner (1973), Espanshade and Eckert (1967), Kaluger and Kaluger (1979), Winnick (1979), Abrezol (1986), Unesthal (1989) and Sanderson (1989).