ABSTRACT

A fascinating question in the field of talent identification and development (TID) is whether the physical, technical, tactical, and psychological substrates that underlie expert performance can be developed more effectively and efficiently during certain developmental periods than others. The question is motivated by a fear that if windows of optimal development are not exploited, athletes may never reach their full potential. An equally legitimate fear is that certain developmental stages represent periods of heightened vulnerability to specific experiences. Despite these fears, little evidence supports the existence of such windows in the development of talent in sport. The lack of evidence does not imply that these windows do not exist. Rather, the lack of evidence is a reflection of the glaring lack of research devoted to these intriguing questions and the difficulty of identifying windows of optimal development and vulnerability in an activity as complex, multiply-layered, and multiply-determined as TID in sport.