ABSTRACT

As many authors have noted (including several in this Handbook), there is tremendous pressure to identify and develop talented young athletes in many countries around the world. This has resulted in a worldwide sporting culture where significant resources and infrastructure are directed towards selecting athletes who are seen as having the greatest potential for success on the global stage. Perhaps the most extreme example is the 2011 selection of an 18-month-old to a 10-year ‘symbolic contract’ by a Dutch professional soccer team, largely based on the toddler’s performance in a YouTube video. 1 Other examples exist that emphasize the desire for stakeholders in the athlete development system to identify and promote talent as soon as possible, using whatever means available (see 7-year-old Leonel Angel Coira and 10-year-old Ben Lederman who, in 2011, signed development contracts with Real Madrid and FC Barcelona respectively). The pressure and desire to identify and develop talent is also reflected in the tremendous financial investments in talent identification and development (TID) by both stakeholder organizations and the parents of developing athletes (see Campbell & Parcels’ [2013] description of the latter).