Identifying athletic talent and developing that talent to its full potential is a central concern in sport. Understanding talent identification and its implications for both positive and negative developmental outcomes is crucial to sporting success. This is the first comprehensive resource for scientists, researchers, students, coaches, analysts and policymakers looking to improve their knowledge of the talent identification and development process. With contributions from leading researchers and practitioners, this book offers a complete overview of contemporary talent identification and development from in-depth discussion of methodological and philosophical issues through to practical applications. Adopting an international and multi-disciplinary approach, it addresses all key aspects of the talent identification and development process, including skill acquisition and motor learning, psychological factors and family influences, creating optimal environments for performance, and dealing with injury and rehabilitation. Presenting an unrivalled wealth of research, the Routledge Handbook of Talent Identification and Development in Sport is an essential resource for any undergraduate or postgraduate degree course in sport studies, sport science, sport coaching or sport management, as well as for sport policymakers, analysts and coaches.

Identifying athletic talent and developing that talent to its full potential is a central concern in sport. Understanding talent identification and its implications for both positive and negative developmental outcomes is crucial to sporting success. This is the first comprehensive resource for scientists, researchers, students, coaches, analysts and policymakers looking to improve their knowledge of the talent identification and development process. With contributions from leading researchers and practitioners, this book offers a complete overview of contemporary talent identification and development from in-depth discussion of methodological and philosophical issues through to practical applications. Adopting an international and multi-disciplinary approach, it addresses all key aspects of the talent identification and development process, including skill acquisition and motor learning, psychological factors and family influences, creating optimal environments for performance, and dealing with injury and rehabilitation. Presenting an unrivalled wealth of research, the Routledge Handbook of Talent Identification and Development in Sport is an essential resource for any undergraduate or postgraduate degree course in sport studies, sport science, sport coaching or sport management, as well as for sport policymakers, analysts and coaches.

Identifying and developing talented athletes to their fullest potential is a central concern of sport scientists, sports coaches, and sports policy makers. The second edition of this popular text offers a state of the science synthesis of current knowledge in talent identification and development in sport, from the biological basis of talent to the systems and processes within sport through which that talent is nurtured. Written by a team of leading international experts, the book explores key factors and issues in contemporary sport, including: nature and nurture in the development of sporting talent designing optimal developmental environments long-term modelling of athlete development understanding the complexity of talent selection in-depth case studies of successful talent development systems. With an emphasis on practical implications for all those working in sport, the book offers an authoritative evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of contemporary systems for identifying and developing talent in sport. This is important reading for any student, researcher, or practitioner with an interest in skill acquisition, youth sport, elite sport, sports coaching, or sports development.

The Routledge Handbook of Coaching Children in Sport provides a comprehensive and extensive range of critical reflections of key areas impacting on children’s sport and coaching up to the age of 16. With coaching related chapters authored by academic across various disciplines, including nutrition, psychology, pedagogy, medicine, youth development and sociology, the text provides detailed reviews of the existing state of research and consideration of the implications of these particular factors upon parents, coaches, administrators and clearly the young people themselves as well as recommendations for future research. This new volume provides in-depth investigation to key topics of coaching topics such as Learning and Child Development, Protecting Young Athletes, Talent Identification and Development and Inclusive Coaching and finally introduce a broad array of contextual considerations for coaches from considering professional learning through to coaching in particular contexts. This book is more than simply an academic text and it offers insights that will further inform practice in children’s sport coaching. The handbook is relevant for students (UG, PG), researchers, academics, parents, coaches and administrators, as well as those interested in children’s sport coaching and the related topics therein. Martin Toms, PhD is a senior lecturer (associate professor) in the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Birmingham, UK. A former professional sports coach with an MPhil and PhD exploring the sociological issues of young people in junior sport, Martin has been heavily involved in juniors sport all of his adult life. He has published widely and presented extensively around the world on youth sport, including working on international projects and for NBGs/Federations and National Governmental organisations. He has gained European and SCUK funding for youth and coaching related projects as well as being involved in international consultancy. He is a co-editor of the European Journal for Sport and Society as well as the current Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Golf Science. Ruth Jeanes, PhD is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education at Monash University, Australia. Ruth’s research examines inclusion and exclusion within youth sport, particularly examining how sport can be used to achieve broader social policy objectives targeted at young people. Within this, she is particularly interested in the role of coaches in facilitating broader social outcomes for young people. Ruth has published extensively in these areas with over 100 publications across journal articles, book chapters and books. She is widely cited and has been successful in securing extensive funding for her research including two highly competitive Australian Research Council grants.

Talent development pathways in youth soccer provide opportunities for young players to realise their potential. Such programmes have become increasingly popular throughout governing bodies, professional clubs, and independent organisations. This has coincided with a rapid rise in sport science literature focused specifically on optimising player development towards expertise. However, the decreasing age of recruitment, biases in selection, inconsistencies in the language used, underrepresented populations, and large dropout rates from pathways have magnified the potential flaws of existing organisational structures and settings. Moreover, despite both the professionalisation of talent development pathways and growing research attention, we still know little about the characteristics that facilitate accurate recruitment strategies into pathways and long-term development outcomes. Talent Identification and Development in Youth Soccer provides an all-encompassing guide for both researchers and practitioners by gathering the existing literature to help better understand the current context of this discipline. Chapters are contributed by a team of leading and emerging international experts, examining topics such as technical, tactical, physical, psychological, social, activities and trajectories, career transitions, relative age effects, creativity, and genetics, with each chapter offering important considerations for both researchers and practitioners. With a dual emphasis on both theory and practice, this book is an important text for any student, researcher, coach, or practitioner with an interest in talent identification, talent development, youth soccer, soccer coaching, or expertise and skill acquisition.

The Routledge Handbook of Youth Sport is a comprehensive survey of the latest research into young people’s involvement in sport. Drawing on a wide diversity of disciplines, including sociology, psychology, policy studies, coaching, physical education and physiology, the book examines the importance of sport during a key transitional period of our lives, from the later teenage years into the early twenties, and therefore helps us develop a better understanding of the social construction of young people’s lives. The book covers youth sport in all its forms, from competitive game-contests and conventional sport to recreational activities, exercise and lifestyle sport, and at all levels, from elite competition to leisure time activities and school physical education. It explores youth sport across the world, in developing and developed countries, and touches on some of the most significant themes and issues in contemporary sport studies, including physical activity and health, lifelong participation, talent identification and development, and safeguarding and abuse. No other book brings together in one place such a breadth and depth of material on youth sport or the engagement of young people in physical activity. The Routledge Handbook of Youth Sport is therefore important reading for all advanced students, researchers, practitioners and policy-makers with an interest in youth sport, youth culture, sport studies or physical education.

Player Development: The Holistic Method provides the first holistic, evidence-based performance development method in sport. Focusing on the world’s largest sport, soccer, this book weaves together the interconnected layers driving player performance development to define a novel training method. In performance sport, narratives defining success or failure are steeped with stories of chance. The reality is that player performance and athlete development leading to career success is the byproduct of optimizing interconnected experiences toward maximizing the likelihood of individual success. It is the application of a holistic method that reduces the influence of luck and increases the likelihood of individual and team success. This book is the pathway to understanding and facilitating individual player development leading to elite performance success. This book reveals not only a holistic method, but also a universal method breaking down perceived and real barriers to provide a method transcending domains and specializations – a unified approach. The book introduces an evidence-based method toward performance development in soccer. It is key reading for students of coaching, talent development, sport performance and ancillary specializations, and practicing professionals in the field of player and performance development and coaching.

Essentials of Dance Psychology helps readers understand the psychological factors that affect dance and learn and apply psychological skills to their dance practice. It also aids teachers in designing environments that inspire physically and psychologically healthy performance.

The fourth edition of a classic, leading resource for the field of sport, exercise, and performance psychology Now expanded to two volumes, and featuring a wealth of new chapters from highly respected scholars in the field, this all-new edition of the Handbook of Sports Psychology draws on an international roster of experts and scholars in the field who have assembled state-of-the-art knowledge into this thorough, well-rounded, and accessible volume. Endorsed by the International Society of Sport Psychology, it represents an invaluable source of theoretical and practical information on our understanding of the role of psychology in sport, exercise, and performance—and how that understanding can be applied in order to improve real-world outcomes. Presented in eight parts, the Handbook of Sports Psychology, 4th Edition adds new material on emerging areas such as mindfulness, brain mapping, self-consciousness, and mental toughness, and covers special topics such as gender and cultural diversity, athletes with disabilities, and alcohol and drug use in sports. In addition, it covers classic topics such as what motivates an athlete to perform; why do some choke under pressure; how do top performers handle leadership roles; what does one do to mentally train; how an athlete deals with injury; and much more. Fourth edition of the most influential reference work for the field of sport psychology New coverage includes mindfulness in sport and exercise psychology, ethics, mental toughness, sport socialization, and making use of brain technologies in practice Endorsed by the International Society of Sport Psychology (ISSP) Handbook of Sports Psychology, 4th Edition is an indispensable resource for any student or professional interested in the field of sports psychology.

The Routledge International Encyclopedia of Sport and Exercise Psychology integrates the topics of motor control, physical education, exercise, adventure, performance in sports, and the performing arts, in several important ways and contexts, drawing upon diverse cultural perspectives. More than 90 overarching topics have been systematically developed by internationally renowned experts in theory, research, and practice. Each contribution delves into a thematic area with more nuanced vocabulary. The terminology drawn upon integrates traditional discourse and emerging topic matter into a state-of-the-art two-volume set. Volume 1: Theoretical and Methodological Concepts is comprised of theoretical topic matter, spanning theories and terminology from psychology contextualized to sport and physical activity, sport psychology-focused theories, and expansive discussions related to philosophy of science and methodology. Volume 2: Applied and Practical Measures draws upon practical concepts that bridge theory and research and practice. Broader issues that extend beyond sport and physical activity participants are embedded within the entries, intended to augment physical, mental, and social well-being. This expansive encyclopedia is a must-have resource for all professionals, scholars, and students in the fields of sport psychology and sport science.