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The literature base regarding the development of sporting talent is extensive, and includes empirical articles, reviews, position papers, academic books, governing body documents, popular books, unpublished theses and anecdotal evidence, and contains numerous models of talent development. With such a varied body of work, the task for researchers, practitioners and policy makers of generating a clear understanding of what is known and what is thought to be true regarding the development of sporting talent is particularly challenging. Drawing on a wide array of expertise, we address this challenge by avoiding adherence to any specific model or area and by providing a reasoned review across three key overarching topics: (a) the performer; (b) the environment; and (c) practice and training. Within each topic sub-section, we review and calibrate evidence by performance level of the samples. We then conclude each sub-section with a brief summary, a rating of the quality of evidence, a recommendation for practice and suggestions for future research. These serve to highlight both our current level of understanding and our level of confidence in providing practice recommendations, but also point to a need for future studies that could offer evidence regarding the complex interactions that almost certainly exist across domains. Key Points We identify what is known and what is thought likely to be true in relation to understanding the development of the world`s best sporting talent, make recommendations for policy makers and practitioners to act on, and suggest fruitful avenues for future research. Examining topics related to the performer, the environment, and practice and training, our analysis highlights variation in the quality of evidence relevant to the development of the world`s best sporting talent, such that the strength of evidence in some topics (e.g. anthropometric and physiological factors) is higher than in others (e.g. birthdate). We provide an authoritative, balanced, comprehensive, fully referenced and critical review of the literature, which should serve as a key point of reference (a) for researchers in talent identification and development in sport, as well as a guide to future research; and (b) for practitioners and policy makers in sport seeking an overarching, evidence-based understanding of the current state of knowledge in the area, as well as a guide for translating that knowledge into action.
© Copyright 2016 Sports Medicine. Springer. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. / Übersetzt mit https://www.DeepL.com/Translator