The modern-day landscape of Olympic and Professional sport is arguably more competitive than ever. One consequence of this is the increased focus on identifying and developing early athletic talent. In this paper, we highlight key challenges associated with talent (athlete) identification and development and propose possible solutions that could be considered by research and practice. The first challenge focuses upon clarifying the purposes of talent identification initiatives such as defining what talent is and how its meaning might evolve over time. Challenge two centres on ways to best identify, select and develop talent, including issues with different approaches to identification, the need to understand the impact of development and the need to have appropriate resourcing in the system to support continued development of knowledge. Finally, we discuss two emerging challenges in relation to the ‘healthiness’ of talent identification and developments that will have important impact on talent identification and development systems. The first examines whether a talent identification and development system be is ‘healthy’ for athletes while the second focuses on how sport stakeholders could discourage the apparent trend towards early specialization in youth sport settings. Whilst this paper discusses the research in relation to these challenges, we propose multiple possible solutions that researchers and practitioners could consider for optimising their approach to talent identification and development. In summary, talent is a complex and largely misunderstood phenomenon lacking robust research evidence, and given concerns that it is potentially unhealthy, talent identification and selection at younger ages is not recommended.

/pdf/challenges-and-possible-solutions-to-optimizing-talent-4zxxt1b83n.pdf

Challenges and [Possible] Solutions to Optimizing Talent Identification and Development in Sport.

In recent years there has been an exponential rise in the professionalism and success of female sports. Practitioners (e.g., sport science professionals) aim to apply evidence-informed approaches to optimise athlete performance and well-being. Evidence-informed practices should be derived from research literature. Given the lack of research on elite female athletes, this is challenging at present. This limits the ability to adopt an evidence-informed approach when working in female sports, and as such, we are likely failing to maximize the performance potential of female athletes. This article discusses the challenges of applying an evidence base derived from male athletes to female athletes. A conceptual framework is presented, which depicts the need to question the current (male) evidence base due to the differences of the “female athlete” and the “female sporting environment,” which pose a number of challenges for practitioners working in the field. Until a comparable applied sport science research evidence base is established in female athletes, evidence-informed approaches will remain a challenge for those working in female sport.

/pdf/the-challenge-of-applying-and-undertaking-research-in-female-31axqtfo92.pdf

The Challenge of Applying and Undertaking Research in Female Sport

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has resulted in widespread training disruption in many
sports. Some athletes have access to facilities and equipment, while others have
limited or no access, severely limiting their training practices. A primary concern
is that the maintenance of key physical qualities (e. g. strength, power,
high-speed running ability, acceleration, deceleration and change of direction),
game-specific contact skills (e. g. tackling) and decision-making ability,
are challenged, impacting performance and injury risk on resumption of training and
competition. In extended periods of reduced training, without targeted intervention,
changes in body composition and function can be profound. However, there are
strategies that can dramatically mitigate potential losses, including resistance
training to failure with lighter loads, plyometric training, exposure to high-speed
running to ensure appropriate hamstring conditioning, and nutritional intervention.
Athletes may require psychological support given the challenges associated with
isolation and a change in regular training routine. While training restrictions may
result in a decrease in some physical and psychological qualities, athletes can
return in a positive state following an enforced period of rest and recovery. On
return to training, the focus should be on progression of all aspects of training,
taking into account the status of individual athletes.

/pdf/returning-to-play-after-prolonged-training-restrictions-in-f8pvekcz4x.pdf

Returning to Play after Prolonged Training Restrictions in Professional Collision Sports.

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the collated integration of practitioner expertise, athlete values and research evidence aimed to optimise the decision-making process surrounding sport performance. Despite the academic interest afforded to sport science research, our knowledge of how this research is applied in elite sport settings is limited. This current opinion examines the existing evidence of the translation of sport science research into the field, with a tailored focus on the current perceptions of practitioners, researchers and coaches. Recent studies show that practitioners and researchers report they ascertain sport science knowledge differently, with coaches preferring personal interactions compared with coaching courses or scientific journals. The limited peer-reviewed research shows that coaches perceive their knowledge is greater in fields such as tactical/technical areas, rather than physical fitness or general conditioning. This likely explains coaches' greater perceived value in research dedicated to technical and tactical expertise, as well as mental training and skill acquisition. Practitioners place a large emphasis on the need for research in physical fitness areas, which is likely due to their occupational focus. There are many perceived barriers of sport science research application, including funding, time, coach/player/staff 'buy in' and research questions that may not apply to the setting. We contend that researchers and practitioners may benefit in producing research, ascertaining knowledge and disseminating findings in alternative methods that better align with coaches' needs. In addition, educational strategies that focus on real-world context and promote social interaction between coaches, practitioners, organisational personnel and researchers would likely benefit all stakeholders.

The Translation of Sport Science Research to the Field: A Current Opinion and Overview on the Perceptions of Practitioners, Researchers and Coaches.

In recent years, an understanding has developed that sports injuries are the emergent outcomes of complex, dynamic systems. Thus, the influence of local contextual factors on injury outcomes is increasingly being acknowledged. These realisations place injury prevention research at a crossroads. Currently, injury prevention researchers develop universally applicable injury prevention solutions, but the adoption of these solutions in practice is low. This occurs because implementation contexts are both unique and dynamic in nature, and as a result singular, static solutions are often incompatible. In contrast, practitioners address injury prevention through iterative cycles of trial and error, aiming to optimise the injury prevention process within their own unique contexts. The purpose of this critical review is to draw attention to the misalignment between research and practice-based approaches to injury prevention. In light of this, we propose alternative research approaches that acknowledge the process-driven nature of injury prevention in practice. We propose that a core focus of sport injury prevention research should be to provide practitioners with useful and relevant information to support their decision making around their localised injury prevention practice. Through this approach, injury prevention research ceases to be about what works, and begins to engage with understanding what works in what contexts and why?

/pdf/sports-injury-prevention-is-complex-we-need-to-invest-in-4tkh253wes.pdf

Sports Injury Prevention is Complex: We Need to Invest in Better Processes, Not Singular Solutions

Using an expert consensus-based approach, a rugby union Video Analysis Consensus (RUVAC) group was formed to develop a framework for video analysis research in rugby union. The aim of the framework is to improve the consistency of video analysis work in rugby union and help enhance the overall quality of future research in the sport. To reach consensus, a systematic review and Delphi method study design was used. After a systematic search of the literature, 17 articles were used to develop the final framework that described and defined key actions and events in rugby union (rugby). Thereafter, a group of researchers and practitioners with experience and expertise in rugby video analysis formed the RUVAC group. Each member of the group examined the framework of descriptors and definitions and rated their level of agreement on a 5-point agreement Likert scale (1: strongly disagree; 2: disagree; 3: neitheragree or disagree; 4: agree; 5: strongly agree). The mean rating of agreement on the five-point scale (1: strongly disagree; 5: strongly agree) was 4.6 (4.3–4.9), 4.6 (4.4–4.9), 4.7 (4.5–4.9), 4.8 (4.6–5.0) and 4.8 (4.6–5.0) for the tackle, ruck, scrum, line-out and maul, respectively. The RUVAC group recommends using this consensus as the starting framework when conducting rugby video analysis research. Which variables to use (if not all) depends on the objectives of the study. Furthermore, the intention of this consensus is to help integrate video data with other data (eg, injury surveillance).

https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/bjsports/54/10/566.full.pdf

Consensus on a video analysis framework of descriptors and definitions by the Rugby Union Video Analysis Consensus group

‘Wide and Emergent – Narrow and Focussed’ : A Dual-Pathway Approach to Talent Identification and Development in England Rugby Union

Applied researchers (eg, academic researchers, PhD students) strive to undertake research that can inform practice in sport, and evidence ‘ impact.’ Conversely, practitioners (eg, coaches, physiotherapists, clinicians, sports scientists) strive to apply relevant up-to-date research findings to develop or optimise practice, adopting ‘ evidence based practice. ’ Despite the researcher and practitioner within a discipline having similar overall aims (eg, improve athletic performance, reduce injury risk, optimise return to play practices), their primary roles appear different due to various contextual factors.1 2 Researchers are able to work slowly, dedicating time to solving complex problems, whereas practitioners working in the field are required to work fast, to provide day-to-day support to coaches and athletes.1 The differences in how the researcher and practitioner work can be problematic and challenge the alignment of their respective priorities within their roles (eg, timescales required to deliver outcomes, specific expertise and experience, resources). Here we share a model demonstrating how the ‘working fast1 on-field brain3’, ‘working slow1 off-field brain3’ and ‘research-practitioner2’ can work together to undertake and integrate research into practice and solve the above problems.

The alignment of (applied) research questions, expectations and usability of outcomes into practice …

https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/bjsports/53/13/791.full.pdf

Accessing off-field brains in sport; an applied research model to develop practice

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Consensus on a video analysis framework of descriptors and definitions by the Rugby Union Video Analysis Consensus group

‘Wide and Emergent – Narrow and Focussed’ : A Dual-Pathway Approach to Talent Identification and Development in England Rugby Union

Accessing off-field brains in sport; an applied research model to develop practice