Abstract
Despite rapid increases in research on talent identification and development in able-bodied sports, there remains limited knowledge regarding how talent is identified and developed in Paralympic contexts. The purpose of this study was to capture the perspectives of experts (coaches, high-performance managers, and pathway specialists) working in elite Paralympic sport to better understand how they conceptualize, measure, and develop talent. Eight coaches and three performance directors from six Paralympic sports, along with two pathway specialists from Paralympics Australia participated in semi-structured interviews. The results suggest impairment type and, therefore, classification are key indicators of identification and anticipated success, highlighting the importance of educating talent selectors in these areas. In addition, familial (e.g., overprotectiveness, sporting background) and biopsychosocial factors (e.g., resilience, work-ethic, sport-specific skills, other life commitments) were noted as being influential when selecting athletes. There were concerns regarding the disproportionately low number of female athletes in the system, suggesting a need for new initiatives to support early-entry points for female athletes (e.g., education on the benefits of sport participation, supportive environments). High-performance staff also lacked resources to better understand the nuances associated with different impairments and their implications (physiological response to training, associated psychological stresses from injury, identity change). Recruitment strategies included “talent search” days, collaborations with school programs and rehabilitation centers, and helping local clubs support “drop-in” athletes. However, limited funding impacted the sustainability of programs, resulting in a regular turnover of staff, loss of intellectual property, and a weakened pathway system. Results from this study generated several practical implications and future directions for research.
Highlights
Identifying early-career performance indicators that predict future performance in highperformance sport has been difficult (Schorer et al, 2017; Johnston et al, 2018; Johnston and Baker, 2020)
Recruitment High-performance (HP) staff from Paralympics Australia and Australian Paralympic sports were contacted by the lead author
Eight coaches and three performance directors from six different Paralympic sports, along with two pathway specialists from Paralympics Australia agreed to participate in this study
Summary
Identifying early-career performance indicators that predict future performance in highperformance sport has been difficult (Schorer et al, 2017; Johnston et al, 2018; Johnston and Baker, 2020). There is a wide range of variables that influence athletes’ trajectories including demographic (e.g., socioeconomic status, family status, sporting background, Côté, 1999; Post et al, 2018), physical and psychological (e.g., resilience, growth and maturation, Baxter-Jones et al, 2002; Roberts et al, 2019), sporting (e.g., quality coaching, coach-athlete relationship, Erickson and Côté, 2016), social (e.g., peers, Ullrich-French and Smith, 2009), environmental (e.g., access to facilities, Estabrooks et al, 2003), and political factors (e.g., policy for access to sport, funding, Barker-Ruchti et al, 2018) This breadth of research has informed stakeholders (i.e., sport organizations, coaches, athletes, families) of key factors that can impact the identification and development of an athlete. Three participants reported having an impairment themselves, while another two were trained classifiers
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