The Development of Position-Specific Performance Indicators in Elite Youth Rugby League: A Coach's Perspective

Abstract

The competition for talent identification and development is highly meaningful to the long-term participation and performance levels of sport. The introduction of the National Youth Competition (NYC) as a critical step in the development of talented youth players has led to this research, to develop position performance indicators in youth rugby league. By applying a modification of the Delphi qualitative research method, this research collaborates current elite level youth coach opinions to identify key cognitive, physiological and game-skill performance indicators. The three-stage research process of initial interview and subsequent questionnaires also identifies the initial signs of higher performance in youth players. Results have differentiated playing positions and identified a unique sub-set of skills and abilities that are crucial to position-specific performance. Cognitive indicators have been found to exert the greatest influence over a variety of positions, closely followed by game skills, and to a lesser extent physiological indicators. Conclusions suggest that, at developmental levels of the sport, coaches should emphasise and allocate training time to develop cognitive and game-skill indicators. Findings also recognise that current talent identification and development programs may need to be modified to adequately measure these indicators to maximise chances of ‘talented’ youth players reaching higher levels.