Abstract
Med udgangspunkt i en kvantitativ undersøgelse af fodboldspilleres vej mod toppen diskuterer artiklen tendenser i dansk elitefodbolds talentudvikling. Der kigges nærmer på den relative alderseffekt blandt spillerne og på den evolutionære og strategiske udviklingstankegangen. Mette Krogh Christensen: Young Football Talents’ Ways to the Top – Evolutionary or Strategic Talent Development? During the next four years the Danish government intends to spend 40 million Dkr. on talent development within Danish top-level sport. Like many other countries Denmark has chosen to use many resources on talent development in top-level sport expecting that the investment will »strengthen the exposure and increase the knowledge of Denmark« (The Danish Ministry of Culture, 2007). For that reason questions concerning how talent development in Denmark is managed and which modes of thought form the basis of talent development in top-level sport are highly topical. In this paper we will explore two modes of thought in Danish top-level football talent development: an evolutionary and a strategic mode of thought. An evolutionary mode of thought about talent development is characterized by giving a high priority to broad groups of talents as long as possible. The idea is that young football talents have the opportunity to develop in their own pace, to move in their well-known environments and to find their own peak compe186 tence (or qualification) after which experienced coaches select the footballers that they find appropriate. A strategic mode of thought about talent development is concerned with selecting and thinning out the broad group of talent at a much earlier stage. The selection is carried out on the basis of precise and distinct criteria and principles with the purpose of narrowing down the number of talents to a strategically selected group who are then given optimal conditions of development. The paper presents a retrospective, quantitative cohort study of 635 Danish youth football talents’ ways to the top (i.e. the national teams) from 1991-2006. The results showed among other things that relatively few talents from U/16 and U/17 national teams make their debut on the All-Denmark team, and that there is a massive flow of talents on the U/17 and U/18 national teams, which indicates an evolutionary mode of thought among the youth national team coaches. The results also showed a relative age effect among the younger talents, which might indicate a strategic mode of thought based on maturation as a performance determinant. On the background of the results from the study a pivotal dilemma in the investment in talent development in top-level sport is discussed: the dilemma between evolutionary and strategic talent development.
Highlights
Unge fodboldtalenters veje mod toppenAf Mette Krogh Christensen, Michael Sorgenfri Pedersen og Christian Stilling Mortensen
For at få yderligere indblik i disse spørgsmål og de karrieremæssige vilkår for unge fodboldtalenter vil vi i det følgende præsentere en retrospektiv, kvantitativ undersøgelse af 635 fodboldspilleres veje mod toppen, dvs. de danske ungdoms- og A-landshold i perioden 1991-2006
Artiklen drejer sig således om et centralt dilemma for investeringen i talentudvikling, nemlig at samtidig med at man ønsker at se så mange talenter som muligt blomstre op og udvikle sig, vil man også gerne styre talentudviklingen og strategisk kunne sortere og udvælge blandt talenterne, så de allerbedste på så tidligt et tidspunkt som muligt får de bedste betingelser for talentudvikling
Summary
Af Mette Krogh Christensen, Michael Sorgenfri Pedersen og Christian Stilling Mortensen. Med udgangspunkt i resultater fra denne undersøgelse vil vi diskutere tendenser i dansk elitefodbolds talentudvikling i lyset af tilgang og frafald blandt ungdomslandsholdsspillere. 2) Eksistensen af to tankegange i dansk elitefodbolds talentudvikling: en evolutionær udviklingstankegang, der prioriterer en bred talentmasse i så lang tid som muligt, og en strategisk udviklingstankegang, der sorterer og udtynder i talentmassen på et meget tidligt tidspunkt i unge fodboldtalenters udvikling. Artiklen drejer sig således om et centralt dilemma for investeringen i talentudvikling, nemlig at samtidig med at man ønsker at se så mange talenter som muligt blomstre op og udvikle sig, vil man også gerne styre talentudviklingen og strategisk kunne sortere og udvælge blandt talenterne, så de allerbedste på så tidligt et tidspunkt som muligt får de bedste betingelser for talentudvikling. Hvorvidt den relative alderseffekt påvirkes af en evolutionær henholdsvis en strategisk udviklingstankegang
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
