There is a global demand for talented managers and leaders. To meet this demand, higher education institutions are developing talent programs. However, international perception of talent is diffuse. In this study, our profile of highly talented international business professionals was internationally validated by 172 participants, representing East Asia and Western Europe. Results indicate consensus on three domains: communicating, achieving results, and seeing patterns and interrelationships in a global context. Strikingly, diverse country-specific interpretations of the accompanying behaviors were observed. The findings contribute to the talent literature and offer insights for educational practitioners when developing competence frameworks for talent or professionalization programs.
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The present study examined whether performance characteristics discriminated between selected and deselected players in talent development programmes. This examination was carried out in talented soccer players, aged 16-18 years using objective measurement instruments. Four domains of multidimensional performance characteristics (physiological, technical, tactical and psychological) were assessed by using a test battery consisting of soccer-specific field tests and questionnaires. Multivariate analyses of covariance revealed that the physiological characteristics peak and repeated shuttle sprint, the technical characteristics of peak and repeated shuttle dribble and the tactical characteristic of 'positioning and deciding', significantly differed between the selected (n=76) and deselected players (n=37), with selected players performing better (P<0.05). Discriminant function analysis showed that the combination of the technical characteristic 'peak dribbling', the tactical characteristic 'positioning and deciding' and the physiological characteristic of 'peak sprinting' classified 69% of talented players correctly. In conclusion, the decisions made by the investigated clubs to either select or deselect players in their talent development programme, whom were aged 16-18 years, were mostly discriminated by aspects of the players' technical, tactical and physiological skill performances. Sports research can play an essential role in investigating the club's perception of important performance characteristics in talented players.
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Young talented athletes that mature have an increased injury risk. Human movement scientist Alien van der Sluis studied soccer players of the talent development program of FC Groningen and tennis players of the talented development program of the Royal Dutch Lawn Tennis Federation (KNLTB). The soccer players were followed for three years around their adolescent growth spurt. In the year of their growth spurt, players have more injuries compared to the year before or the year after, and they miss more training sessions and matches. A possible cause is the different rates in which bone tissue, muscle tissue and tendon tissue adapt to the growing body. More specific, players that grow more than 0.6 cm in one month, have an increased risk for injury in the next month. Moreover, players with a late growth spurt are relatively small compared to their peers, and this leads to more injuries compared to their ‘earlier mature’ counterparts.Furthermore, tennis players high in risk-taking behavior (typical for puberty), have more injuries and players with better metacognitive skills such as monitoring, have less injuries. Players may be better capable of monitoring small physical complaints, which could help them to prevent themselves from having more severe injuries.Van der Sluis concluded that during puberty, there are specific risk factors for injuries in talented athletes. Coaches and trainers should estimate the moment of the adolescent growth spurt, to take injury preventive measures at the right moment. Monthly monitoring of length, could help to predict an increased risk of injury in periods of intensive growth. At last, it is advised to provide feedback to players high in risk-taking and to educate athletes in monitoring their own training process.
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the characteristics of talent in relation to international business to facilitate selection and development of talent in human resources (HR) and human resource development (HRD).Design/methodology/approach – A mixed method design was used: focus groups with business professionals to identify the characteristics of highly talented international business professionals (HTIBP), resulting in a concept profile; Delphi study for validation; systematic comparison of the opencoding results to existing literature to identify characteristics of talent.Findings – A specific and concise profile of HTIBP has been developed. This profile has five domains: achieving results; communicating; innovating; self-reflecting; seeing patterns and interrelationships in a global context. From literature cross-referencing, we have identified innovating, being creative andhaving a drive to achieve results are most distinguishing for HTIBP.Practical implications – The paper facilitates an ongoing discussion about what constitutes talent, and offers new perspectives for companies to consider when selecting and developing talent.Originality/value – The conceptual contribution of the paper offers a fresh and practical empirical perspective on what talent entails.
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The purpose of this study was to identify differences in traumatic and overuse injury incidence between talented soccer players who differ in the timing of their adolescent growth spurt. 26 soccer players (mean age 11.9 ± 0.84 years) were followed longitudinally for 3 years around Peak Height Velocity, calculated according to the Maturity Offset Protocol. The group was divided into an earlier and later maturing group by median split. Injuries were registered following the FIFA consensus statement. Mann-Whitney tests showed that later maturing players had a significantly higher overuse injury incidence than their earlier maturing counterparts both in the year before Peak Height Velocity (3.53 vs.0.49 overuse injuries/1 000 h of exposure,U = 49.50, z = − 2.049, p < 0.05) and the year of Peak Height Velocity (3.97 vs. 1.56 overuse injuries/1 000 h of exposure, U = 50.5, z = − 1.796,p < 0.05). Trainers and coaches should be careful with the training and match load they put on talented soccer players, especially those physically not (yet) able to handle that load. Players appear to be especially susceptible to injury between 13.5 and 14.5 years of age. Training and match load should be structured relative to maturity such that athletic development is maximized and the risk of injury is minimized.
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For decades, Scandinavian culture effectively prohibited the development of special provisions for talented students in higher education. However, in recent years, a cultural shift has gradually made more room for excellence and talent development in the national discourses. This paper analyzes the climate for talent development in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. Following a first inventory of honors programs in Scandinavian higher education in which the only programs were found in Denmark, 10 experts were interviewed to analyze their national situation and reflect on the leading role of Denmark. In this country, external incentives, focus on quality, pioneers, and an open atmosphere were found to produce a culture more appreciative of excellence over the last decade. Starting from the Danish experience, the situation in Norway and Sweden is analyzed, showing that the combination of factors leading to change in Denmark is not yet present here. Lessons for other countries are highlighted, notably the importance of sharing information and exchanging knowledge at an international level.
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Factors affecting repeated sprint ability (RSA) were evaluated in a mixed-longitudinal sample of 48 elite basketball players 14 to 19 years of age (16.1±1.7 years). Players were observed on six occasions during the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 seasons. Three basketball-specific field tests were administered on each occasion: the Shuttle Sprint Test (SST) for RSA, the Vertical Jump (VJ) for lower body explosive strength (power), and the Interval Shuttle Run Test (ISRT) for interval endurance capacity. Height and weight were measured; body composition was estimated (percent fat, lean body mass). Multilevel modeling of RSA development curve was used with 32 players (16.0±1.7 years) who had two or more observations. The 16 players (16.1±1.8 years) measured on only one occasion were used as a control group to evaluate the appropriateness of the model. Age, lower body explosive strength, and interval endurance capacity significantly contributed to RSA (p < .05). RSA improved with age from 14-17 years (p < .05) and reached a plateau at 17-19 years. Predicted RSA did not significantly differ from measured RSA in the control group (p > .05). The results suggest a potentially important role for the training of lower body explosive strength and interval endurance capacity in the development of RSA among youth basketball players. Age-specific reference values for RSA of youth players may assist basketball coaches in setting appropriate goals for individual players.
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Talent development programmes for professional soccer clubs aim to guide players towards professional level performance. We identify whether the intermittent endurance capacity of these players may have changed over time. Since the 2000/2001 competition season, the intermittent endurance capacity of players in the talent development programmes of two professional soccer clubs was measured annually. A total of 492 players participated, divided across seven age categories (under 13 (U13), U14, U15, U16, U17, U18, U19) and resulting in 953 measurements. Analyses of variance showed an improvement in intermittent endurance capacity from the 2000/2001 season to 2009/2010 of around 50% in all age groups (P < 0.05). A possible explanation is the increased quantity and quality of training over the years. When identifying, developing and selecting young players, scouts, trainers and coaches have to be aware that the current level of soccer and its underlying performance characteristics--such as intermittent endurance capacity--are improving over time. This factor may have consequences for current young players aiming to make it to the top 10 years from now.
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Observational learning is considered powerful to promote (implicit) motor learning. While it is a common tool in practice, little is known about the effects of video instructions on movement execution. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of watching biomechanically optimal (OPT) and suboptimal (SUBOPT) sidestep cutting (SSC) video instructions on movement execution. Ten male basketball players (age 15.5 ± 1.2 years, height 189.9 ± 3.1 cm, mass 75.4 ± 7.1 kg) from a Regional Talent Center performed anticipated 45° SSC tasks in baseline (BASE) followed by two counterbalanced experimental conditions. Subjects watched expert videos (matched by sex and height) of OPT and SUBOPT movement executions and were asked to imitate this to the best of their ability. Kine(ma)tic data was captured with 21 reflective markers and 2 force plates. After watching the videos, subjects displayed smaller ankle dorsiflexion angles (p
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