3,521
Views
0
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

What do we currently know about the development of talent? A systematic review in the soccer context

ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon & ORCID Icon
Received 13 Feb 2023, Accepted 11 Nov 2023, Published online: 21 Nov 2023

References

  • Note: Studies analysed for the review are marked by an*
  • Abbott, A., Button, C., Pepping, G., & Collins, D. (2005). Unnatural selection: Talent identification and development in sport. Nonlinear Dynamics, Psychology, and Life Sciences, 9(1), 61–88.
  • Abbott, A., & Collins, D. (2004). Eliminating the dichotomy between theory and practice in talent identification and development: Considering the role of psychology. Journal of Sports Sciences, 22(5), 395–408. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640410410001675324
  • Araújo, D., Fonseca, C., Davids, K., Garganta, J., Volossovitch, A., Brandão, R., & Krebs, R. (2010). The role of ecological constraints on expertise development. Talent Development and Excellence, 2(2), 165–179.
  • *Arcos, A. L., Martínez-Santos, R., & Castillo, D. (2020). Spanish elite soccer reserve team configuration and the impact of physical fitness performance. Journal of Human Kinetics, 71(1), 211–218. https://doi.org/10.2478/hukin-2019-0085
  • Baker, J., & Horton, S. (2004). A review of primary and secondary influences on sport expertise. High Ability Studies, 15(2), 211–228. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359813042000314781
  • Baker, J., Wattie, N., & Schorer, J. (2019). A proposed conceptualization of talent in sport: The first step in a long and winding road. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 43, 27–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2018.12.016
  • Baker, J., Wilson, S., Johnston, K., Dehghansai, N., Koenigsberg, A., de Vegt, S., & Wattie, N. (2020). Talent research in sport 1990–2018: A scoping review. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.607710
  • Barraclough, S., Till, K., Kerr, A., & Emmonds, S. (2022). Methodological approaches to talent identification in team sports: A narrative review. Sports, 10(6), 81. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports10060081
  • *Barreiros, A. N., & Fonseca, A. M. (2012). A retrospective analysis of Portuguese elite athletes’ involvement in international competitions. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 7(3), 593–600. https://doi.org/10.1260/1747-9541.7.3.593
  • Bergkamp, T. L. G., Niessen, A. S. M., den Hartigh, R. J. R., Frencken, W. G. P., & Meijer, R. R. (2019). Methodological issues in soccer talent identification research. Sports Medicine, 49(9), 1317–1335. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-019-01113-w
  • Bergman, L. R., & Magnusson, D. (1997). A person-oriented approach in research on developmental psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 9(2), 291–319. https://doi.org/10.1017/S095457949700206X
  • Bronfenbrenner, U., & Ceci, S. J. (1994). Nature-nuture reconceptualized in developmental perspective: A bioecological model. Psychological Review, 101(4), 568–586. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.101.4.568
  • *Carling, C., Le Gall, F., & Malina, R. M. (2012). Body size, skeletal maturity, and functional characteristics of elite academy soccer players on entry between 1992 and 2003. Journal of Sports Sciences, 30(15), 1683–1693. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2011.637950
  • *Castillo, D., Los Arcos, A., & Martínez-Santos, R. (2018). Aerobic endurance performance does not determine the professional career of elite youth soccer players. The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 58, 4. https://doi.org/10.23736/s0022-4707.16.06436-7
  • Cobley, S., Schorer, J., & Baker, J. (2011). Identification and development of sport talent: A brief introduction to a growing field of research and practice. In J. Baker, J. Schorer, & S. Cobley (Eds.), Talent identification and development in sport: International perspectives (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203850312
  • Collins, D., MacNamara, I., & Cruickshank, A. (2019). Research and practice in talent identification and development—some thoughts on the state of play. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 31(3), 340–351. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2018.1475430
  • *Cooper, A. (2021). An investigation into the factors affecting player development within each phase of the academy pathway in English football academies. Soccer & Society, 22(5), 429–441. https://doi.org/10.1080/14660970.2020.1822342
  • Couceiro, M. S., Dias, G., Araújo, D., & Davids, K. (2016). The ARCANE project: How an ecological dynamics framework can enhance performance assessment and prediction in football. Sports Medicine, 46(12), 1781–1786. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0549-2
  • Coutinho, P., Mesquita, I., & Fonseca, A. M. (2016). Talent development in sport: A critical review of pathways to expert performance. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 11(2), 279–293. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747954116637499
  • *Craig, T. P., & Swinton, P. (2021). Anthropometric and physical performance profiling does not predict professional contracts awarded in an elite Scottish soccer academy over a 10-year period. European Journal of Sport Science, 21(8), 1101–1110. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2020.1808079
  • Dai, D. Y. (2019). New directions in talent development research: A developmental systems perspective. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2019(168), 177–197. https://doi.org/10.1002/cad.20322
  • *Datson, N., Weston, M., Drust, B., Gregson, W., & Lolli, L. (2020). High-intensity endurance capacity assessment as a tool for talent identification in elite youth female soccer. Journal of Sports Sciences, 38(11–12), 1313–1319. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2019.1656323
  • Davids, K., & Baker, J. (2007). Genes, environment and sport performance. Sports Medicine, 37(11), 961–980. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200737110-00004
  • Den Hartigh, R. J. R., Cox, R. F., & Van Geert, P. L. (2017). Complex versus complicated models of cognition. In L. Magnani, & T. Bertolotti (Eds.), Springer handbook of model-based science (pp. 657–669). Springer Handbooks. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30526-4_30
  • *Den Hartigh, R. J. R., Hill, Y., & Van Geert, P. L. C. (2018). The development of talent in sports: A dynamic network approach. Complexity, 2018, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/9280154
  • Den Hartigh, R. J. R., Meerhoff, L. R. A., Van Yperen, N. W., Neumann, N. D., Brauers, J. J., Frencken, W. G. P., Emerencia, A., Hill, Y., Platvoet, S., Atzmueller, M., Lemmink, K. A. P. M., & Brink, M. S. (2022). Resilience in sports: A multidisciplinary, dynamic, and personalized perspective. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2022.2039749
  • Den Hartigh, R. J. R., Van Dijk, M. W. G., Steenbeek, H. W., & Van Geert, P. L. C. (2016). A dynamic network model to explain the development of excellent human performance. Frontiers in Psychology, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00532
  • *Deprez, D. N., Fransen, J., Lenoir, M., Philippaerts, R. M., & Vaeyens, R. (2015). A retrospective study on anthropometrical, physical fitness, and motor coordination characteristics that influence dropout, contract status, and first-team playing time in high-level soccer players aged eight to eighteen years. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 29(6), 1692–1704. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000000806
  • DiSanti, J. S., & Erickson, K. (2021). Challenging our understanding of youth sport specialization: An examination and critique of the literature through the lens of Bronfenbrenner’s person-process-context-time model. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 14(1), 28–50. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2020.1728779
  • *Dugdale, J. H., Sanders, D., Myers, T., Williams, A. M., & Hunter, A. M. (2021). Progression from youth to professional soccer: A longitudinal study of successful and unsuccessful academy graduates. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 31(S1), 73–84. https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.13701
  • *Egilsson, B., & Dolles, H. (2017). “From Heroes to Zeroes” – self-initiated expatriation of talented young footballers. Journal of Global Mobility: The Home of Expatriate Management Research, 5(2), 174–193. https://doi.org/10.1108/JGM-10-2016-0058
  • Elferink-Gemser, M. T., Jordet, G., Coelho-E-Silva, M. J., & Visscher, C. (2011). The marvels of elite sports: How to get there? British Journal of Sports Medicine, 45(9), 683–684. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2011-090254
  • Elferink-Gemser, M. T., Visscher, C., Lemmink, K., & Mulder, T. (2004). Relation between multidimensional performance characteristics and level of performance in talented youth field hockey players. Journal of Sports Sciences, 22(11-12), 1053–1063. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02640410410001729991
  • *Emmonds, S., Till, K., Jones, B., Mellis, M., & Pears, M. (2016). Anthropometric, speed and endurance characteristics of English academy soccer players: Do they influence obtaining a professional contract at 18 years of age? International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 11(2), 212–218. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747954116637154
  • Ericsson, K. A., Krampe, R. T., & Tesch-Römer, C. (1993). The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review, 100(3), 363–406. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.100.3.363
  • *Erikstad, M. K., Høigaard, R., Johansen, B. T., Kandala, N. B., & Haugen, T. (2018). Childhood football play and practice in relation to self-regulation and national team selection; a study of Norwegian elite youth players. Journal of Sports Sciences, 36(20), 2304–2310. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2018.1449563
  • *Erikstad, M. K., Tore Johansen, B., Johnsen, M., Haugen, T., & Côté, J. (2021). “As many as possible for as long as possible”—A case study of a soccer team that fosters multiple outcomes. The Sport Psychologist, 35(2), 131–141. https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.2020-0107
  • *Fechio, J. J., Peccin, M. S., & Padovani, R. D. C. (2021). Trajetória esportiva e habilidades psicológicas de jogadores de futebol da seleção brasileira [Sports trajectory and psychological skills of Brazilian national team soccer players]. Movimento, 27, e27071. https://doi.org/10.22456/1982-8918.113626
  • *Ford, P. R., Ward, P., Hodges, N. J., & Williams, A. M. (2009). The role of deliberate practice and play in career progression in sport: The early engagement hypothesis. High Ability Studies, 20(1), 65–75. https://doi.org/10.1080/13598130902860721
  • *Ford, P. R., & Williams, A. M. (2012). The developmental activities engaged in by elite youth soccer players who progressed to professional status compared to those who did not. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 13(3), 349–352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2011.09.004
  • *Forsman, H., Blomqvist, M., Davids, K., Liukkonen, J., & Konttinen, N. (2016). Identifying technical, physiological, tactical and psychological characteristics that contribute to career progression in soccer. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 11(4), 505–513. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747954116655051
  • *Franck, A., & Stambulova, N. B. (2020). Individual pathways through the junior-to-senior transition: Narratives of two Swedish team sport athletes. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 32(2), 168–185. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2018.1525625
  • Fransen, J., & Güllich, A. (2019). Talent identification and development in game sports. In R. F. Subotnik, F. C. Worrell, & P. Olszewski-Kubilius (Eds.), Psychology of high performance: Developing human potential into domain-specific talent (pp. 59–92). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000120-004
  • Gagné, F. (2004). Transforming gifts into talents: The DMGT as a developmental theory. High Ability Studies, 15(2), 119–147. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359813042000314682
  • Glazier, P. S., & Mehdizadeh, S. (2019). Challenging conventional paradigms in applied sports biomechanics research. Sports Medicine, 49(2), 171–176. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-1030-1
  • *Gledhill, A., & Harwood, C. (2014). Developmental experiences of elite female youth soccer players. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 12(2), 150–165. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2014.880259
  • *Gledhill, A., & Harwood, C. (2015). A holistic perspective on career development in UK female soccer players: A negative case analysis. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 21, 65–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2015.04.003
  • *Gonaus, C., & Müller, E. (2012). Using physiological data to predict future career progression in 14- to 17-year-old Austrian soccer academy players. Journal of Sports Sciences, 30(15), 1673–1682. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2012.713980
  • Gould, D., Dieffenbach, K., & Moffett, A. (2002). Psychological characteristics and their development in Olympic champions. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 14(3), 172–204. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200290103482
  • *Grossmann, B., & Lames, M. (2013). Relative Age Effect (RAE) in football talents – the role of youth academies in transition to professional status in Germany. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 13(1), 120–134. https://doi.org/10.1080/24748668.2013.11868636
  • *Grossmann, B., & Lames, M. (2015). From talent to professional football – youthism in German football. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 10(6), 1103–1113. https://doi.org/10.1260/1747-9541.10.6.1103
  • Gulbin, J., Weissensteiner, J., Oldenziel, K., & Gagné, F. (2013). Patterns of performance development in elite athletes. European Journal of Sport Science, 13(6), 605–614. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2012.756542
  • *Güllich, A. (2014). Selection, de-selection and progression in German football talent promotion. European Journal of Sport Science, 14(6), 530–537. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2013.858371
  • *Güllich, A. (2019). “Macro-structure” of developmental participation histories and “micro-structure” of practice of German female world-class and national-class football players. Journal of Sports Sciences, 37(12), 1347–1355. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2018.1558744
  • Gunnell, K. E., Belcourt, V. J., Tomasone, J. R., & Weeks, L. C. (2022). Systematic review methods. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 15(1), 5–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2021.1966823
  • Haddaway, N. R., Grainger, M. J., & Gray, C. T. (2022). Citationchaser: A tool for transparent and efficient forward and backward citation chasing in systematic searching. Research Synthesis Methods, 13(4), 533–545. https://doi.org/10.1002/jrsm.1563
  • Hamaker, E. L. (2012). Why researchers should think “within-person”: A paradigmatic rationale. In M. R. Mehl & T. S. Conner (Eds.), Handbook of research methods for studying daily life (pp. 43–61). The Guilford Press.
  • Hartling, L., Featherstone, R., Nuspl, M., Shave, K., Dryden, D. M., & Vandermeer, B. (2017). Grey literature in systematic reviews: A cross-sectional study of the contribution of non-English reports, unpublished studies and dissertations to the results of meta-analyses in child-relevant reviews. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 17(1), https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-017-0347-z
  • Haugaasen, M., & Jordet, G. (2012). Developing football expertise: A football-specific research review. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 5(2), 177–201. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2012.677951
  • *Haugaasen, M., Toering, T., & Jordet, G. (2014a). From childhood to senior professional football: A multi-level approach to elite youth football players’ engagement in football-specific activities. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 15(4), 336–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2014.02.007
  • *Haugaasen, M., Toering, T., & Jordet, G. (2014b). From childhood to senior professional football: Elite youth players’ engagement in non-football activities. Journal of Sports Sciences, 32(20), 1940–1949. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2014.970218
  • *Hendry, D. T., & Hodges, N. J. (2018). Early majority engagement pathway best defines transitions from youth to adult elite men’s soccer in the UK: A three time-point retrospective and prospective study. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 36, 81–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2018.01.009
  • *Hendry, D. T., Williams, A. M., Ford, P. R., & Hodges, N. J. (2019). Developmental activities and perceptions of challenge for National and Varsity women soccer players in Canada. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 43, 210–218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2019.02.008
  • *Hendry, D. T., Williams, A. M., & Hodges, N. J. (2018). Coach ratings of skills and their relations to practice, play and successful transitions from youth-elite to adult-professional status in soccer. Journal of Sports Sciences, 36(17), 2009–2017. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2018.1432236
  • Henriksen, K., Stambulova, N., & Roessler, K. K. (2010). Holistic approach to athletic talent development environments: A successful sailing milieu. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 11(3), 212–222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2009.10.005
  • *Herrebrøden, H., & Bjørndal, C. T. (2022). Youth international experience is a limited predictor of senior success in football: The relationship between U17, U19, and U21 experience and senior elite participation across nations and playing positions. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2022.875530
  • Hill, Y., Den Hartigh, R. J. R., Meijer, R. R., De Jonge, P., & Van Yperen, N. W. (2018). The temporal process of resilience. Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 7(4), 363–370. https://doi.org/10.1037/spy0000143
  • *Hofseth, E., Toering, T., Jordet, G., & Ivarsson, A. (2017). Self-evaluation of skills and performance level in youth elite soccer: Are positive self-evaluations always positive? Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 6(4), 370–383. https://doi.org/10.1037/spy0000094
  • *Hohmann, A., & Siener, M. (2021). Talent identification in youth soccer: Prognosis of U17 soccer performance on the basis of general athleticism and talent promotion interventions in second-grade children. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 3. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2021.625645
  • *Holopainen, S., Lyyra, N., & Kokkonen, M. (2021). Training and motivation in childhood and adolescence in Finnish elite footballers at different phases of their athletic careers. Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 21(6), 3476–3482. https://doi.org/10.7752/jpes.2021.06471
  • *Holt, N. L., & Dunn, J. G. H. (2004). Toward a grounded theory of the psychosocial competencies and environmental conditions associated with soccer success. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 16(3), 199–219. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200490437949
  • *Holt, N. L., & Mitchell, T. (2006). Talent development in English professional soccer. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 37, 77–98.
  • *Höner, O., & Feichtinger, P. (2016). Psychological talent predictors in early adolescence and their empirical relationship with current and future performance in soccer. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 25, 17–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2016.03.004
  • *Höner, O., Leyhr, D., & Kelava, A. (2017). The influence of speed abilities and technical skills in early adolescence on adult success in soccer: A long-term prospective analysis using ANOVA and SEM approaches. PLoS One, 12(8), e0182211. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0182211
  • *Höner, O., Murr, D., Larkin, P., Schreiner, R., & Leyhr, D. (2021). Nationwide subjective and objective assessments of potential talent predictors in elite youth soccer: An investigation of prognostic validity in a prospective study. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 3. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2021.638227
  • *Höner, O., Raabe, J., Murr, D., & Leyhr, D. (2019). Prognostic relevance of motor tests in elite girls’ soccer: A five-year prospective cohort study within the German talent promotion program. Science and Medicine in Football, 3(4), 287–296. https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2019.1609069
  • *Höner, O., & Votteler, A. (2016). Prognostic relevance of motor talent predictors in early adolescence: A group- and individual-based evaluation considering different levels of achievement in youth football. Journal of Sports Sciences, 34(24), 2269–2278. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2016.1177658
  • Hong, Q. N., Fàbregues, S., Bartlett, G., Boardman, F., Cargo, M., Dagenais, P., Gagnon, M. P., Griffiths, F., Nicolau, B., O’Cathain, A., Rousseau, M. C., Vedel, I., & Pluye, P. (2018). The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) version 2018 for information professionals and researchers. Education for Information, 34(4), 285–291. https://doi.org/10.3233/EFI-180221
  • *Hornig, M., Aust, F., & Güllich, A. (2016). Practice and play in the development of German top-level professional football players. European Journal of Sport Science, 16(1), 96–105. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2014.982204
  • Houlihan, B., & Green, M. (Eds.). (2007). Comparative elite sport development (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780080554426
  • Howe, M. J. A., Davidson, J. W., & Sloboda, J. A. (1998). Innate talents: Reality or myth? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 21(3), 399–407. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X9800123X
  • *Huijgen, B. C. H., Elferink-Gemser, M., Post, W., & Visscher, C. (2009). Soccer skill development in professionals. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 30(08), 585–591. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0029-1202354
  • Johnston, K., Wattie, N., Schorer, J., & Baker, J. (2018). Talent identification in sport: A systematic review. Sports Medicine, 48(1), 97–109. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-017-0803-2
  • *Kannekens, R., Elferink-Gemser, M. T., & Visscher, C. (2011). Positioning and deciding: Key factors for talent development in soccer. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 21(6), 846–852. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0838.2010.01104.x
  • *Kelly, A. L., Wilson, M. R., Gough, L. A., Knapman, H., Morgan, P., Cole, M., Jackson, D. T., & Williams, C. A. (2020). A longitudinal investigation into the relative age effect in an English professional football club: Exploring the ‘underdog hypothesis’. Science and Medicine in Football, 4(2), 111–118. https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2019.1694169
  • Koo, T. K., & Li, M. Y. (2016). A guideline of selecting and reporting intraclass correlation coefficients for reliability research. Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, 15(2), 155–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcm.2016.02.012
  • Krebs, R. J. (2009). Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory of human development and the process of development of sports talent. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 40(1), 108–135.
  • Kupers, E., Lehmann-Wermser, A., McPherson, G., & van Geert, P. (2019). Children’s creativity: A theoretical framework and systematic review. Review of Educational Research, 89(1), 93–124. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654318815707
  • *Larsen, C., Alfermann, D., & Christensen, M. (2012). Psychosocial skills in a youth soccer academy: A holistic ecological perspective. Sport Science Review, 21(3–4), 51–74. https://doi.org/10.2478/v10237-012-0010-x
  • Larsen, C. H., Alfermann, D., Henriksen, K., & Christensen, M. K. (2013). Successful talent development in soccer: The characteristics of the environment. Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 2(3), 190–206. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031958
  • *Le Gall, F., Carling, C., Williams, M., & Reilly, T. (2010). Anthropometric and fitness characteristics of international, professional and amateur male graduate soccer players from an elite youth academy. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 13(1), 90–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2008.07.004
  • *Leyhr, D., Kelava, A., Raabe, J., & Höner, O. (2018). Longitudinal motor performance development in early adolescence and its relationship to adult success: An 8-year prospective study of highly talented soccer players. PLoS One, 13(5), e0196324. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196324
  • *Leyhr, D., Raabe, J., Schultz, F., Kelava, A., & Höner, O. (2020). The adolescent motor performance development of elite female soccer players: A study of prognostic relevance for future success in adulthood using multilevel modelling. Journal of Sports Sciences, 38(11–12), 1342–1351. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2019.1686940
  • Lichtwarck-Aschoff, A., van Geert, P., Bosma, H., & Kunnen, S. (2008). Time and identity: A framework for research and theory formation. Developmental Review, 28(3), 370–400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2008.04.001
  • *Los Arcos, A., & Gonzalez-Artetxe, A. (2021). Physical fitness performance, playing position and competitive level attained by elite junior soccer players. Kinesiology, 53(1), 56–64. https://doi.org/10.26582/k.53.1.6
  • *Los Arcos, A., & Martins, J. (2018). Physical fitness performance of young professional soccer players does not change during several training seasons in a Spanish Elite Reserve Team: Club study, 1996–2013. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 32(9), 2577–2583. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000002426
  • *MacDonald, D. J., King, J., Côté, J., & Abernethy, B. (2009). Birthplace effects on the development of female athletic talent. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 12(1), 234–237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2007.05.015
  • Martindale, R., Collins, D., Douglas, C. J., & Whike, A. (2013). Examining the ecological validity of the Talent Development Environment Questionnaire. Journal of Sports Sciences, 31(1), 41–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2012.718443
  • *Martinez-Santos, R., Castillo, D., & Los Arcos, A. (2016). Sprint and jump performances do not determine the promotion to professional elite soccer in Spain, 1994–2012. Journal of Sports Sciences, 34(24), 2279–2285. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2016.1190460
  • *McGreary, M., Morris, R., & Eubank, M. (2021). Retrospective and concurrent perspectives of the transition into senior professional female football within the United Kingdom. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 53, 101855. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2020.101855
  • *Mills, A., Butt, J., Maynard, I., & Harwood, C. (2012). Identifying factors perceived to influence the development of elite youth football academy players. Journal of Sports Sciences, 30(15), 1593–1604. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2012.710753
  • Molenaar, P. C. M. (2004). A manifesto on psychology as idiographic science: Bringing the person back into scientific psychology, this time forever. Measurement: Interdisciplinary Research & Perspective, 2(4), 201–218. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15366359mea0204_1
  • *Morris, R., Tod, D., & Eubank, M. (2017). From youth team to first team: An investigation into the transition experiences of young professional athletes in soccer. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 15(5), 523–539. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2016.1152992
  • *Morris, R., Tod, D., & Oliver, E. (2016). An investigation into stakeholders’ perceptions of the youth-to-senior transition in professional soccer in the United Kingdom. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 28(4), 375–391. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2016.1162222
  • Nesselroade, J. R., & Molenaar, P. C. M. (2010). Emphasizing intraindividual variability in the study of development over the life span: Concepts and issues. In R. M. Lerner, & W. F. Overton (Eds.), Handbook of life-span development: Vol. 1. Cognition, biology, and methods (pp. 30–54). Wiley.
  • Neumann, N. D., Van Yperen, N. W., Brauers, J. J., Frencken, W., Brink, M. S., Lemmink, K. A., Meerhoff, L. A., & Den Hartigh, R. J. (2022). Nonergodicity in load and recovery: Group results do not generalize to individuals. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 17(3), 391–399. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2021-0126
  • *Noon, M. R., Eyre, E. L., Ellis, M., Myers, T. D., Morris, R. O., Mundy, P. D., Penny, R., & Clarke, N. D. (2021). The influence of recruitment age and anthropometric and physical characteristics on the development pathway of English academy football players. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 16(2), 199–207. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2019-0534
  • *Ostojic, S. M., Castagna, C., Calleja-González, J., Jukic, I., Idrizovic, K., & Stojanovic, M. (2014). The biological age of 14-year-old boys and success in adult soccer: Do early maturers predominate in the top-level game? Research in Sports Medicine, 22(4), 398–407. https://doi.org/10.1080/15438627.2014.944303
  • Ouzzani, M., Hammady, H., Fedorowicz, Z., & Elmagarmid, A. (2016). Rayyan—a web and mobile app for systematic reviews. Systematic Reviews, 5(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-016-0384-4
  • Overton, W. F. (2014). Relational developmental systems and developmental science: A focus on methodology. In P. C. M. Molenaar, R. M. Lerner, & K. M. Newell (Eds.), Handbook of developmental systems theory and methodology (pp. 19–65). The Guilford Press.
  • Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., … Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. Systematic Reviews, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-021-01626-4
  • Papierno, P. B., Ceci, S. J., Makel, M. C., & Williams, W. M. (2005). The nature and nurture of talent: A bioecological perspective on the ontogeny of exceptional abilities. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 28(3–4), 312–332. https://doi.org/10.4219/jeg-2005-343
  • Phillips, E., Davids, K., Renshaw, I., & Portus, M. (2010). Expert performance in sport and the dynamics of talent development. Sports Medicine, 40(4), 271–283. https://doi.org/10.2165/11319430-000000000-00000
  • Quigley, J. M., Thompson, J. C., Halfpenny, N. J., & Scott, D. A. (2019). Critical appraisal of nonrandomized studies—A review of recommended and commonly used tools. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 25(1), 44–52. https://doi.org/10.1111/jep.12889
  • Rees, T., Hardy, L., Güllich, A., Abernethy, B., Côté, J., Woodman, T., Montgomery, H., Laing, S., & Warr, C. (2016). The great British medalists project: A review of current knowledge on the development of the world’s best sporting talent. Sports Medicine, 46(8), 1041–1058. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0476-2
  • Reilly, T., Williams, A. M., Nevill, A., & Franks, A. (2000). A multidisciplinary approach to talent identification in soccer. Journal of Sports Sciences, 18(9), 695–702. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640410050120078
  • *Roescher, C., Elferink-Gemser, M., Huijgen, B., & Visscher, C. (2010). Soccer endurance development in professionals. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 31(03), 174–179. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0029-1243254
  • *Rossing, N. N., Nielsen, A. B., Elbe, A. M., & Karbing, D. S. (2016). The role of community in the development of elite handball and football players in Denmark. European Journal of Sport Science, 16(2), 237–245. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2015.1009492
  • *Rossing, N. N., Stentoft, D., Flattum, A., Côté, J., & Karbing, D. S. (2018). Influence of population size, density, and proximity to talent clubs on the likelihood of becoming elite youth athlete. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 28(3), 1304–1313. https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.13009
  • *Rosso, E. G. (2015). The ‘inverse relationship’ between social capital and sport: A qualitative exploration of the influence of social networks on the development of athletes. Asia-Pacific Journal of Health, Sport and Physical Education, 6(1), 57–76. https://doi.org/10.1080/18377122.2014.997861
  • *Røynesdal, Y., Toering, T., & Gustafsson, H. (2018). Understanding players’ transition from youth to senior professional football environments: A coach perspective. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 13(1), 26–37. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747954117746497
  • Sarmento, H., Anguera, M. T., Pereira, A., & Araújo, D. (2018). Talent identification and development in male football: A systematic review. Sports Medicine, 48(4), 907–931. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-017-0851-7
  • *Sarmento, H., & Araújo, D. (2020). Readiness for career affordances in high-level football: Two case studies in Portugal. High Ability Studies, 32(1), 89–103. https://doi.org/10.1080/13598139.2020.1728191
  • *Saward, C., Hulse, M., Morris, J. G., Goto, H., Sunderland, C., & Nevill, M. E. (2020). Longitudinal physical development of future professional male soccer players: Implications for talent identification and development? Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 2. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2020.578203
  • *Saward, C., Morris, J. G., Nevill, M. E., Minniti, A. M., & Sunderland, C. (2020). Psychological characteristics of developing excellence in elite youth football players in English professional academies. Journal of Sports Sciences, 38(11–12), 1380–1386. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2019.1676526
  • *Schroepf, B., & Lames, M. (2018). Career patterns in German football youth national teams – A longitudinal study. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 13(3), 405–414. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747954117729368
  • *Serra-Olivares, J., Pastor-Vicedo, J. C., González-Víllora, S., & Teoldo da Costa, I. (2016). Developing talented soccer players: An analysis of socio-spatial factors as possible key constraints. Journal of Human Kinetics, 54(1), 227–236. https://doi.org/10.1515/hukin-2016-0050
  • Shamseer, L., Moher, D., Clarke, M., Ghersi, D., Liberati, A., Petticrew, M., Shekelle, P., Stewart, L. A., & PRISMA-P Group. (2015). Preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA-P) 2015: Elaboration and explanation. BMJ, 349, g7647. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g7647
  • *Sieghartsleitner, R., Zuber, C., Zibung, M., & Conzelmann, A. (2018). “The early specialised bird catches the worm!” – A specialised sampling model in the development of football talents. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00188
  • Simonton, D. K. (1999). Talent and its development: An emergenic and epigenetic model. Psychological Review, 106(3), 435–457. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.106.3.435
  • Simonton, D. K. (2001). Talent development as a multidimensional, multiplicative, and dynamic process. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 10(2), 39–43. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.00110
  • *Skorski, S., Skorski, S., Faude, O., Hammes, D., & Meyer, T. (2016). The relative age effect in elite German youth soccer: Implications for a successful career. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 11(3), 370–376. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2015-0071
  • *Söderström, T., Brusvik, P., Ferry, M., & Lund, S. (2021). Selected 15-year-old boy and girl football players’ continuation with football and competitive level in young adulthood: The impact of individual and contextual factors. European Journal for Sport and Society, 19(4), 368–387. https://doi.org/10.1080/16138171.2021.2001172
  • Stenling, A., Ivarsson, A., & Lindwall, M. (2017). The only constant is change: Analysing and understanding change in sport and exercise psychology research. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 10(1), 230–251. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2016.1216150
  • *Sæther, S. A. (2015). Selecting players for youth national teams – a question of birth month and reselection? Science & Sports, 30(6), 314–320. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scispo.2015.04.005
  • *Sæther, S. A. (2017). Characteristics of professional and non-professional football players – an eight-year follow-up of three age cohorts. Montenegrin Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 6(2), 13–18. https://doi.org/10.26773/mjssm.2017.09.002
  • Swann, C., Moran, A., & Piggott, D. (2015). Defining elite athletes: Issues in the study of expert performance in sport psychology. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 16, 3–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2014.07.004
  • *Taylor, J., & Collins, D. (2019). Shoulda, Coulda, Didnae—why don’t high-potential players make it? The Sport Psychologist, 33(2), 85–96. https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.2017-0153
  • *Teoldo, I., & Cardoso, F. (2021). Talent map: How demographic rate, human development index and birthdate can be decisive for the identification and development of soccer players in Brazil. Science and Medicine in Football, 5(4), 293–300. https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2020.1868559
  • *Uehara, L., Button, C., Saunders, J., Araújo, D., Falcous, M., & Davids, K. (2021). Malandragem and Ginga: Socio-cultural constraints on the development of expertise and skills in Brazilian football. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 16(3), 622–635. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747954120976271
  • *Uehara, L., Falcous, M., Button, C., Davids, K., Araújo, D., de Paula, A. R., & Saunders, J. (2021). The poor “wealth” of Brazilian football: How poverty may shape skill and expertise of players. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 3. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2021.635241
  • Vaeyens, R., Lenoir, M., Williams, A. M., & Philippaerts, R. M. (2008). Talent identification and development programmes in sport. Sports Medicine, 38(9), 703–714. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200838090-00001
  • Van Geert, P. (2009). Nonlinear complex dynamical systems in developmental psychology. In S. Guastello, M. Koopmans, & D. Pincus (Eds.), Chaos and complexity in psychology: The theory of nonlinear dynamical systems (pp. 242–281). Cambridge University Press.
  • Van Geert, P. (2014). Group versus individual data in a dynamic systems approach to development. Enfance; Psychologie, Pedagogie, Neuropsychiatrie, Sociologie, 2014(03), 283–312. https://doi.org/10.4074/S0013754514003061
  • *Van Nieuwstadt, M. H. H., Das, M., & Elferink-Gemser, M. T. (2020). Mechanisms explaining the birthplace effect for male elite football players. Journal of Sports Sciences, 39(5), 576–582. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2020.1835237
  • *Van Yperen, N. W. (2009). Why some make it and others do not: Identifying psychological factors that predict career success in professional adult soccer. The Sport Psychologist, 23(3), 317–329. https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.23.3.317
  • Ward, P., Hodges, N. J., Starkes, J. L., & Williams, M. A. (2007). The road to excellence: Deliberate practice and the development of expertise. High Ability Studies, 18(2), 119–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/13598130701709715
  • Williams, A. M., Ford, P. R., & Drust, B. (2020). Talent identification and development in soccer since the millennium. Journal of Sports Sciences, 38(11–12), 1199–1210. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2020.1766647
  • Williams, A. M., & Reilly, T. (2000). Talent identification and development in soccer. Journal of Sports Sciences, 18(9), 657–667. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640410050120041
  • *Zibung, M., & Conzelmann, A. (2013). The role of specialisation in the promotion of young football talents: A person-oriented study. European Journal of Sport Science, 13(5), 452–460. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2012.749947
  • *Zibung, M., Zuber, C., & Conzelmann, A. (2016). The motor subsystem as a predictor of success in young football talents: A person-oriented study. PLoS One, 11(8), e0161049. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0161049
  • *Zuber, C., Zibung, M., & Conzelmann, A. (2015). Motivational patterns as an instrument for predicting success in promising young football players. Journal of Sports Sciences, 33(2), 160–168. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2014.928827
  • *Zuber, C., Zibung, M., & Conzelmann, A. (2016). Holistic patterns as an instrument for predicting the performance of promising young soccer players – A 3-years longitudinal study. Frontiers in Psychology, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01088