Talent Identification in Youth Basketball: Talent Scouts’ Perceptions of the Key Attributes for Athlete Development

in International Sport Coaching Journal

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Paul Larkin Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Maribyrnong Sports Academy, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

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Madison Sanford Institute of Health and Wellbeing, Federation University Australia, Ballarat, VIC, Australia

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Scott Talpey Institute of Health and Wellbeing, Federation University Australia, Ballarat, VIC, Australia

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Adam D. Gorman School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

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Matthew J. Reeves UCLan Research Center for Applied Sport, Physical Activity, and Performance, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1123/iscj.2022-0052
Keywords:
talent selection; sport development; adolescent; performance
First Published Online:
28 Dec 2022
In Print:
Volume 10: Issue 2
Page Range:
163–171
Restricted access

The objective of this study is to understand the attributes youth coaches and talent scouts perceive as important when identifying skilled youth basketball players. Youth coaches and talent scouts (n = 40) from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and United States with an average of 14.09 (±9.77) years of experience completed an online questionnaire. The questionnaire asked participants to rank and justify attributes for identifying potentially talented youth basketball players according to their perceived importance. In addition, five youth coaches and talent scouts completed a semistructured interview that elaborated on how they identify these attributes in national-level youth players. Results from the questionnaire indicate a hierarchy of attributes coaches/scouts perceive as important for youth basketball performance, including tactical (i.e., decision-making ability), technical (i.e., layup, shooting in the paint, jump shot, rebounding), and psychological attributes (i.e., composure, concentration, adaptability). In addition, the results from the interviews provided more detailed justification for the importance of these attributes within the talent identification process. It is believed talent scouts apply a holistic multidisciplinary approach to talent identification, with the current findings potentially providing evidence to suggest coaches/scouts consider a wide range of tactical, technical, psychological, and physical attributes when identifying youth players.

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