Every month we take a deep dive into the latest research in sports science. In this month’s edition we look at failures in talent development, mental toughness, mental rest, using data in elite sport, nutrition, and more.
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Every month we take a deep dive into the latest research in sports science. In this month’s edition we look at research on coping styles of athletes during the pandemic and how understanding that can help coaches support athletes. Then we look at the role of gut instinct in talent identification, health problems in young runners, oral health for athletes, and much more.
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Every month we take a deep dive into the latest research in sports science. In the November edition we start off looking at elite coaches. Player development pathways are often discussed, but what are the pathways and processes of elite coaches? After that topic, we dive into some analysis of talent identification in jumping events, within-sport specialization, putting ecological dynamics in practice, the Cirque du Soleil, and more.
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Many talent identification programs are based primarily on testing, but when we look at what has worked best historically, one-off testing has consistently shown itself to be insufficient. On this week’s podcast, talent development expert Paula Jardine takes a historic look at talent identification and shares some best practices on what works to develop champions. Read more
When we look at the future of sport, one emerging area that gets increasing interest is genetic testing for athletes. As of late last year, just over 70 different companies offer genetic tests for sports performance, and these tests can be ordered online, without any sign-off needed by a medical practitioner. I used to work for one such company, and, through that employment, I was fortunate to consult with a number of elite sporting teams around how they might use genetic information with their athletes. A common question, from the teams and other interested individuals, was whether we could use this technology for to identify athletes with the future potential to be elite. Read more
Every month we take a deep dive into the latest research in sports science. With the World Athletics Championships having just finished, the October Sports Science Monthly look at a plethora of new research on the sport featured recently in Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, ranging from looking at injury data from the sport, pacing, and more.. We then also dive into additional topics like pillars of injury rehabilitation, developing mental toughness, and altitude training. Read more
After more than a decade as the best British javelin thrower, Olympic bronze medalist Goldie Sayers hung up her spikes after the Rio Olympics. After she retired she sat down and penned 36 lessons she learned about sport, success, competition, and life during her distinguished career. On this week’s GAINcast she joins us to reflect on the lessons she learned and how they can help athletes and coaches in any sport. Read more
Think over all the talent identification processes you’ve either witnessed or been involved in over the years. Typically, they tend to be comprised of some sort of test; usually physical, but they can be augmented with psychological and anthropometric measures. For example, when I was 14 I was invited to a Talent Identification day where I was put through a number of different tasks; standing long jump, 30m sprint, endurance run, seated medicine ball throw. I didn’t score particularly well in any of those tests, apart from the 30m sprint, where I was in the top 1% of all scores ever recorded. It was recommended that I take up sprinting. Read more
Talent is a divisive topic, but it is hard to argue that you can create a champion without any talent. Properly identifying and nurturing that talent is therefore a key element of high performance. On this episode we discuss the complexity of talent, how to approach it as a coach, and Vern’s multi-step approach talent identification. Read more
Former Australian international shot putter Dale Stevenson has switched sides to help the Kiwis as New Zealand’s High Performance Throws Co-ordinator. In this role he is also the coach of Tom Walsh, who won world indoor gold, the Diamond League title, and Olympic bronze this year. He sits down with us this week to share what he has learned in this new role, including his views on talent, technique, and training methods. Read more
