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Talent identification and development recommendations in youth sports: a real-time Delphi study
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Talent identification and development recommendations in youth sports: a real-time Delphi study

Kyle J. . M. Bennett, William McCalman, Scott G. Goddard, A. Mark Williams and Job Fransen
Journal of applied sport psychology, Vol.First online, pp.1-22
05/03/2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2026.2636296
Appears in  Recent Faculty of Health Publications
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Published (Version of record) Open CC BY V4.0

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Abstract

Talent identification and development are critical components of athlete performance pathways, yet they remain heavily debated in the sports science and psychology literature. Although numerous best-practice recommendations have been proposed, there is a divide between their conceptual value and practicality. The current study attempted to address this gap, adopting a real-time Delphi methodology to capture the perspectives of expert academics and practitioners on literature-derived talent identification and development recommendations. Experts (n = 20) rated each of the 15 Delphi statements for agreement and feasibility using a five-point Likert scale and provided open-text justifications. Real-time feedback allowed the panel to view emerging group consensus and anonymous peer comments. Quantitative results indicated consensus for most recommendations; however, qualitative responses revealed practical barriers to implementation, including limited resources and time, insufficient coach and athlete education opportunities, a lack of meaningful data, and inter-sport competition for athletes. Accordingly, future research could benefit from a shift in focus toward evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of talent identification and development initiatives. Methodologically, this may require longitudinal qualitative research and mixed-method experimental designs that better account for context-specific constraints.

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