The role of specialisation in the promotion of young football talents: A person‐oriented study

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Abstract
This paper investigates the controversial question whether it is more effective to promote specialisation in a specific sport at the beginning of a career or whether to encourage a broad range of sports when promoting competitive sports talents in order for them to achieve a high level of performance in adulthood. The issue of promoting talents depends on human developmental processes and therefore raises developmental scientific questions. Based on recent, dynamic‐interactionist concepts of development, we assume a person‐oriented approach focussing on the person as a whole rather than individual features. Theoretical considerations lead to four interacting factors being summarised to form a subsystem: childhood training. The relative weights of these factors lead to patterns. By relating these to a performance criterion at the age of peak performance, particularly promising developmental patterns may be identified. One hundred fifty‐nine former Swiss football talents were retrospectively interviewed about their career and the data analysed using the LICUR method. Two early career patterns were identified as having a favourable influence on adult performance. Both are characterised by an above‐average amount of in‐club training. One pattern also exhibits an above‐average amount of informal football played outside the club, the other above‐average scores for activity in other sports. Hence, comprehensive training and practice inside and outside the club form the basis for subsequent football expertise.

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