This study explored to which extent the development of German professional football players is based on early talent identification (TID) and long‐term nurture in talent promotion (TP) programmes or on their emergence in the course of repeated procedures of player selection and de‐selection in these programmes through childhood and youth. The annual turnover of squad members in national junior teams (2001–2013) and youth elite academies was calculated; national U‐team members were followed up with regard to nominations through subsequent seasons and to their success level eventually achieved at senior age; and all current Bundesliga players were analysed retrospectively regarding their earlier involvement in TID/TP programmes. Analyses revealed that the mean annual turnover of squad members was 24.5% (youth academies) and 41.0% (national U‐teams), respectively. At any age, the probability of persisting in the programme three years later was <50%. Among current Bundesliga players, the age of recruitment into the TID/TP programme was widely evenly distributed across childhood and youth, respectively. Accordingly, the number of (future) Bundesliga players who were involved in TID/TP was built up continuously through all age categories. The observations suggest that the collective of professional players emerged from repeated procedures of selection and de‐selection through childhood and youth rather than from early selection and long‐term continuous nurture in TID/TP programmes. The findings are discussed with regard to the uncertainty of TID and of interventions applied to the selected players, and they are related to the individualistic and collectivistic approach in TP.

The developmental practice patterns leading to the highest levels of success remain a subject of debate. The present study purposes to extend the body of empirical research by analysing athletic biographies from a large sample of German national squad athletes across all Olympic sports (n=1558; 57% male, 43% female). In a combined retrospective and longitudinal study utilising postal questionnaires, we evaluated the age at onset, volume, domain‐specificity, variability in training and competition and success attained at different ages. Developmental practice patterns leading to rapid adolescent success and long‐term senior success were inconsistent, and in some aspects contradictory. An early start‐age for training and competition, early specialisation, high‐intensity specific practice in the respective domain sport and little or no involvement in other sports (OS) favoured early adolescent success. Juvenile success, however, did not contribute to individual differences in success achieved at a senior age (−0.09<r _s <0.03). Senior world class performers differed from national class athletes in a later age for onset of training and competition in their domain sport, later specialisation (14.4 vs. 12.1 years), more involvement in OS (training 66% vs. 51%; competitions 53% vs. 39%), but not in practice volume in their domain sport at any age. Findings were confirmed with longitudinal testing and were widely consistent across types of sports. These findings are interpreted relative to correspondence to deliberate practice and DMSP frameworks while drawing on the concept of long‐term sustainability.

What explains the acquisition of exceptional human performance? Does a focus on intensive specialized practice facilitate excellence, or is a multidisciplinary practice background better? We investigated this question in sports. Our meta-analysis involved 51 international study reports with 477 effect sizes from 6,096 athletes, including 772 of the world’s top performers. Predictor variables included starting age, age of reaching defined performance milestones, and amounts of coach-led practice and youth-led play (e.g., pickup games) in the athlete’s respective main sport and in other sports. Analyses revealed that (a) adult world-class athletes engaged in more childhood/adolescent multisport practice, started their main sport later, accumulated less main-sport practice, and initially progressed more slowly than did national-class athletes; (b) higher performing youth athletes started playing their main sport earlier, engaged in more main-sport practice but less other-sports practice, and had faster initial progress than did lower performing youth athletes; and (c) youth-led play in any sport had negligible effects on both youth and adult performance. We illustrate parallels from science: Nobel laureates had multidisciplinary study/working experience and slower early progress than did national-level award winners. The findings suggest that variable, multidisciplinary practice experiences are associated with gradual initial discipline-specific progress but greater sustainability of long-term development of excellence.

This study examined the developmental sporting activities of 52 German football first Bundesliga professionals (including 18 senior national team members) and 50 fourth to sixth league amateur players. They reported their volumes of organised football practice/training, including its “microstructure” (proportions of physical conditioning, skill exercises and playing forms), non‐organised leisure football play and engagement in other sports through their career, respectively. Analyses revealed that the Bundesliga professionals performed moderate amounts of organised football practice/training throughout their career. They accumulated 4264 (mean value) hours over ~16 years before debuting in 1st Bundesliga; senior National Team debut was preceded by 4532 hours (mean) over ~17 years. Within the “microstructure” of organised practice/training, the proportion of playing forms developed from ~52% (childhood) to ~45% (adolescence) and ~40% (adulthood) and physical conditioning from ~13% to ~14% and ~23%. Outside organised involvement, these players engaged in extensive non‐organised leisure football play making ~68%, ~54% and ~9% of all football involvement. Subsuming organised and non‐organised football, ~86% (childhood), ~73% (adolescence) and ~43% (adulthood) of all activity was game play (exclusive matchplay). National Team differed from amateurs in more non‐organised leisure football in childhood, more engagement in other sports in adolescence, later specialisation, and in more organised football only at age 22+ years. Relative to numerous other studies, these players performed less organised practice, particularly less physical conditioning, but greater proportions of playing activities. The findings are discussed relative to the significance of playing forms and variable involvements and are reflected against the deliberate practice and Developmental Model of Sport Participation (DMSP) frameworks.

Background: Does early specialization facilitate later athletic excellence, or is early diversification better? This is a longstanding theoretical controversy in sports science and medicine. Evidence from studies investigating athletes’ starting age, childhood/adolescent progress, and amounts of coach-led practice and peer-led play in their main sport and in other sports has been mixed. Each participation variable was positively correlated with performance in some studies but uncorrelated or negatively correlated with performance in others. However, samples were heterogeneous in age, sports, and performance levels.Objective: This study aimed to establish robust, generalizable findings through a systematic review and meta-analysis. We investigated three questions: (1) did higher- and lower-performing athletes differ in childhood/adolescent progress, starting age, or amounts of main-sport or other-sports practice or play; (2) do effects differ between junior and adult athletes, compared performance levels, or types of sports; and (3) are effect sizes from different predictors associated with one another?Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search in SPORTDiscus, ERIC, ProQuest, PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, WorldCat, and Google Scholar until 28 February 2021. Selection criteria included original research studies comparing higher- versus lower-performing athletes regarding one or more of our predictor variables within defined age categories, sports, and sex, and reporting effect sizes or data needed to compute effects sizes. Mean meta-analytic Cohen’sdwas calculated for each predictor. Quality of evidence was evaluated using GRADE.Results: In total, 71 study reports met all eligibility criteria and included 262 international athlete samples, 685 effect sizes, and a total sample size of 9241 athletes from local to Olympic competition level and from diverse sports. The following findings emerged. (1) Compared with their national-class counterparts, adult world-class athletes had more childhood/adolescent multi-sport coach-led practice, a later main-sport start, less main-sport practice, and slower initial progress (|0.23|< $$\bar{d }$$d¯ <|0.50|; allp < 0.001). (2) The opposite was true for predictors of junior-age performance: higher-performing juniors had an earlier main-sport start, more main-sport practice, less other-sports practice, and faster initial progress (|0.23|< $$\bar{d }$$d¯ < |0.61|; allp < 0.001). (3) Main-sport or other-sports peer-led play had negligible effects (allp > 0.05). (4) Results were robust across types of sports. (5) Effect sizes from different predictors were associated with one another (|0.64|< r <|0.79|). A GRADE assessment revealed a low quality of evidence for peer-led play but a moderate to high quality of evidence for all other predictors.Discussion: Excess childhood/adolescent specialized practice may hinder athletes’ long-term development through overuse injury, burnout, suboptimal athlete–sport match, and limiting long-term learning capital. By contrast, adult world-class athletes’ childhood/adolescent multi-sport practice with reduced main-sport practice implied a relatively resource-preserving, cost-reducing, and risk-buffering pattern that yielded greater long-term sustainability and practice efficiency.

This study examined the developmental sporting activities of the Olympic Champions 2012 in men's field hockey. The volume of organised practice/training and non‐organised sporting leisure play in both field hockey and other sports through childhood, adolescence and adulthood was examined and compared between the Olympic Champions and (1) current national class players and (2) international medallists of one decade earlier. Analyses revealed that the Olympic Champions performed moderate volumes of organised field hockey practice/training throughout their career and attained their first international senior medal after accumulating 4393 ± 1389 practice/training hours, but they engaged in extensive other sporting activities during childhood and youth. It took them 18 ± 3 years of involvement to attain an international medal and they had engaged for 22 ± 3 years when winning the Olympic gold medal. The Olympic Champions did not differ from national class players in the amount of hockey‐specific practice/training, but in greater amounts of organised involvement in other sports and later specialisation. They differed from the international medallists of one decade earlier in less increase of organised hockey‐specific practice/training during adulthood and a longer period of involvement until attaining their first international medal. The sporting activities were characterised by sizeable interindividual variation within each subsample. The findings are reflected against the deliberate practice and Developmental Model of Sports Participation (DMSP) frameworks and are discussed with reference to the concept of long‐term sustainability.