Background: Talent identification and development (TID) programs aim to identify players with the greatest potential for long-term success. Previous research suggests that the assessment of sport-specific technical skills is valuable for discriminating between more and less skilled individuals and/or for predicting future performance.Objective: This review aims to provide an overview on both the instruments used to assess sport-specific technical skills and their discriminatory, explanatory and/or predictive findings in the context of TID.Methods: Electronic searches were conducted in PubMed, Web of Knowledge, SPORTDiscus, SURF and Scopus (January 1990–October 2019). Search terms covered the areas of sport, technical skills assessment, performance, skill level and youth. In the end, 59 relevant studies were identified and evaluated.Results: The results highlight the widespread and important role of technical skills in TID; almost all studies (93%) reported discriminatory, explanatory and/or predictive benefits for the assessment of sport-specific technical skills. Analyzing and categorizing the number of assessment methods applied in the studies (n = 69) according to their method type (‘technique-related’ or ‘outcome-related’ variables) and method set-up (‘experimental’ or ‘competition’ data acquisition environment) indicated a clear tendency towards ‘outcome-related’ (73%) and ‘experimental’ (75%) assessment methods. We also found a strong overrepresentation of studies assessing cross-sectional data (75%) in soccer (53%) in male samples (74% of studies reporting subjects’ sex) from European countries (64%).Conclusions: On the one hand, our findings demonstrate the great capability of sport-specific technical skills assessments to discriminate different performance levels and predict future performance in TID activities. On the other hand, this review highlights the focus on ‘outcome-related’ and ‘experimental’ methods in specific populations and, consequently, the limited knowledge in other areas. Here, the application of ‘technique-related’ and ‘competition’ methods appears promising for adding new knowledge, especially in the light of technological advances.

Long-term follow-up data on cognitive and motor functioning in adult patients with congenital hypothyroidism, diagnosed by neonatal screening, are scarce. Hence, it is still unclear whether the frequently reported cognitive and motor deficits observed during childhood persist in adulthood. The objective of this study was to examine cognitive and motor functioning in young adults with congenital hypothyroidism, born in the first 2 yr after the introduction of the Dutch neonatal screening program. Seventy patients were tested (mean age, 21.5 yr); 49 of them were previously tested at 9.5 yr. The median age at the start of treatment was 28 d (range, 4-293 d). Congenital hypothyroidism was classified as severe, moderate, or mild, according to pretreatment T(4) concentrations. The main outcome measurement was the influence of the severity of congenital hypothyroidism and age at which T(4) supplementation was started on cognitive and motor outcome. Patients, particularly those with severe congenital hypothyroidism, had significantly higher (i.e. worse) motor scores (total score, 7.8; ball skills, 2.0; balance, 4.1) compared with controls (total score, 3.2; ball skills, 0.7; balance, 1.1), and lower full-scale (95.8), verbal (96.4), and performance (95.6) intelligence quotient (IQ) scores than the normal population. No significant change in IQ from childhood to adulthood was found, and for the majority of patients, motor score classification remained the same. The severity of congenital hypothyroidism, but not the starting day of treatment, was correlated with IQ and motor scores. It is concluded that the severity of congenital hypothyroidism, but not the timing of treatment initiation, is an important factor determining long-term cognitive and motor outcome. Clearly, detrimental effects on developmental outcome in patients with congenital hypothyroidism persist over time.

This study investigated the added value, i.e. discriminative and concurrent validity and reproducibility, of an eye-hand coordination test relevant to table tennis as part of talent identification. Forty-three table tennis players (7–12 years) from national (n = 13), regional (n = 11) and local training centres (n = 19) participated. During the eye-hand coordination test, children needed to throw a ball against a vertical positioned table tennis table with one hand and to catch the ball correctly with the other hand as frequently as possible in 30 seconds. Four different test versions were assessed varying the distance to the table (1 or 2 meter) and using a tennis or table tennis ball. ‘Within session’ reproducibility was estimated for the two attempts of the initial tests and ten youngsters were retested after 4 weeks to estimate ‘between sessions’ reproducibility. Validity analyses using age as covariate showed that players from the national and regional centres scored significantly higher than players from the local centre in all test versions (p<0.05). The tests at 1 meter demonstrated better discriminative ability than those at 2 meter. While all tests but one had a positive significant association with competition outcome, which were corrected for age influences, the version with a table tennis ball at 1 meter showed the highest association (r = 0.54; p = 0.001). Differences between the first and second attempts were comparable for all test versions (between −8 and +7 repetitions) with ICC's ranging from 0.72 to 0.87. The smallest differences were found for the test with a table tennis ball at 1 meter (between −3 and +3 repetitions). Best test version as part of talent identification appears to be the version with a table tennis ball at 1 meter regarding the psychometric characteristics evaluated. Longitudinal studies are necessary to evaluate the predictive value of this test.

Since junior performances have little predictive value for future success, other solutions are sought to assess a young player’s potential. The objectives of this systematic review are (1) to provide an overview of instruments measuring personal talent determinants of young players in racquet sports, and (2) to evaluate these instruments regarding their validity for talent development. Electronic searches were conducted in PubMed, PsychINFO, Web of Knowledge, ScienceDirect and SPORTDiscus (1990 to 31 March 2014). Search terms represented tennis, table tennis, badminton and squash, the concept of talent, methods of testing and children. Thirty articles with information regarding over 100 instruments were included. Validity evaluation showed that instruments focusing on intellectual and perceptual abilities, and coordinative skills discriminate elite from non-elite players and/or are related to current performance, but their predictive validity is not confirmed. There is moderate evidence that the assessments of mental and goal management skills predict future performance. Data on instruments measuring physical characteristics prohibit a conclusion due to conflicting findings. This systematic review yielded an ambiguous end point. The lack of longitudinal studies precludes verification of the instrument’s capacity to forecast future performance. Future research should focus on instruments assessing multidimensional talent determinants and their predictive value in longitudinal designs.

Fast reaction and good inhibitory control are associated with elite sports performance. To evaluate the reproducibility and validity of a newly developed Badminton Reaction Inhibition Test (BRIT), fifteen elite (25 ± 4 years) and nine non-elite (24 ± 4 years) Dutch male badminton players participated in the study. The BRIT measured four components: domain-general reaction time, badminton-specific reaction time, domain-general inhibitory control and badminton-specific inhibitory control. Five participants were retested within three weeks on the badminton-specific components. Reproducibility was acceptable for badminton-specific reaction time (ICC = 0.626, CV = 6%) and for badminton-specific inhibitory control (ICC = 0.317, CV = 13%). Good construct validity was shown for badminton-specific reaction time discriminating between elite and non-elite players (F = 6.650, p < 0.05). Elite players did not outscore non-elite players on domain-general reaction time nor on both components of inhibitory control (p > 0.05). Concurrent validity for domain-general reaction time was good, as it was associated with a national ranking for elite (p = 0.70, p < 0.01) and non-elite (p = 0.70, p < 0.05) players. No relationship was found between the national ranking and badminton-specific reaction time, nor both components of inhibitory control (p > 0.05). In conclusion, reproducibility and validity of inhibitory control assessment was not confirmed, however, the BRIT appears a reproducible and valid measure of reaction time in badminton players. Reaction time measured with the BRIT may provide input for training programs aiming to improve badminton players’ performance.