Enhancing our understanding of athlete development would be valuable for coaches, parents and administrators to set realistic performance expectations and to advance youth sport policy. To this end, a database of track and field performances was examined. Records of 134,313 performances by athletes aged between 12 and 35 years in sprinting, throwing, jumping and middle distance events were analysed. Results revealed that a minority (Male, 9%; Female, 13%) of top 20 ranked senior athletes were also ranked in the top 20 at Under 13 (U13). These results were supported by the finding that a minority of athletes retained their top 20 ranking at subsequent age grades (36.3% U13-U15; 23% U13-U17; 13% U13-U20; 43.3% U15-U17; 22.1% U15-U20; 41.8% U17-U20). By U20, less than 30% of athletes who had been ranked in the top 20 at U13 were still listed on the national rankings. Examining a broader sample of athletes revealed weak to moderate correlations between performances at different age grades until at least Under 17-Under 20. These findings reinforce the message that excelling at youth level in competitive athletics is not a prerequisite for senior success.

The relative age effect (RAE) is a common phenomenon in youth sport, whereby children born early in the selection year are more likely to experience success and to sustain participation. There is a lack of research investigating variables which influence RAEs within track and field athletics. Such information is vital to guide policies in relation to competition structure, youth development squads and coach education. A database of competition results was analysed to determine the extent to which RAEs were present in track and field athletics in the United Kingdom. Subsequent analyses examined whether age, sex, event and skill level influenced the RAE. Examination of 77,571 records revealed that RAEs were widespread, but most pronounced during Under 13 (U13) competitions; that is, during athletes’ first exposure to formal track and field competition. Sex, event and skill level further influenced the existence and magnitude of RAEs at different age grades. Relative age is a key influencing factor within track and field athletics, especially at the youngest age category. Consequently, national governing bodies need to consider what administrative and stakeholder initiatives are necessary to minimise the effects of RAEs on young athletes’ early experiences of competition.

Fundamental movement skills (FMS) are frequently referred to as the “building blocks” of movement for children and adolescents in their lifelong physical activity journey. It is critical, however, that FMS are developed within Physical Education learning environments and other sport-related settings, specifically as these building blocks of movement require appropriate teaching and practice opportunities. While FMS are well-established as an “important focus” for children and adolescents, to the authors’ knowledge, there appears to be no standardized FMS development guidelines existent within the literature. This paper will examine whether the frequency, intensity, time, and type (FITT) principle could be transferable to interventions focusing on FMS development, and if so, whether sufficient consistency of findings exists to guide practitioners in their session design. Applying the FITT principle in this way may help to facilitate the comparison of FMS-related intervention studies, which may contribute to the future development of practical FMS-related guidelines for children and adolescents.

The purpose of this experiment was to determine the optimal focus of attention for novice golfers performing a putting task. Previous research has advocated that novices should adopt a proximal external focus, but this advice has been drawn from research on a relatively complex task (i.e. pitch shot). Research examining golf putting specifically has failed to find an advantage of adopting either a proximal or an internal focus, but experiments have not included a distal focus condition. The present research investigated if adopting a distal external focus of attention would lead to superior putting performance in novices. Following familiarisation with the task, general putting technique, and the concept of attentional focus, 18 participants completed 3 sets of 15 putts in a counter-balanced, within participant design, adopting a different focus of attention for each set (internal, proximal external, and distal external). After every five putts, participants were asked to answer three questions concerning how much they focused on internal, proximal or distal cues. On the completion of the trials, participants were asked to identify if they had a preference for one or other focus. The self-reports indicated that participants adhered to the three instructional conditions. Performance in the distal focus condition was significantly better than performance in the proximal or internal conditions, which did not differ. Significantly more participants preferred a distal focus of attention than would be expected by chance. Task complexity appears to be an important variable in the selection of the optimal external focus of attention for novices.

The recognition and management of concussion has become a major health concern within rugby union. Identifying misconceptions and attitudes regarding concussion is valuable for informing player education. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the knowledge of, and attitudes towards, concussion in subgroups of youth rugby players. Cross-sectional survey. Information sheets and consent forms were distributed at training sessions for multiple teams at each of three schools and three clubs. Players who returned consent forms completed a custom-designed survey at a subsequent session. Two hundred and fifty-five English players, aged 11-17 years, completed the anonymous survey. Sixty-one participants reported a total of 77 concussions. Self-reported return to play ranged from 0 to 365 days; only seven players (11%) reported a return to play after the Rugby Football Union's recommendation of 23 days. Although the majority of findings relating to players' knowledge of concussion were positive, a number of important misunderstandings were revealed. While the majority of players reported positive attitudes towards concussion, a substantial minority (up to 30%) reported inappropriate attitudes in response to specific questions. Participants who played at multiple venues did report superior knowledge and attitudes relative to their peers who played at a single venue. Despite generally positive results, youth rugby players were found to hold a number of misconceptions regarding concussion which should be the focus for education initiatives. Considering general subgroups of players by concussion history, age, or playing position appears unlikely to enhance the design of concussion education programmes.

The aim of this study was to provide a rich description of team sport coaches’ planning practices and to evaluate these practices in light of the Game-Based Approach literature and Complex Learning Theory. Twelve Gaelic football coaches operating in a high-performance setting were recruited to participate in semi-structured interviews. Coaches prepared two coaching session plans used as prompts within the interview. An iterative thematic analysis developed three major themes: (1) practice activity design, (2) sequencing of practice session content, and (3) contextual factors influencing planning. Despite strong indications of coach engagement with pedagogy in aspects of their session planning, the findings also revealed missed opportunities, with coaches failing to provide explicit learning intentions for session plans, inattention to session sequencing, and limited small-sided game designs. Given these missed opportunities, this paper illustrates how coaches can engage with research and theory to elevate the quality of their planning of coaching sessions.