“She’s a Natural”: Identifying and Developing Athletic Talent

Similarities between the identification and development of athletic talent and that of gifted children are rarely compared. Interestingly, however, they share analogous processes. The purpose of this review is to investigate the progress of research regarding athletic talent identification and development, including current issues, and provide suggestions for future research. Key roadblocks to the identification of athletic talent include attempting to identify talent at an early age, use of flawed athletic talent identification models, and lack of education of coaches, parents, and teachers regarding how to properly identify athletic talent.