Prediction of talent in youth soccer players: prospective study over 4-6 years

Soccer is one of the most popular sports in the world with player numbers increasing annually at an explosive rate. Children now tend to start specific sports training in a specialized environment at a younger age than in previous years. The desire to be a professional soccer player is strong and future aspirations are usually relayed to the coaching staff. Coaches are, therefore, increasingly interested in identifying talented players in their clubs for development to a professional level. Four key stages have been proposed in sourcing professional soccer players: detection, identifi cation, selection, and development (Williams and Franks, 1998; Williams and Reilly, 2000). Sports scientists are in a position to provide support to coaches and players through the development of methods for “talent identification” and “development” of physiological performance. To this end, elite soccer players have been studied to identify key factors in their success. Reilly et al. (2000) reported that elite young soccer players show better aerobic power, fatigue tolerance, muscle power, and speed than subelite players do. Bunc and Psotta (2001) also referred to the physiological demands placed on top-level soccer players and concluded that a high level of aerobic ability was required. Moreover, anthropometric characteristics have been correlated with performance, and Franks et al. (1999) noted that this will be useful for initial talent identifi cation. However, these studies compared late-adolescent players and adult players. Therfore, characteristics of professional soccer players in their early adolescent remain unkown. A prospective study is necessary to clarify this issue, and few such studies have been undertaken. Jankovic et al. (1997) reported that 15to 17-yearold players who turned professional within three years showed enhanced aerobic ability, anaerobic ability, and grip strength than those who became semiprofessional players. This result implied the existence of physiological factors separating future professional players from those destined to become non-elite and sub-elite soccer players. However, these physiological characteristics tend to develop only during late adolescence. Therefore these parameters may not be suitable for an index of talent Prediction of talent in youth soccer players: prospective study over 4-6 years