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‘You get children with extraordinary ability who have no corresponding level of adult success.’


Early success doesn’t neccessarily translate to adult performance


He explains that there are so many changes in a young person’s physical and mental make up, not to mention their belief system, during this time, that it is difficult to tell who will make it.


‘Kids who have been playing from an early age might just get bored and quit,’ he adds.


In the mid 80s, south-eastern county age group cricketers knew about a guy from Middlesex called Mark Ramprakash who could ‘bat like Viv Richards and bowl like Malcolm Marshall’. By the time Ramprakash reached the Middlesex first team he was ‘just’ a batsman. By his late 20s it was apparent that just like Graeme Hick, he perhaps didn’t have (or was perceived not to have) the temperament to be at the top level of Test cricket. Paul Collingwood, seen as a less naturally gifted batsman, did, and had a more successful England career than either.


‘People confuse talent with ability and just look for players with the right skill set or the physical attributes,’ says Armstrong. ‘You also need to look at internal factors: determination, confidence, drive, commitment, will to win.’


The Football Association’s national Under-16s manager Kenny Swain adds something else into the talent identification mix: decision making.


The former Chelsea, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest player looks at the likes of Spain football internationals Andrés Iniesta and Xavi and doesn’t see Patrick Vieira-like physical specimens with pace and power. Neither does he just see wonderful technical ability.


‘They’ve got a Masters degree in tactical awareness and decision making,’ Swain says. ‘We need to teach our scouts to look for this in young players.’


When the mind and body work as one, things work quicker and more efficiently. A player who can out-think an opponent has more time to perform their skill, and perform it more effectively within the context of the game. Unfortunately, young sports players are not always taught to think for themselves.


Coaches, teachers and parents, with now-moment outcome orientated goals, are often too quick to intervene in practice and from the sidelines during games. It’s well intentioned, designed to prevent mistakes and avoid failure. What it often does in the long run, however, is inhibit a player’s ability to make decisions for themselves.


Swain sees technical, physical, social (maturity) and psychological aspects to talent. ‘You can still play for England if you’re deficient in one or two of these areas,’ he says, although not, perhaps, if England are to challenge Spain, Italy and Germany in major football tournaments.


Young athletes develop at different rates


Such attributes develop over time and at different speeds in different youngsters. All the more reason, Swain believes, to have a flexible approach to talent identification.


‘You are constantly identifying players that you think have the potential to become world-class players and giving them challenges appropriate to their current state of readiness, while coaches work to develop the players further,’ he explains.


The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), too, identifies a cohort of talented young cricketers with a long-term goal in mind. Top coaches like Graham Thorpe, Peter Such and Kevin Shine work with youngsters from age 16 onwards, developing skills, monitoring progress and providing experiences. This year the ECB has sent former Surrey all- rounder Ray Baker out on a scouting mission to widen the net. Here too, players drop in and out of the programme, depending on their progress.


‘We want world-class players for the full England team, not successful U17 and U19 sides,’ says Dr Guy Jackson, ECB’s national performance centre manager.


Talent identification, then, should be fluid, dispersed to include as many youngsters as possible. It should be about long-term objectives and player development.


‘You want a revolving door so you’re constantly looking at new players and continually assessing those already in the system,’ Armstrong says.


‘People have often talked about talent development pyramids, but the problem is that these pyramids get very narrow at the top very quickly. We need a system with as broad a top rung as possible.’


This feature was previously published in COACHINGEDGE magazine. Edited for publication in Coaching Matters by Craig Smith


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