Dr Giles Warrington Ph.D.

From the Child to the Champion - Pathways to performance

Introduction

Ireland is a country with a rich and proud sporting tradition. The successes which have been attained by Irish competitors nationally and internationally have often belied the small size of the country. The Irish public have an avid interest in the performances of our top sports performers and there is an increasing recognition of the role which sport can play in Irish society.

In 1998, the Player and Athlete Card for Excellence (PACE) scheme was launched by the Irish Sports Council (ISC). The National Coaching and Training Centre (NCTC) was charged with the responsibility of co-ordinating the non-financial aspects of the scheme. During its initiation each 'carded' athlete was required to fill out a questionnaire. The questionnaire marked the beginning of a study, which was conducted on 207 Irish athletes, which sought to find the factors promoting and inhibiting athletes' success. During the course of the study it emerged that Irish athletes appear to be influenced by different factors at the various stages of their careers. Review of international research and best practice also pointed to the staged development of athletic careers. One of the main findings of the study of the Irish athletes was that well-defined structures needed to be in place in order for athletes and coaches to reach their potentials as expert performers.

The 6th National Coaching Forum, "Pathways to Success: good coaching for players, athletes and coaches", held at the University of Limerick reinforced this current thinking particularly through the work and presentations of Istvan Balyi who proposed the concept of a four-stage model for the athlete pathway. This model incorporated the FUNdamental stage (6-10 year olds), Training to Train stage (10-14 year olds), the Training to Compete stage (14-18 year olds) and the Training to Win stage (18+).

During the Forum, the NCTC took the opportunity to invite coaches to comment on the FUNdamental stage by means of a questionnaire. Their views on the importance of the FUNdamental stage, and how it can be improved in Ireland was explored. The Pathway concept has also been included as a key element to the Irish Sports Councils high performance strategy to be launched in the latter part of 2001.

Need for a model

As Ireland moves its high performance support systems into the twenty first century, there is a need for a clear model which underpins the technical support for our players and athletes. This model needs to address two key components:

• What are the factors which promote and inhibit success among our athletes?
  
• What pathways do our players and athletes pass through as they strive for the pinnacle of performance?

Stages in the development of expertise

Influenced by Bloom's (1985) ideas, Ericsson & Charness (1994) identified three stages in the acquisition of expertise in any field. In stage 1, a child is introduced to a given sport and s/he may display some talent that is recognised by his or her parents. At this stage, practice takes the form of "play" - a un-structured and intrinsically enjoyable activity - and the parents usually encourage the child to take some lessons in the activity in question. Next, in stage 2, an extended period of preparation occurs during which the young learners are taught to perform their skill better. This stage usually ends with some commitment from the performer to pursue activities in the domain on a full-time basis. Finally, in stage 3, average daily amounts of deliberate practice are increased and advanced coaches are sought to assist the performer. Furthermore, parents of some performers may move home in order to live closer to specialist coaches or to advanced training facilities. Stage 3 usually ends either when the performer becomes a full-time competitor in the sport in question or when s/he abandons the sport completely.

How long does it take to become an "expert performer"? The 10-year rule

Three main findings have emerged with regard to the development and "peaking" of expertise. First, research suggests that it takes about 10 years of intense training and practice to attain an international level of expertise in any field - whether music or sport (Simon & Chase, 1973; Ericsson et al., 1993). Although there are some exceptions (e.g. the chess player, Bobby Fischer, who had attained an international level of chess performance by the age of 15), this 10-year rule seems to be remarkably reliable. For example, in music, Ericsson et al. (1993) found that expert pianists and violinists had conducted over 10,000 hours of practice between the ages of around 8 and 20 years. Second, Ericsson & Chase (1997) claim that the estimated amounts of practice conducted by expert performers across many fields is remarkably consistent at about 4 hours a day. Finally, the age at which expertise "peaks" seems to vary considerably across different domains. In sport, however, Ericsson & Charness (1997) claim that in "vigorous sports it is rare for elite athletes above age 30 to reach their personal best or even in many cases remain competitive with younger colleagues".

Research on athletes' perceptions of sporting success

In the only published study that could be located on this topic Duda et al. (1992) asked a group of elite skiers about the factors that they perceived as being responsible for their success in this sport. Four factors emerge:

(i) Effort (i.e. items which related to training, working hard and enjoying skill development)
(ii) External factors (i.e. coach, equipment and other social/environmental variables)
(iii) Illegal advantage/drugs (i.e. blood doping, ingestion of illegal substances)
(iv) Ability (i.e. possession of superior skill)

More recently, Gould et al. (1998) analysed the factors that were perceived to have positively and/or negatively affected the performance of US Olympic athletes and coaches prior to and during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Interestingly, one of the most important performance influences listed by US Olympic athletes was perceived support from family and friends.

Although research has identified genetic factors, practical variables and ergogenic aids as being important determinants of athletic success, a crucial variable appears to be missing from current theoretical models in this field. Specifically the lifestyle and motivation of the athlete, coupled with many situational factors (e.g. support systems, coaching, environmental, social factors) are also key variables which will impact upon athletic success. Perhaps even more importantly, the life stage of the athlete is a critical determinant of how all these factors interact over time. The successful mix of all the influence will result in the development of suitable capacities (technical, tactical, physical and mental) at each stage of the athlete's career pathway

What is a Player and Athlete Pathway?

The player/athlete pathway may be defined as the stages that athletes pass through in pursuit of their goals whilst also recognising the stages of life passed through. It is essential to include decent competitive progression

What are the main stages of the Pathway?

The stages of the pathway are tentatively outlined as follows:
Stage 1: Introduction to physical activity/sport/general motor development (Basic movement patterns)
Stage 2: Introduction to specific sports (Multi-sport stage)
Stage 3: Stage of choice
Stage 4: Junior competitive stage
Stage 5: Developmental competitive stage
Stage 6: International competitive stage
Stage 7: World-class competitive stage
Stage 8: Transition.

Core Principles of the Pathway

1. In general, expert performers pass through three or four stages. Stages one, two three (early, middle and late respectively) bring the performer to the top of their 'trade'. Stage 4 is a reinvention of their stage, this stage occurs when athletes have already reached the elite level.

2. Expert performance takes anything up to or beyond 10 years.

3. What distinguishes the stages is :

• the demands of the stage
  
• the skills and capacities required at each stage
  
• the nature and relationships formed at each stage

4. Stages are usually sequential but occasionally athletes may miss out on one or more stages. All expert performers pass through the three main stages of the pathway but competition and opportunity stages within each stage will very and so too will the rate at which they pass through.

5. The length of the pathway will vary according to the demands of the sport. Indeed, the start point of the start point of the pathway will vary to the demands of the sport.

6. As well as sport specific, the journey through the pathway will vary from individual to individual.

7. Success along the pathway is determined between a blend of a number of factors; genetics; social/environmental; support structures; training and competition/opportunities; motivation.

8. The coaches role is to understand competition, training and other demands at each stage of the pathway and also the physical, mental, technical and tactical capacities required to be successful at each stage. (Through knowledge of the athlete and performance profiling the coach should be able to identify deficits between where the athlete is now and the demands associated with the goals of the pathways).

Conclusion

The importance of a performance pathway :

• It provides for efficient development and planning of a framework.
  
• In order to actualise - one must visualise what one is trying to achieve.
  
• Helps provide a framework within which relevant services can be delivered.
  
• Provides a tool for athletes to plan their careers.
  
• It helps define the competition, training and other demands at each stage.
  
• Helps identify barriers to progression and thus a means of overcoming them.
  
• Helps identify if stages are skipped.
  
• Recognises that the development of expert performance is a process, which takes time to unfold, and which takes due account of the process of human development.

Giles Warrington is Head of Player/Athlete Services at the National Coaching and Training Centre. He was educated at St. Mary's University College where he has a BSc in sports science and a Ph D. from the University of Surrey. He is actively involved in training and coaching particularly in the sports of athletics, rugby and rowing. Between 1994-1996 he was fitness advisor to the Irish national rugby team and is a fitness consultant to the Munster provincial rugby team and also Garryowen rugby club.

Giles has worked at the NCTC since 1993, and was heavily involved in the establishment and development of the International Carding Scheme for elite Irish athletes. In his capacity as Head of Player/Athlete Services he is responsible for co-ordination and provision of sports science, medical and other support services to Ireland's elite athletes and players through a national network of 320 accredited service providers.

Between 1990-1993 he was employed by the British Olympic Association where he worked as an Exercise Physiologist at the British Olympic Medical Centre. During this time and was appointed as Chief Physiologist to the Great Britain National Rowing team and his Ph D. is based on his work with the rowers with a particular focus on altitude training. Over the past 11 years He has gained extensive experience working with and advising elite athletes from over 30 different sports, both Olympic and non Olympic. This has included over 50 European, World and Olympic medallists.