“Talent Identification and Selection in Elite Youth Football: An Australian Context”, 2016-02-29 (; similar):
We identified the perceptual-cognitive skills and player history variables that differentiate players selected or not selected into an elite youth football (ie. soccer) programme in Australia.
A sample of elite youth male football players (n = 127) completed an adapted participation history questionnaire and video-based assessments of perceptual-cognitive skills. Following data collection, 22 of these players were offered a full-time scholarship for enrolment at an elite player residential programme.
Participants selected for the scholarship programme recorded superior performance on the combined perceptual-cognitive skills tests compared to the non-selected group. There were no statistically-significant between group differences on the player history variables. Stepwise discriminant function analysis identified 4 predictor variables that resulted in the best categorization of selected and non-selected players (ie. recent match-play performance, region, number of other sports participated, combined perceptual-cognitive performance). The effectiveness of the discriminant function is reflected by 93.7% of players being correctly classified, with the 4 variables accounting for 57.6% of the variance.
Our discriminating model for selection may provide a greater understanding of the factors that influence elite youth talent selection and identification.