Holistic Athlete Development in Australian Rugby League: From a Better Understanding of Developmental Environments to Addressing Individual Challenges

Abstract

Adopting Rugby League (RL) as a vehicle through which to examine Talent development (TD) processes, the current thesis aims to further the understanding of TD environments (TDEs) and their role in athlete development by examining a range of factors that influence TD. Utilising an ecological approach and acknowledging the complexity of TD, the current research incorporates a variety of methodological approaches interwoven into four separate but sequentially linked studies. These include: an initial retrospective design examining the behavioural developmental trajectories of 224 professional RL players; a mixed method and subsequent longitudinal analysis of ecological context ‘strengths’ of three anecdotally ‘effective’ school-based RL TDEs to triangulate ‘strengths’, explore perceived change and association between environment ‘processes’ and the individual psycho-behavioural ‘outcomes’; and a concluding quasi-experimental designed professional club embedded intervention promoting psychosocial and coping skill development to assist player transition. Overall findings highlight the value of multiple trajectories to expertise, the key role of the environment and looking beyond the quantity and quality of training to a more holistic approach to development. The strong influence of supportive cultures and the provision of resources to enhance individual abilities such as coping, self-regulation and self-evaluation to ensure any opportunities afforded are maximised were identified as important. Given TD is multifaceted, and expertise requires several years to achieve, findings may practically assist the efficiency of TD process, allocation of resources and provide broad implications that may assist the effectiveness of current TD practice for individuals and sports.