ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the relationship between elite sport and sport-for-all with a focus on supposed trickle down effects from the former to the latter. At the heart of the Standard Model of Talent Development (SMTD) is a presumption that it takes a considerable amount of time and energy to achieve high performance in a specific domain. According to Regnier et al., the underlying method is to provide space and equipment for a number of athletes, let them practice for 10 years, and then skim the cream from the top. There is an increasing acceptance among sport scientists and coaches that performance in all forms of sport necessarily involves the development of a range of skills and abilities. Implicit within the SMTD is a conception of development and performance in physical activities as linear and predictable. Many commentators have suggested that the SMTD has the character of a Darwinian process of selective retention.