ABSTRACT
The ability to effectively and consistently unearth future Olympic-, Paralympic- and Professional-level athletic talent through talent identification and development (TID) is the prized 'holy grail' of any sporting nation. Contemporary international perspectives offer insight regarding best TID practice. For instance, it is well accepted in research and practice that the 'profile' underpinning an athlete's sporting development, progression and attainment of elite performance is multi-dimensional and 'multiplicative'. As a newly identified pre-elite athlete, the developmental journey to senior elite athlete is more typically long and arduous. Successful progression toward the senior elite level is not only dependant on combinations of physical, sport-specific technical skills and psychological 'fortitude', it is also heavily reliant and dependent upon system and environmental support. The emerging intersections between recognised psychological factors, ecological and organisational psychology as well as social network theory, which explain how environmental contexts can be facilitative or debilitative on an athlete's developmental experience, also present exciting recent contributions.
