ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the pervasiveness of developmental assumptions, explores developmentalism and prominent perspectives of development as well as examines how these explicitly, and implicitly, inform many things that are done in the name of talent development initiatives and talent identification practices in sports coaching. In doing the above we introduce some of the complexities and debates that surround the concepts of talent, as well as talent identification and development, specifically around early specialisation and deliberate practice as well as early sampling and deliberate play.
