TALENT IDENTIFICATION

Stepping on to a medal rostrum at the Olympic Games is one of those dreams that rank alongside scoring a goal in the FA Cup Final - common to many... but out of reach of the majority.

Winning an Olympic or Paralympic gold medal means that you have taken on and beaten the best opposition that the world has to offer.  The ability required to achieve such a daunting taks is a rare commodity and identifying those that have what it takes is no easy task.  The EIS is therefore leaving no stone unturned in the pursuit of gold.

Talent Identification (TID) is both an Art and Science involving a complex blend of scientific knowledge and assessment, alongside coaching art. It is designed to proactively seek out those that possess the raw material for World Class success, and respond positively to an intense training and competition environment.

On average it takes six to eight years for a promising sportsman or woman to get to the point where they can deliver medals on the world’s senior stage. It’s a long hard journey.  Only those who are tactically aware, physically and mentally strong, and coachable, and are able to make significant sacrifices will survive.

The scientific approach of identifying talent involves a series of rigorous assessments and filters to detect individuals that have 'higher probability' for podium success.  It's not a fool proof system.  There are no guarantees - only opportunities and choices.  The role of the coach is also instrumental throughout the filtering process, most importantly during the Talent Confirmation phase which seeks to "test drive" the athlete in a more sports-specific training environment.

The system has to be smart enough to select individuals based on their future abilities and the standards required to deliver medals in five years time. Not just current performance abilities being produced here and now.

In the field of Talent Identification, UK Sport sets the strategic lead and provides guidance on the field of Talent Identification, Selection, Confirmation and Olympic/Paralympic Development.  The EIS acts as the support delivery agency with specialist Talent Identification staff working in partnership with NGBs implementing tailored programmes to detect and build greaters stockpiles of World Class Talent for the high-performance pipeline.

There are a number of special Talent ID initiatives and projects underway in order to ensure Great Britain achieve its aspirational goal of fourth in the London 2012 Olympics.