SPORTS TRAINING 1

Talent Identification: A Way For Malaysia To Meet Its Athletic Potential

By Mitchell W. Craib, Ph.D Consultant for the National Sports Council of Malaysia

Malaysia's Competitive Status in Sports hrou!hout the Worl" #ne $mportant Step o $mprove Competitiveness What Will %appen o $"entifie" alent& When Will alent $"entification Pay #ff& Conclusion

Malaysia's Competitive Status in Sports Throughout the World Malaysia is a nation of rou!hly '( million people, not enou!h people some say to pro"uce athletes capable of bein! competitive amon! the )orl"'s nations. his belief is false an" unfortunate. Nations such as Nor)ay, Spain, *ast +ermany, an" ,ustralia, have ha" substantial success at )orl"- class competitions )ith athletes from smaller or similar-si.e" populations. Some have also su!!este" that Malaysians "o not have the !enetic talent to reach the )orl"-class level. here is no )ay to test this theory, but it is li/ely to be )ron!. remen"ous variations in bo"y type can be foun" in a population of '( million. herefore, there are bo"y types in Malaysia )hich shoul" meet the physiolo!ical profiles re0uire" of every sport. So then, )hy is Malaysia not yet a )orl"-class sportin! po)er& #ne can speculate that physical activity for the masses is not yet hi!hly pri.e". ,thletic activities seem to be only mil"ly supporte" in the school systems country-)i"e an" people seem to 0uit sports once school1colle!e is over. herefore, not many people in Malaysia are e2plorin! their athletic potential. Without )i"esprea" appreciation for the benefits of sport 3for health as )ell as competition4, it is no surprise that Malaysia has room to improve upon its athletic competitiveness )orl" )i"e. top

One Important Step To Improve Competitiveness he 0uestion is, )hat can be "one to improve Malaysia's athletic performances& Must Malaysia chan!e its )hole school system an" society to focus more on sport or is there an easier )ay to fin" people )ith uni0ue athletic potential& #ne approach, the approach this article a""resses, is to "evelop a system of talent i"entification )hich involves the schools, but re0uires little commitment in time an" ener!y. Such a system nee"s to reach out to as many potential

athletes as possible, an" for Malaysia, that means millions of youn! can"i"ates. 5rom these millions, "o.ens of boys an" !irls )ill have the potential to be )orl" beaters. hey 6ust have to be foun". 5ortunately, Malaysia has a )ell"evelope" school system that touches the lives of most Malaysian youth. Within this school system, there are physical e"ucation instructors )ho are capable of con"uctin! tests for talent an" sen"in! results to e2perts for selection purposes. 7eali.in! this fact, the National Sports Council, has be!un to "evelop a system of talent i"entification )hich )ill eventually be applie" country-)i"e. Physical *"ucation instructors, associate" )ith the Ministry of *"ucation, are bein! brou!ht to the National Sports Council's facilities in 8uala 9umpur for trainin! in talent i"entification testin!. Seventy of these instructors have 6ust complete" trainin! )ith the !oal of testin! :(,((( youth before December. his !roup, an" the talent "ata they are !atherin!, ma/e up the first phase in the bi! plan for testin! Malaysian youth. Ne2t year, it is hope" that many more talent testers )ill be traine" an" perhaps a hun"re" thousan", if not a million stu"ents teste". top

What Will Happen To Identified Talent? hose i"entifie" as talente" )ill nee" to un"er!o t)o more sta!es of testin!. Why& Because the tests use" to select talent in the first sta!e are !oo", but limite" in scope. Since masses of people have to be reache", the tests chosen for the first sta!e are fe), simple, an" brief, re0uirin! no special e0uipment. ests inclu"e 0uic/ measures of po)er, spee", a!ility, an" en"urance, factors consi"ere" essential to the ma6ority of sports. hey also inclu"e measures of bo"y si.e. +irls an" boys )ho stan" out as remar/ably "ifferent from the avera!e in the first sta!e )ill be invite" to un"er!o secon" sta!e testin! in their state. 7ou!hly one to five per cent of boys an" !irls teste" initially )ill enter this secon" sta!e. %ere, they )ill be as/e" to repeat the tests they performe" )ell in 3to "ouble chec/ results4 an" to perform ne) tests )hich illuminate other sports characteristics thou!ht valuable to elite sports performance. hese tests )ill inclu"e factors such as balance, vision, fle2ibility an" sprint recovery ability. #utstan"in! boys an" !irls from these measures )ill be offere" the chance to enter the thir" an" final assessment process. he last sta!e of talent testin! )ill occur at the National Sports Council's facilities. Sport scientists in Physiolo!y, Biomechanics an" Sport Psycholo!y )ill use sophisticate" trea"mills, metabolic e0uipment, force plates, hi!h-spee" cameras an" biofee"bac/ e0uipment to accurately assess the calibre of athletic

talent. hose "eeme" truly !ifte" )ill be offere" support in their efforts to become elite athletes throu!h e2pert coachin!, use of the best sports e0uipment available, an" possibly financial assistance to further their e"ucation.

Clic/ to vie) vi"eos.

%e2a!on ,!ility est 3:;.<MB4 Calipers Bo"y Mass est 3;.<MB4 rea"mill Spee" est 3'.=MB4
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When Will Talent Identification Pay Off? #ptimal talent i"entification for most sports occurs aroun" the a!e of t)elve. $t is at this a!e that many of the physiolo!ical factors important to sports are "evelope" to the point )here talent can be observe". #nce i"entifie", talent re0uires years of careful trainin! for full "evelopment. ,s a rule of thumb, it ta/es about :( years from the time a person be!ins to seriously train until he1she reaches his1her potential. Conse0uently, if talent i"entification be!ins )ithin the ne2t t)elve months, the fruits of that process are unli/ely to be seen at international competitions until '((>. #f course, ne) talent potential must be foun" every year if Malaysia )ants to reach out an" maintain )orl"-class sportin! status. top

Conclusion #ne )ay Malaysia can become a )orl" sportin! po)er is throu!h systematic assessment of its youth for athletic talent. Physical e"ucation instructors in the Malaysian school system can locate talent for the country )ith simple physiolo!ical tests tau!ht by sports scientists at the National Sports Council. %un"re"s of !ifte" chil"ren, from the millions e2amine", can be supporte" to train for elite sports performance status. $n ten years or less, Malaysia can reap the benefits of this process to reach the status it "esires.

Stage 1 Talent Identification Training

Performance actor Bo"y Structure

Simple Talent Identification Tests %ei!ht, Sittin! %ei!ht, ,rm Span, Bo"y Mass

*2plosive Stren!th 3?pper @ 9o)er Bo"y4 9e! Po)er 3Stren!th @ Spee"4 9e! Spee" ,!ility @ Balance *n"urance

Wei!ht hro) 3; /! Shot4

Aertical Bump <( m Sprint ,!ility %e2a!on est 36umpin! test4 >(( m 7un

Stage 2 Talent Identification Training

Performance actor Aision

Simple Talent Identification Tests *ase of focus, Depth Perception, Peripheral Aision Aariations of the Sit-?p 9umbar %ol", 5ront ,b"ominal %ol", ,b"ominal Crunches, Wi"e-+rip Pull-?p Seate" )o-%an"e" Bas/etball hro)

,b"ominal Stren!th Muscular *n"urance

*2plosive Stren!th 3?pper Bo"y4 9e! Po)er 3Stren!th @ Spee"4 Balance

Stan"in! 9on! Bump

Blin"-Stor/, 7otatin!-Stor/ 3one-le!!e" stan"in! tests4 hro)in! ,bility 3tennis ball4 Phosphate Decrement 3, P @ CP ener!y stores4 Multi-Sta!e *n"urance est, :C(( m 7un

Motor S/ills 5ati!ue 7esistance to Multiple Sprints *n"urance Sports rainin! '