‘The’ pathway towards the elite level in Dutch basketball: A multidimensional and longitudinal study on the development of talented youth basketball players

Many young talented basketball players are striving for expertise; i.e., achieving the elite level of performance in adulthood. The development of these young basketball players has been investigated by Sanne te Wierike at the Center for Human Movement Sciences (UMCG, University of Groningen). Multidimensional performance characteristics of 99 players (aged 13 – 19 years) of the regional training center have been monitored for the last five seasons. Anthropometric, physiological, technical and psychosocial tests have been conducted twice each season to gain insight into the performance development of the talented basketball players.
Results showed differences in the development of players between guard, forward and center position players. Moreover, individual differences were found between players of the same position who achieved the elite level of performance in adulthood. Furthermore, this research showed that height has a significant role in basketball. The talented basketball players improved their physiological and technical performance characteristics while the level of reflection, i.e., the capability to appraise previous performance to improve future performance, stays relatively stable during their development.
It is important to monitor young basketball players during their development in a multidimensional and longitudinal manner, while taking into account the individual development of players.