An Analysis of Coaches’ Approaches to Talent Identification in Children

A Field Study of Selected Football Clubs and Sports Academies in Tebessa Province

Abstract

Through this study, we tried to shed light on the issue of selecting athletically gifted children as an important topic in the world of sports, especially with regard to young groups that are the mainstay of clubs and teams. Talented footballers in active sports clubs and academies in Tebessa state and due to the nature of the topic, we used the appropriate descriptive approach for such studies through a sample of 23 coaches representing the various clubs and academies of Tebessa under 13 years old in football, relying on the questionnaire as a tool for data collection. In statistical processing on percentages, and the "Ka2" test for data analysis. The results of the study resulted in the absence of a specific system for this sensitive process, as well as the trainers’ reliance on non-scientific methods represented in personal observation. Therefore, the research staff recommends the need to rely on scientific foundations in the process of selecting junior talents, in line with the requirements of the game in order to avoid the leakage of emerging talents and rehabilitation of Trainers on the modern theoretical data of the selection process through their participation in scientific forums and study days under the supervision of specialized frameworks.