Mosher Alexandra, Fraser-Thomas Jessica, Wilson Melissa J, Baker Joseph
School of Kinesiology and Health Science, Faculty of Health, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada.
Swimming Australia, Brisbane 4109, Australia.
Sports (Basel). 2022 Feb 28;10(3):34. doi: 10.3390/sports10030034.
Sport researchers have warned about the lack of a clear and consistent definition of early specialization, while others have raised concerns around the validity of methods used to classify athletes as 'specializers'. The current investigation includes two studies examining the implications of varying classification methods for exploring both specialization and early specialization in sport. Study 1 examined whether different approaches to defining and measuring specialization affected the classification of athletes throughout development and provided a 'profile' of the sample in terms of developmental milestones related to specialization. Results indicated the proportion of athletes classified as specializers varied depending on the method used and athletes generally met specialization milestones after the age of 12. Study 2 examined the proportions of athletes who achieved 'elite', 'pre-elite', and 'non-elite' status in adulthood who were early specializers as determined by different methods. Results showed the method used changed the proportion of athletes classified as specializers at each level and there was no clear advantage or disadvantage to being a specializer. Combined, these studies provide intriguing data regarding the implications of different measures for assessing specialization in young athletes.
体育研究者已就早期专项化缺乏清晰一致的定义发出警告，而其他人则对将运动员归类为“专项化选手”的方法的有效性表示担忧。当前的调查包括两项研究，考察了不同分类方法对探究体育领域的专项化和早期专项化的影响。研究1考察了定义和衡量专项化的不同方法是否会影响运动员在整个成长过程中的分类，并根据与专项化相关的发展里程碑提供了样本的“概况”。结果表明，被归类为专项化选手的运动员比例因所用方法而异，且运动员通常在12岁以后达到专项化里程碑。研究2考察了在成年后达到“精英”“准精英”和“非精英”地位的运动员中，根据不同方法确定为早期专项化选手的比例。结果显示，所用方法改变了每个水平上被归类为专项化选手的运动员比例，而且成为专项化选手并没有明显优势或劣势。综合来看，这些研究提供了关于不同测量方法对评估年轻运动员专项化的影响的有趣数据。
