Grainger Adam, Kelly Adam L, Garland Stephen W, Baker Joseph, Johnston Kathryn, McAuley Alexander B T
Kitman Labs, Dublin, Ireland.
Institute of Sport and Health, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dubin 4, Ireland.
Sports Med. 2025 Jan;55(1):9-15. doi: 10.1007/s40279-024-02101-5. Epub 2024 Aug 29.
A clearer understanding of, and tighter boundaries between, terms are important for researchers designing studies as well as for other sport stakeholders creating evidence-informed policies. This article considers the terms 'athlete', 'talent', and 'player' from psychological and sociocultural perspectives and in different sporting communities to highlight the importance of terminological clarity in sport research. We present considerations to clarify the use of these terms within different contexts and how the use of specific terms may affect knowledge mobilization in diverse sporting populations. A conceptual discussion is provided to help operationalize development-related terminology and its associated stages, to better reflect contemporary academic thought, and enhance practical interpretations. Importantly, we also call for greater transparency from researchers when presenting findings and encourage practitioners to clearly define key terms when working in sport. Our intention in this paper is to energize readers to consider how we use language in athlete identification and development contexts, to stimulate deeper thought and discourse around the possible implications these terms may have at any point of an individual's development in sport. Greater deliberation, identification, and acknowledgment of the drawbacks accompanying these terms will be needed before more confident assertions can be made on how researchers and practitioners could (or even should) implement certain terminology across youth sport contexts moving forward. This paper adds to a growing literature on the importance of clarity in terminology and acts as an impetus for those working in specific sports to co-design key terms used by researchers, practitioners, and policy makers.
对于设计研究的人员以及制定循证政策的其他体育利益相关者而言，更清晰地理解术语并明确术语之间的界限非常重要。本文从心理学和社会文化视角出发，在不同体育社群中探讨“运动员”“天赋”和“运动员（player）”这些术语，以突出术语清晰性在体育研究中的重要性。我们提出了一些考量因素，以阐明这些术语在不同语境中的使用方式，以及特定术语的使用可能如何影响不同体育人群中的知识传播。本文提供了一个概念性讨论，以帮助将与发展相关的术语及其相关阶段进行操作化，更好地反映当代学术思想，并增强实际解读。重要的是，我们还呼吁研究人员在呈现研究结果时提高透明度，并鼓励从业者在从事体育工作时明确界定关键术语。我们撰写本文的目的是促使读者思考我们在运动员识别和发展背景下如何使用语言，激发围绕这些术语在个人体育发展的任何阶段可能产生的潜在影响进行更深入的思考和讨论。在能够更自信地断言研究人员和从业者在未来如何（甚至应该）在青少年体育背景下应用某些术语之前，需要对这些术语所伴随的缺点进行更深入的思考、识别和认识。本文为关于术语清晰性重要性的不断增长的文献增添了内容，并推动从事特定运动项目的人员共同设计研究人员、从业者和政策制定者所使用的关键术语。
