Coaches’ perceived physical-physiological and technical talent identification attributes for Under-14 male footballers

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the coaches' perceived physical-physiological and technical talent identification (TI) attributes for under-14 Zimbabwean  footballers. Although several studies have been conducted, none contextualised the inconclusive and questionable transferability of the findings to the  African football environment. A modified Delphi method was used to establish a list of physical-physiological and technical attributes that coaches  perceived as crucial for TI. The Zimbabwean Confederation of African Football (CAF) ‘A’ accredited male coaches (n = 39) completed five rounds of  questionnaires based on the Delphi method. Participants applied Miller's (1972) Scale (i.e., a battery of international patterns and norms) to rate the  attributes according to the importance associated with TI. The results indicated the following physical-physiological (leg power: M = 4.87 ± 0.343; speed:  M = 4.82 ± 0.506; endurance: M = 4.67 ± 0.530;, change of direction: M = 4.50 ± 0.558; flexibility: M = 3.57 ± 0.647; anthropometry height: M = 4.56 ± 0.552; percentage of body fat: M = 4.49 ± 0.506;, bone diameter: M = 4.38 ± 0.673;, weight: M = 4.38 ± 0.493; body composition: M = 3.53 ± 0.830); and technical  (passing: M = 4.72 ± 0.456; dribbling:  = 4.69 ± 0.468; shooting: M = 4.67 ± 0.478; running with the ball: M = 4.41 ± 0.498; heading:  M = 4.21.± 0.704; diving:  M = 3.95 ± 0.793; ball control: M = 3.72 ± 0.759) attributes were key indicators for TI. Based on the coaches' perceived list of attributes, it was  concluded that coaches use a multi-disciplinary technical and physical-physiological approach to TI.