Everyone has heard the phrase – “Nothing will come of it anyway” – in sport, but also in other areas of life. Prof. Dr. is also interested in this (prejudice). Ansgar Thiel. He researches in the field of elite sport; at the interface with sociology, health and psychology.
Thiel first comments on the statement with the assessment that “trainers have experience patterns from years of practice.” On the one hand, he partly agrees with the trainers and experts, but he puts the attitude into perspective with his own experiences that he has had in his field: “Talent development is not linear.” In this context, Thiel calls for coaches to be more sensitive in order to understand that not every young athlete develops at the same speed. “Motivational situations can and motivation can change, just as motor skills can change. If I don’t support it, it will wither away,” says Thiel in Episode 11 of DEB-Podcasts “Coach the Coach”.
He also emphasizes that talent should not only be seen as an attribution of characteristics, but that “the environment must also be taken into account” as an important aspect. Thiel goes further by saying: “Talent is basically a system. Starting from the ability to do something and ending with the world in which you find yourself.” It also includes physical and motivational requirements. “A system in which these different factors depend on each other,” summarizes Thiel. Development varies even within these dimensions. So there are differences for each individual in terms of biological, psychological or social development.
The director of the Institute for Sports Science in Tübingen emphasizes that it is important that coaches recognize this unevenness in order to be able to intervene at the right point and not lose athletes who are stalling in their development. “If the coach does not take this asynchrony and multidimensionality of development and social demands of the top sports system into account, then overload problems often arise.” Thiel illustrates this dilemma using the example of a young athlete who does not grow as quickly as the others and therefore trains a lot more , than corresponds to his development.
Coaches also have to change in other ways, especially when it comes to dealing with health in young talent competitive sports, complains Thiel. “A big risk factor is the willingness to go into a competition injured or to hide pain because of too much pressure from the environment on the part of the trainer.”says the highly respected scientist. He calls for “creating a climate that allows adolescents to express complaints or what is troubling them.” Authoritarian systems would no longer work so well for athletes and would lead to problems. In his opinion, the alternative fits better into the zeitgeist. “We need a more democratic leadership style,” suggests Thiel, “to give the athletes the awareness that they can have a say.” We also need to “promote the athletes’ resilience.” While athletes used to come back from an injury during which no coach was present, these days they are more likely to be destroyed by this lack of consideration.
“Coaches can no longer just worry about the performance of their athletes, but also have to be there for the people themselves.” Talent development is complex.
Here go to the podcast episode with Prof. Dr. Ansgar Thiel.