This study analyzed the process of socialization of elite tennis players, thereby contributing to an explanation of the success experienced by Swedish tennis players in recent years. The top five male and top five female Swedish players, along with parents and coaches, were interviewed regarding background, early life sport experiences, and development. All five males held ranking positions among the 15 best in the world. The control group was chosen by matching pairs regarding age, sex, and junior ranking. Results indicated that both groups at the ages of 12 to 14 were equal, but after puberty the development of the groups diverged. As teenagers, some elite players were ranked among the world’s top players while the control group players did not experience success. The results clearly indicate that it is not possible to predict who will develop into a world-class tennis player based on individual talent alone. Personal qualifications and early life experiences in combination with social structures, tradition of sport, and tennis culture all worked together in an optimal way, particularly the local club environment and the players’ relationships to coaches.

The path to the national level in sports in Sweden. Scand J Med Sci Sports 1993: 3 170-177.Many Swedes are very s u d in sport during their early teens. Some also reach the national level later in life. How can their success be explained? A group of national team members in 7 sports was compared with a group of youngsters who were very sucessful up to about 15 years of age. The national team athletes had been able to develop motor, mental and social skills and to integrate the dominant value systems of competitive sport with their own lifestyle in an optimal way. The behaviour of coaches proved more important for a child's favourable athletic development than did demands for skill. With the exception of swimming, future athletic suc-

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Talent Detection and Competitive Progress in Biathlon - A National ExampleThe main purpose of this study was to explain later years' success among Swedish biathletes. Sportive talent is regarded an interactional process within the frame of Bronfenbrenner's ecological model for human development. The national team (the elite group) consisting of 13 individuals was investigated along with a control group - matched in pairs in variables age, sex and athletic performance. All athletes were graduates from the upper secondary education sport schools (RIG sport academies). Data was collected via interviews and observations during training and world cup competitions. Based on quadruples of a year elite biathletes were more often born early in a year compared to controls. Hence, the prevailing system for division in competition classes based on age during adolescence could favour early developers. The elite group athletes revealed more positive experiences from sport academy years - in particular concerning the acting and behaviour of coaches in terms of individualisation in training and reciprocity in communication. Furthermore, controls were more often injured and experienced greater difficulties to carry out sufficient training. The results indicate the negative impact of competition classes based on age per se during adolescence and competence issues referring to sport academy coaches.

The aim of research is to examine and describe young individuals who participate in extended sport education program. The main focus concerns family influences on the development of the investigated youngsters’ sportive patterns. Data were collected through online and paper (whenever appropriate) questionnaires (elite sport training in secondary higher education – models of success in sport with pupils from a selection of sport schools in respective countries). Coaches from sports schools representing all participating countries (Poland, Sweden, Latvia, Russia and Belarus) were interviewed. The results indicate that the influence of parents and physical education teachers on the decision to join a sport club and to continue sport career is rather low. Main reasons behind joining a sport club are: the desire to become an athlete, sport idols, and the subjects’ own will. Staying in a sport club and pursuing a career is also determined by previous achievements in the field and good coaches. The parents’ past engagement in psychical activities was not systematic. The subjects consider local sport facilities and a number of accessible sport clubs and sports coaches to be of high importance at the early stage of their engagement in sport.