Reviewing the Family Unit as a Stakeholder in Talent Development: Is It Undervalued?

Abstract

As elite youth sport becomes more organized and professionalized, the role of the family is increasingly acknowledged as significant to the development of young talent. High profile examples across a range of professional sports, both positive and negative, have drawn attention towards this important stakeholder. Accordingly, in this review we first examine the key issues in relation to family involvement in Talent Development, with relation to what is perceived as good and bad practice on behalf of the family. We next consider the key theoretical underpinning, Family Systems Theory, and how it may be integrated within elite youth sport. Finally, we conclude with a summary of where the current literature leaves us, and where we can progress from here. We suggest two possible inputs that could benefit the effectiveness of family involvement, with a focus on the family holistically, and a second on the role different family members can play. The importance of family support systems within the context of elite performance cannot be underestimated, with family playing a crucial role in an athlete's continued development to the top of their chosen sport . This support is just as important if an athlete does not make it to the level they were striving for as the family can be utilized as a mechanism to help deal with the set back, and encourage continued development at an appropriate level. Finally, such support can also be crucial to the maintenance of activity across the lifespan, making the family an important player in participation as well as performance-focused involvement (Horn & Horn, 2007). This review aims to highlight how family may play such roles.Significant others are integral to an athlete's social environment and, particularly for young athletes, family often provides the most important influence of all (Horn & Horn, 2007). Although family is now portrayed within a context of fluid and changeable relationships, with the boundaries ever changing and expanding (Cowan, 1983) the most pervasive of family relations predominantly comprises of parents (whether same-sex or heterosexual) and siblings (Rittenour, Myers, & Brann, 2007). Indeed, Brackenridge (2006) indicates that, without parental involvement, many young athletes would not be able to continue their sports participation. In similar fashion, David (2005) comments that, "when young athletes take sport very seriously and train over two hours a day, it is normal that parents become closely involved" (p. 215). In short, whether this is through transportation, financial assistance, relationships with coaches, changing family activities to fit around competition/training, emotional support or attending these competitions, parents are a key component of their child's development (LeBlanc & Dickson: 2006). In contrast, through labelling a child as gifted (whether in sport or another domain), feelings such as rivalry, envy, The value of the family in Talent Development 4 and discontent are likely to become heightened amongst siblings of lesser tale...

The Impact of Siblings During Talent Development: A Longitudinal Examination in Sport

“…Taylor & Collins, 2015). With FST describing subsystem boundaries as dynamic on a continuum from enmeshed (i.e., a closed relationship) to permeable (i.e., an open relationship; Minuchin, 1974), the sibling relationship is likely to vary over time (Taylor & Collins, 2015). Such nonlinearity is similar to contemporary models of TD (e.g., Bailey et al, 2010), thus indicating a crucial requirement for long-term consideration to better understand this variation.…”

“…Examining the subsystems formed by an athlete and their sibling as part of the TD environment will provide further understanding of the family role in TD (cf. Taylor & Collins, 2015). With FST describing subsystem boundaries as dynamic on a continuum from enmeshed (i.e., a closed relationship) to permeable (i.e., an open relationship; Minuchin, 1974), the sibling relationship is likely to vary over time (Taylor & Collins, 2015).…”

Parental Support, Sibling Influences and Family Dynamics across the Development of Canadian Interuniversity Student-Athletes

“…This study aimed to extend the body of literature examining parental influences in athletic development, and to investigate specifically how other familial relationships, such as sibling influences, and the broader family dynamic contribute to the development of Canadian interuniversity student-athletes. Furthermore, we have provided a body of evidence that illuminates the role of FST (Taylor & Collins, 2015) in the broader context of youth development, as described within the PAF (Côté et al, 2014). Our analysis revealed three main themes: (a) the stable family context, (b) dynamic support of parents and (c) siblings as role models and rivals.…”

“…In describing FST, Taylor and Collins (2015) depict the importance of subsystems within a family that differentiate one family from another. FST suggests that all members in a family interact together to influence the behaviour of each individual member, and each individual member plays a role in the family relationship as a unit (Fingerman & Bermann, 2000).…”

“…As such, these athletes have achieved a balance of long-term outcomes associated with optimal development in sport: long-term participation, high-level performance, and personal development (Côté et al, 2014). In doing so, this study will examine the role of Family Systems Theory (FST; Taylor & Collins, 2015) in the broader context of the PAF (Côté et al, 2014) through the experiences of university-level varsity athletes in Canada.…”