Motor tests to assess specific sport skills which are proposed key-predictors for success are often included in talent identification programs (TID)(Régnier et al., 1993). An valid test for a TID can discriminate talented from non-talented athletes and predict at least to some extent success. The test should contain tasks which are comparable to, but not exactly the same as the specific sport skills, to diminish the influence of training-experience on the measurement outcomes. In this study, an eye-hand coordination test was examined on its capacity to discriminate between talented and non-talented athletes from different sports. TID for e.g. racket sports, handball, volleyball or basketball could use such a valid test for eye-hand coordination, because this is considered to be a necessary trait in these sports. Methods: In total 231 young talented and non-talented athletes (age 7-14 years) from handball (n=38), tennis (n=28), gymnastics (n=36), soccer (n=49), volleyball (n=37) and table tennis (n=43) were tested. The children were instructed to throw a table tennis ball to a vertical positioned table tennis table with one hand and to catch the ball correctly with the other hand as frequently as possible in 30 s. The best of two attempts was registered as final score. The distance to the table tennis table was 1 m. An unpaired t-test was used to test if the test could discriminate between talented and non-talented athletes for each sport separately. A one-way ANOVA and post-hoc tests (Bonferroni) were used to compare only the talented athletes from all sports. Results: The means of the talented athletes (T) was significantly higher (p<0.001) than that of the non-talents (N) for handball (T=24(SD4.5), N=16(SD4.8)), tennis (T=27(SD5.3), N=3(SD3.5)), soccer (T=26(4.7), N=17(SD4.3)), volleyball (T=24(SD6.7), N=15(5.4)) and table tennis (T=24(SD5.5), N=14(SD5.4)).No significance difference was found for talents and non-talents in gymnastics (T=13(SD7.3), N=14(SD6.9); p=0.544). Only the talented gymnasts scored significantly lower than talents from other sports (p<0.001). Discussion: The test was able to discriminate between talented and non-talented athletes for handball, tennis, soccer, volleyball and table tennis. Implementation in a test battery for motor skills in a TID for these sports seems legitimate. Further research is desirable to obtain evidence about the predictive value and individual interpretation of test scores.
© Copyright 2012 17th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS), Bruges, 4. -7. July 2012. Veröffentlicht von Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.