TASK 03: Go to www.uksport.gov.uk/pages/talent_id_-
LI: Height is important as handball is such a physical
_tall_sports/ to find out how UK sport and the English institute
sport- it is an advantage to be bigger than your
of sport carried out one of the largest talent identification
opponent. It is very beneficial in goal keeping as you
programmes in British history to date.
can cover more of the goal. Age is not so important
but you need to be young enough to be at your
Click on the handball link to find out how the talent id
programme progressed for handball players.
peak by 2012 but also old enough to commit fully to
How to use this article
the team and be able to train at the same level.
Previous ability is very important as it can show your
In groups of four, one student take the answers of one
ability to pick up a new sport and due to the fact
handball interviewee, each student feedback the main views
that we are novices hoping to enter a sport at
to the rest of the group.
national level it is essential that we can improve
quickly. It also shows competitive ability and
Interview Questions
handball is very competitive!!
1) The Sporting Giants initiative had 3 main criteria for LB: Within the current GB Talent pool there was a lack of
identifying future GB handball players. These were Height eligible players. The Sporting Giant’s initiative
(over 6’3” for men and 5’11” for women), age (between 16- provided an opportunity to bridge this talent gap
25) and previous athletic ability in ‘invasive’ sports. What are and initial assessment was conducted on the above
your views on these criteria and their relevance to detecting criteria and was a sound starting point. However it
talent for Handball? should be highlighted that the actual selection
process was much more rigorous being conducted
over 6 months of further testing both physiologically
SF: Height will help for certain positions but there are as well as technical and tactical aptitude to train
many people in the GB handball squad under the stimulus after following a systematic coach led
asked heights that are doing fine. The ability in other training programme over a number of camps and
sports is fine, but for a new sport I am not sure how final 8 week intensive full-time residential
much it matters how good you were at rugby, programme.
basketball etc.
BB: Height has been significant in handball, there were TASK 04: Why do you think having experience in an
22 players over the required height that went into
invasive game was part of the talent identification selection
the confirmation period.
criteria?
Age has been a good indicator in terms of the type
Why do you think the age range of between 16 and 25 years
of players that feel they can commit to the program
was used as part of the selection process for the talent
(average age is 20 for boys 21 for girls).
identification programme?
Previous athletic ability has given us a good
indicator into the type of sports that are best
Click on the handball link to find out how the talent id
programme progressed for handball players.
targeted for handball and for specific positions.
40 Sport IQ : September 2008
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