All Outputs (21)

Talent identification and development strategies in elite women’s soccer: a pan-European perspective (2024)
Journal Article
McEwan, G. P., Unnithan, V. B., Carter, M., Dugdale, J. H., & Datson, N. (online). Talent identification and development strategies in elite women’s soccer: a pan-European perspective. Science and Medicine in Football, https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2024.2404920

The question of how best to identify and develop youth soccer players has received considerable attention from the scientific community. Existing literature has, however, largely focused on male players, with comparatively little exploration of the s... Read More about Talent identification and development strategies in elite women’s soccer: a pan-European perspective.

Evaluation of multi-directional speed qualities throughout adolescence in youth soccer: The non-linear nature of transfer (2024)
Journal Article
Dugdale, J. H., Myers, T., Sanders, D., Andrew, M., Clarke, R., & Hunter, A. M. (2024). Evaluation of multi-directional speed qualities throughout adolescence in youth soccer: The non-linear nature of transfer. Journal of Sports Science, 42(4), 301-312. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2024.2329846

Training and assessment of agility is often prioritised by soccer coaches and practitioners aiming to develop multi-directional speed. Although the importance of agility is advocated throughout childhood and adolescence, limited data evidence agility... Read More about Evaluation of multi-directional speed qualities throughout adolescence in youth soccer: The non-linear nature of transfer.

A mixed methods exploration of the parent perspective of talent development environments across a national multi-sport landscape (2023)
Journal Article
Martindale, R., Fountain, H., Andronikos, G., English, C., Dugdale, J. H., & Ferrier, S. (2023). A mixed methods exploration of the parent perspective of talent development environments across a national multi-sport landscape. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 69, Article 102487. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2023.102487

Parents are known to be important influencers in the talent development process but are often overlooked. Understanding the parent perspective may help National Governing Bodies and coaches improve their support for young talented athletes. This stud... Read More about A mixed methods exploration of the parent perspective of talent development environments across a national multi-sport landscape.

Psychological (2023)
Book Chapter
Dugdale, J. H., Dickson, A. C. S., Murata, A., Kelly, A. L., & Neely, K. C. (2023). Psychological. In A. Kelly (Ed.), Talent Identification and Development in Youth Soccer: A Guide for Researchers and Practitioners (67-83). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781032232799-5

Childhood and adolescence provide opportunities for coaches and practitioners to positively impact the development and lives of youth athletes, as well as establish habits and behaviours to help youth cope with the inevitable highs and lows of being... Read More about Psychological.

Technical (2023)
Book Chapter
Kelly, A. L., Verbeek, J., Dugdale, J. H., & Reeves, M. J. (2023). Technical. In A. Kelly (Ed.), Talent Identification and Development in Youth Soccer: A Guide for Researchers and Practitioners (17-33). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781032232799-2

Soccer is a sport that is comprised of many complex technical actions. In the context of youth soccer, these features have historically been measured and evaluated subjectively through the ‘coach’s eye’. However, objective tools are becoming increasi... Read More about Technical.

International Perspectives: Evaluating Male Talent Pathways from Across the Globe (2023)
Book Chapter
Kelly, A. L., Eveleigh, C., Bergmann, F., Höner, O., Braybrook, K., Vahia, D., Finnegan, L., Finn, S., Verbeek, J., Jonker, L., Ferguson, M. P., & Dugdale, J. H. (2023). International Perspectives: Evaluating Male Talent Pathways from Across the Globe. In A. Kelly (Ed.), Talent Identification and Development in Youth Soccer: A Guide for Researchers and Practitioners (228-262). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781032232799-16

National youth sport culture plays an important role during talent identification and development. Despite its global popularity, nations often adopt diverse talent pathways in youth soccer, depending on their country’s philosophical approach and ind... Read More about International Perspectives: Evaluating Male Talent Pathways from Across the Globe.

A case study comparison of objective and subjective evaluation methods of physical qualities in youth soccer players (2023)
Book Chapter
Dugdale, J. H., Sanders, D., Myers, T., Williams, A. M., & Hunter, A. M. (2023). A case study comparison of objective and subjective evaluation methods of physical qualities in youth soccer players. In A. M. Williams (Ed.), Science and Football: Identifying and Developing Talent (108-116). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003375968-11

Subjective and objective assessments may be used congruently when making decisions regarding player recruitment in soccer, yet there have been few attempts to examine the level of agreement between these methods. Therefore, we compare levels of agree... Read More about A case study comparison of objective and subjective evaluation methods of physical qualities in youth soccer players.

Exploring the role of socioeconomic status and psychological characteristics on talent development in an English soccer academy (2023)
Journal Article
Kelly, A. L., Williams, C. A., Jackson, D. T., Turnnidge, J., Reeves, M. J., Dugdale, J. H., & Wilson, M. R. (2024). Exploring the role of socioeconomic status and psychological characteristics on talent development in an English soccer academy. Science and Medicine in Football, 8(3), 251-259. https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2023.2213191

Social factors and psychological characteristics can influence selection and development in talent pathways. However, the interaction between these two factors is relatively unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the implications of socioe... Read More about Exploring the role of socioeconomic status and psychological characteristics on talent development in an English soccer academy.

Exploring Talent Identification in Australian Rules Football: The Nuances of the Athlete Recruitment Process (2022)
Journal Article
Larkin, P., Bonney, N., Dugdale, J. H., Kittel, A., & Reeves, M. J. (2022). Exploring Talent Identification in Australian Rules Football: The Nuances of the Athlete Recruitment Process. Journal of Expertise, 5(4), 169-183

The process of talent identification and recruitment is a key element of the elite athlete talent pathway. As such, it is important to understand the information and specific processes used by expert recruiters to inform talent identification decisio... Read More about Exploring Talent Identification in Australian Rules Football: The Nuances of the Athlete Recruitment Process.

Men Are from Quartile One, Women Are from? Relative Age Effect in European Soccer and the Influence of Age, Success, and Playing Status (2022)
Journal Article
Andrew, M., Finnegan, L., Datson, N., & Dugdale, J. H. (2022). Men Are from Quartile One, Women Are from? Relative Age Effect in European Soccer and the Influence of Age, Success, and Playing Status. Children, 9(11), Article 1747. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9111747

The relative age effect (RAE) is characterised by an overrepresentation of athletes born earlier in the selection year. Whilst an RAE is consistently evident in male soccer, examinations in female players remain limited. The aim of the present study... Read More about Men Are from Quartile One, Women Are from? Relative Age Effect in European Soccer and the Influence of Age, Success, and Playing Status.

Making the Cut: Coaches and the Deselection of Young Athletes (2022)
Book Chapter
Neely, K. C., & Dugdale, J. H. (2022). Making the Cut: Coaches and the Deselection of Young Athletes. In M. Toms, & R. Jeanes (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Coaching Children in Sport (175-184). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003199359-20

Deselection (or being cut) is the elimination of an athlete from a competitive sport team based on the decisions of the coach. Deselection requires coaches to make judgments and decisions about the ability of athletes and their suitability for a team... Read More about Making the Cut: Coaches and the Deselection of Young Athletes.

Progression from youth to professional soccer: A longitudinal study of successful and unsuccessful academy graduates (2021)
Journal Article
Dugdale, J. H., Sanders, D., Myers, T., Williams, A. M., & Hunter, A. M. (2021). Progression from youth to professional soccer: A longitudinal study of successful and unsuccessful academy graduates. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, 31(S1), 73-84. https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.13701

To optimize use of available resources, professional academies develop strategies to assess, monitor, and evaluate players as they progress through adolescence toward adulthood. However, few published reports exist using longitudinal study designs to... Read More about Progression from youth to professional soccer: A longitudinal study of successful and unsuccessful academy graduates.

Selected, Deselected, and Reselected: A Case Study Analysis of Attributes Associated With Player Reselection Following Closure of a Youth Soccer Academy (2021)
Journal Article
Dugdale, J. H., McRobert, A. P., & Unnithan, V. B. (2021). Selected, Deselected, and Reselected: A Case Study Analysis of Attributes Associated With Player Reselection Following Closure of a Youth Soccer Academy. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 3, Article 633124. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2021.633124

Considering the perceived benefit of early recruitment and the time and resources spent developing youth players, individuals released from talent development programmes are often re-recruited by rival academies. However, due to the contractual natur... Read More about Selected, Deselected, and Reselected: A Case Study Analysis of Attributes Associated With Player Reselection Following Closure of a Youth Soccer Academy.

“He’s Just a Wee Laddie”: The Relative Age Effect in Male Scottish Soccer (2021)
Journal Article
Dugdale, J. H., McRobert, A. P., & Unnithan, V. B. (2021). “He’s Just a Wee Laddie”: The Relative Age Effect in Male Scottish Soccer. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 633469. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.633469

Significant structural, developmental, and financial constraints exist in Scottish soccer that may predicate a different approach to talent identification and development. To our knowledge, no published reports exist evaluating the prevalence of the... Read More about “He’s Just a Wee Laddie”: The Relative Age Effect in Male Scottish Soccer.

A case study comparison of objective and subjective evaluation methods of physical qualities in youth soccer players (2020)
Journal Article
Dugdale, J. H., Sanders, D., Myers, T., Williams, A. M., & Hunter, A. M. (2020). A case study comparison of objective and subjective evaluation methods of physical qualities in youth soccer players. Journal of Sports Sciences, 38(11-12), 1304-1312. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2020.1766177

Subjective and objective assessments may be used congruently when making decisions regarding player recruitment in soccer, yet there have been few attempts to examine the level of agreement between these methods. Therefore, we compare levels of agree... Read More about A case study comparison of objective and subjective evaluation methods of physical qualities in youth soccer players.

Transformational parenting and coaching on mental toughness and physical performance in adolescent soccer players: The moderating effect of athlete age (2020)
Journal Article
Murray, R. M., Dugdale, J. H., Habeeb, C. M., & Arthur, C. A. (2021). Transformational parenting and coaching on mental toughness and physical performance in adolescent soccer players: The moderating effect of athlete age. European Journal of Sport Science, 21(4), 580-589. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2020.1765027

Both parent and coach leadership behaviours are instrumental to adolescent athlete development. Researchers, however, are yet to examine parent and coach leadership influences simultaneously, and at different stages of adolescents’ psychological and... Read More about Transformational parenting and coaching on mental toughness and physical performance in adolescent soccer players: The moderating effect of athlete age.

Reliability of Change of Direction and Agility Assessments in Youth Soccer Players (2020)
Journal Article
Dugdale, J. H., Sanders, D., & Hunter, A. M. (2020). Reliability of Change of Direction and Agility Assessments in Youth Soccer Players. Sports, 8(4), 51. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports8040051

Considering the vast physical and neural developments experienced throughout adolescence, the reliability of physical performance may vary in youth populations. This study aimed to examine the reliability of change of direction (COD) and agility test... Read More about Reliability of Change of Direction and Agility Assessments in Youth Soccer Players.

Tensiomyography Derived Parameters Reflect Skeletal Muscle Architectural Adaptations Following 6-Weeks of Lower Body Resistance Training (2019)
Journal Article
Wilson, M. T., Ryan, A. M. F., Vallance, S. R., Dias-Dougan, A., Dugdale, J. H., Hunter, A. M., Hamilton, D. L., & Macgregor, L. J. (2019). Tensiomyography Derived Parameters Reflect Skeletal Muscle Architectural Adaptations Following 6-Weeks of Lower Body Resistance Training. Frontiers in Physiology, 10, Article 1493. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2019.01493

Measurement of muscle specific contractile properties in response to resistance training (RT) can provide practitioners valuable information regarding physiological status of individuals. Field based measurements of such contractile properties within... Read More about Tensiomyography Derived Parameters Reflect Skeletal Muscle Architectural Adaptations Following 6-Weeks of Lower Body Resistance Training.

Influence of the “Slingshot” Bench Press Training Aid on Bench Press Kinematics and Neuromuscular Activity in Competitive Powerlifters (2019)
Journal Article
Dugdale, J. H., Hunter, A. M., Di Virgilio, T. G., Macgregor, L. J., & Hamilton, D. L. (2019). Influence of the “Slingshot” Bench Press Training Aid on Bench Press Kinematics and Neuromuscular Activity in Competitive Powerlifters. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 33(2), 327-336. https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0000000000001853

This study examined the acute effects of the “Slingshot” (SS) on bench press performance, prime mover surface electromyographic (sEMG) amplitude, and barbell velocity during maximal and submaximal bench pressing in competitive male powerlifters. Fift... Read More about Influence of the “Slingshot” Bench Press Training Aid on Bench Press Kinematics and Neuromuscular Activity in Competitive Powerlifters.

Reliability and validity of field-based fitness tests in youth soccer players (2018)
Journal Article
Dugdale, J. H., Arthur, C. A., Sanders, D., & Hunter, A. M. (2019). Reliability and validity of field-based fitness tests in youth soccer players. European Journal of Sport Science, 19(6), 745-756. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2018.1556739

This study aimed to establish between-day reliability and validity of commonly used field-based fitness tests in youth soccer players of varied age and playing standards, and to discriminate between players without (“unidentified”) or with (“identifi... Read More about Reliability and validity of field-based fitness tests in youth soccer players.