In this episode of the Game Plan Coaching podcast, our guest is Professor Joe Baker, Tannenbaum Research Chair in Sport Science, Data Modelling and Sport Analytics at the University of Toronto and author of The Tyranny of Talent.

Together we explore why talent is much more complex than most systems assume, how early selection and deselection can shape the arc of a young person’s life, and what coaches can do to create environments that keep athletes engaged and developing over the long term.

In this episode, we explore:

• Cringey clichés and myths in talent ID - Why phrases like “natural talent” and “10,000 hours” can be unhelpful.
• Can we really identify talent early? - Joe’s take on why early prediction is so unreliable, and why the “messy middle” of a squad is where the hardest.
• Challenge, safety and ethics - How to balance high challenge with high support, why “feeling unsafe” is not the same as “being unsafe”.
• Long-term commitment and the training environment - Joe’s simple framework: long-term success needs extended commitment from the athlete and a high-quality learning environment.
• Selection, deselection and “not yet” - How language like “not yet” can soften the landing, keep doors open, and better reflect the error built into selection decisions.
• Parents as part of the ecosystem - Reframing parents from “problem” or “taxi and bank” to a crucial part of the developmental ecosystem, with a clear role around safety, security and support.

And so much more!

Follow us:

Tom: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomhartleycoaching/

Joe: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-baker-320b9a32/