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The path to the national level in sports in Sweden
Author(s) -
Carlson R.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.575
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1600-0838
pISSN - 0905-7188
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0838.1993.tb00382.x
Subject(s) - athletes , psychology , competitive sport , value (mathematics) , team sport , applied psychology , physical therapy , medicine , machine learning , computer science
Many Swedes are very successful in sport during their early teens. Some also reach the national level later in life. How can their success be explained? A group of national team members in 7 sports was compared with a group of youngsters who were very successful up to about 15 years of age. The national team athletes had been able to develop motor, mental and social skills and to integrate the dominant value systems of competitive sport with their own lifestyle in an optimal way. The behaviour of coaches proved more important for a child's favourable athletic development than did demands for skill. With the exception of swimming, future athletic success was favoured by a varied and multi‐sport involvement.