Modes and challenges in sports talent identification at senior high schools in Upper East Region, Ghana

Authors

  • Christopher Akubah Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
  • Daniel Apaak University of Cape CoastDepartment of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
  • Richard Samuel Kwadwo Abieraba Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Sports, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.6018/sportk.551181
Keywords: Sports Talent Identification; Scientific Selection; Natural Selection; Sports Coach

Abstract

Although there are athletic programmes at the senior high schools in the Upper East Region, the question is whether there are certain institutionalised programmes that help identify athletic talent and facilitate the development of student-athletes to the top of their athletic careers. This study was aimed at examining modes and challenges in sports talent identification in Senior High Schools (SHSs) in the Upper East Region (UER) of Ghana. In this cross-sectional study, 203 sports coaches (100 men and 80 women sports coaches) in SHSs in the UER participated in the investigation. These group of individuals were chosen for the investigation since the core responsibility of identifying and developing sports talents lies with them. Data was collected using a questionnaire from which generalisation could be made about modes and challenges in sports talent identification. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages were calculated using SPSS version 25 (data analysis software). The results of the study revealed that the common mode of identifying talented student-athletes was through observation by coaches (90.6%). Also, limited financial resources (82.3%), judging coaches’ competence by their teams’ performance in competitions (73.9%), and early talent identification (69.0%) were identified as major challenges in sports talent identification. In conclusion, most coaches employ the natural selection method in identifying sports talents, therefore, many sports talents in Senior High Schools in Upper East Region are over looked because they are not currently participating in the sports. Adequate financial resources are not allocated for sports talent identification in SHSs in the UER and much focus is placed on winning SHS competitions to the detriment of recognizing the potential for future success in sports performance among student-athletes.

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Published
02-01-2024
How to Cite
Akubah, C., Apaak, D., & Abieraba, R. S. K. (2024). Modes and challenges in sports talent identification at senior high schools in Upper East Region, Ghana. SPORT TK-EuroAmerican Journal of Sport Sciences, 13, 10. https://doi.org/10.6018/sportk.551181
Issue
Vol. 13 (2024)
Section
Articles

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1. The Publication Service of the University of Murcia (the publisher) has the Publication Rights (Copyright) to the published papers and works, and favors and permits the reusing of the same under the license indicated in point 2.

© Servicio de Publicaciones, Universidad de Murcia, 2013

2. The papers and works are to be published in the digital edition of the Journal under the license Creative Commons Reconocimiento-No Comercial-Sin Obra Derivada 3.0 España (legal text). The copying, using, spreading, transmitting and publicly displaying of the papers, works or publication are permitted as long as: i) the authors and original sources (Journal, publisher and URL of the publication) are quoted; ii) it is not used for commercial benefit; iii) the existence and specifications of this users license are mentioned.

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