Janet L Starkes

• Ph.D.
• Professor Emeritus at McMaster University

Introduction Youth soccer academies are challenged with the constant recruitment process of young talented players to select those who will achieve long-term success as an athlete. Youth soccer academies strive to enhance the physical and technical skill development as well as personality development of talented players because psychological charac...

Relative age selection bias persists within all major soccer leagues and youth soccer academies across the globe, with the relative age effect (RAE) being typically characterized as the over selection of relatively older players (who have sometimes also been shown to be early maturing). The aim of this study was to examine if a new allocation metho...

Despite various solutions proposed to solve the relative age effect (RAE), it is still a major problem confounding talent identification and selection processes. In the first phase, we sampled 302 under 7–21 academy soccer players from two Belgian professional soccer clubs to explore the potential of a new approach to solve the inequalities resulti...

Despite various solutions proposed to solve the relative age effect (RAE), it is still a major problem confounding talent identification and selection processes. In the first phase, we sampled 302 under 7–21 academy soccer players from two Belgian professional soccer clubs to explore the potential of a new approach to solve the inequalities resulti...

Inequalities in relative age distribution have previously been demonstrated to influence participation and performance achievements in Masters athletes. The purpose of the present study was to examine the participation- and performance-related constituent year effect among Masters athletes (n = 2474) from the European Masters Track and Field Champi...

Relative age effects are pervasive throughout sport; however, little is known about how relative age interacts with other mechanisms of expert performance such as sports characterized by young ages for peak performance. The purpose of this study was to examine relative age effects in gymnastics, a sport where athletes reach peak performance during...

This study examined the reliability of a retrospective recall methodology for providing evidence of deliberate imagery practice. A secondary purpose was to determine which imagery activities constituted the sport-specific definition of deliberate practice (Starkes, Deakin, Allard, Hodges, & Hayes, 1996). Ninety-three Canadian athletes from one of t...

Assessing the Expert Advantage in Decision MakingWhat is Controlled? Mechanisms Underpinning Effective Control of ActionsDetermining the Mechanisms Underpinning the Long-Term Development of ExpertiseConclusion

To investigate in young (mean age 13.4, s=0.35) and older players (mean age 17.1, s=0.70) which combination of measures best predicts if a talented field hockey player is considered youth elite or youth sub-elite, 224 talented field hockey players (n=63 youth elite; n=161 youth sub-elite) completed a multidimensional test battery with measures for...

A relative age effect has been identified in Masters sports (Medic, Starkes, & Young, 20076. Medic , N. , Starkes , J. L. and Young , B. W. 2007. Examining relative age effects on performance achievement and participation rates of Masters athletes. Journal of Sports Sciences, 25: 1377–1384. [Taylor & Francis Online], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®]...

Investigators examined whether use of personal self-monitoring tools representing traditional “athletic training logs” improved training-related measures. Competitive Canadian intercollegiate swimmers (N = 26; M age = 20.4 years; 10 men, 21 women) were assigned training-related goals and then were randomly assigned to either a log group that self-m...

This study applied the expert performance approach (Ericsson & Smith, 1991) to test groups of players, coaches and referees in three separate video-based decisionmaking tasks designed to correspond to the demands of each role (playing, coaching, refereeing). Although previous research has shown expected role-based superiority in role-based tasks (e...

Investigators examined whether use of personal self-monitoring tools representing traditional “athletic training logs” improved training-related measures. Competitive Canadian intercollegiate swimmers (N = 26; M age = 20.4 years; 10 men, 21 women) were assigned training-related goals and then were randomly assigned to either a log group that self-m...

Researchers have contended that patterns of age-related decline are not necessarily due to age, but rather to disuse, or declining practice (Bortz, 1982; Ericsson, 2000; Maharam, Bauman, Kalman, Skolnik, & Perle, 1999). A regression approach was used to examine age and training variables as predictors of 10-km running performance between 40 and 59...

The present analysis is part of a larger intervention study that examined whether regular training log use improved swimmers’ perceptions and behavior related to sport training ( Young, Medic, & Starkes, 2005). Varsity swimmers who were first assigned goals to improve aspects of their training, and who then used logs daily for 4 weeks showed improv...

Baseball umpires, players, and control participants with no baseball experience were asked to call balls and strikes for video clips. In a basic judgement task, umpires and players were significantly better at calling pitches than controls. In a direct information task, borderline pitches were presented following clips of definite balls and definit...

The relative contribution of domain‐specific and non‐domain‐specific activities to the development of soccer expertise was examined using a retrospective cross‐sectional design. Elite and sub‐elite players aged between 9 and 18 years of age completed a participation history questionnaire under supervision. Weekly and accumulated hours spent in socc...

Although the relative age effect has been widely observed in youth sports (Musch & Grondin, 2001), it is unclear whether it generalizes across the lifespan. The purpose of this study was to examine the relative age effect among a population of Masters athletes using archived data. Two successive studies examined the frequency of record-setting achi...

This study addressed factors that influence referee decision making in basketball. Four different groups of basketball officials were shown video clips testing their ability to detect fouls and violations (infractions). In a knowledge-priming condition, referees were given a rules test before infraction detection. In an infraction-priming condition...

In the face of remarkable aging trends in North American society, organized sport/physical activity is an important vehicle for promoting physical health, and a domain in which long-term participation might mitigate pessimistic trends for age decline. This investigation examined patterns of age-related decline in performance for 45 Masters runners...

We examined sport expertise as a function of role. In study 1, referees were better than players in a video-based decision-making task. This provides evidence that there are role-specific skills within one domain or sport. In study 2, we examined the training activities that could be influential in the development of skills in sports officials. Eli...

The presence of rewards has been found to undermine intrinsic motivation (Deci & Ryan, 1999). This conclusion is primarily based on research conducted in non-sporting environments. The purpose of this study was to examine perceived motivational changes resulting from the hypothetical manipulation of a reward (i.e., athletic scholarships). Differenc...

The purpose of this investigation was to further validate measures for three behavioral items that coaches claimed to reflect outcomes of non-regulation by swimmers during training. Measures for 33 competitive swimmers were collected for behaviors that reflected a lack of motivation to comply with a coach's full training volume prescription in (1)...

Athletes who fail to self-regulate are less disciplined and motivated, show less initiative, and fail to maximize opportunities for acquisition during training. This investigation attempted to identify a short list of behaviors that swim coaches recognized as indicators of non-regulation by their swimmers during training. In Study 1, five coaches d...

Since the vast majority of existing research on the topic of expertise in sport has been approached from a cognitive perspective, that is the primary focus of this chapter. Given the volume of cognitive research available on sport, the complexity of issues that have arisen, and the relatively short length of this chapter, the authors' focus is to p...

Athletes who fail to self-regulate are less disciplined and motivated, show less initiative, and fail to maximize opportunities for acquisition during training. This investigation attempted to identify a short list of behaviors that swim coaches recognized as indicators of non-regulation by their swimmers during training. In Study 1, five coaches d...

The purpose of this investigation was to further validate measures for three behavioral items that coaches claimed to reflect outcomes of nonregulation by swimmers during training. Measures for 33 competitive swimmers were collected for behaviors that reflected a lack of motivation to comply with a coach’s full training volume prescription in (1) w...

This study examined the reliability of a retrospective recall methodology for providing evidence of deliberate imagery practice. A secondary purpose was to determine which imagery activities constituted the sport-specific definition of deliberate practice (Starkes, Deakin, Allard, Hodges, & Hayes, 1996). Ninety-three Canadian athletes from one of t...

Sport scientists (Starkes, Weir, Singh, Hodges, & Kerr, 1999; Starkes, Weir, & Young, 2003) have suggested that prolonged training is critical for the maintenance of athletic performance even in the face of predicted age-related decline. This study used polynomial regression analyses to examine the relationship between age and running performance i...

In Studies 1 and 2, the authors evaluated deliberate practice theory through analyses of the relationship between practice and performance for 2 populations of athletes: triathletes and swimmers, respectively. In Study 3, the authors obtained evaluations of practice from athletes' diaries. Across athletes, length of time involved in fitness activit...

We evaluated the contribution of attentional strategy to the perception of self-orientation with and without a body tilt in the median plane. Reinking et al (1974 Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 30 807-811) found that the frame dependence of females on the rod-and-frame test could be mediated by instructions prompting them to focus on...

This review summarizes research conducted in our laboratories over the past 5 years aimed at determining the temporal and spatial relationships between eye and hand movements and the amount of central processing that must occur before performing a manual aiming movement, relative to the amount of processing that is done online. All of our research...

Two experiments examined the impact of attention on sensorimotor skills. In Experiment 1, experienced golfers putted under dual-task conditions designed to distract attention from putting and under skill-focused conditions that prompted attention to step-by-step putting performance. Dual-task condition putting was more accurate. In Experiment 2, ri...

Performing minimal access surgery requires the use of 2-dimensional information to produce 3-dimensional movements, as well as precise motor control for manipulating laparoscopic tools. The added visuomotor demands of this task make it more demanding and complex than traditional open surgery. The purpose of this study was to determine the relative...

Two experiments examined on-line processing during the execution of reciprocal aiming movements. In Experiment 1, participants used a stylus to make movements between two targets of equal size. Three vision conditions were used: full vision, vision during flight and vision only on contact with the target. Participants had significantly longer movem...

Recent work in the area of sport expertise suggests that practice patterns can also play a critical role in maintaining athletic performance. This article examines the contribution of both physiological changes and practice patterns to swimming performances of master-, international-, junior-national-, and varsity-level swimmers. A comparison of th...

This longitudinal analysis confirmed a non-monotonic pattern of postural control development in children from age 5 to 8 years suggested by previous cross-sectional studies. Postural control was considered in terms of control strategy and its variability operationalized by mean and standard deviation of center of pressure (COP) velocity; and of eff...

Since 1997 and following the guidelines of the International Football Association, the Belgian Soccer Federation has used January 1st as the start of the selection year. Previously, August 1 was the start. This shift prompted an investigation of changes in birth-date distributions throughout youth categories for 1996-1997 compared to the 1997-1998...

Here we consider the potential contributions of talent, physical precocity and deliberate practice in the development of soccer expertise. After presenting a working definition of 'talent', we examine how coaches perceive and select potential talent. Our findings suggest that much of what coaches see as early talent may be explained by physical pre...

Temporal and spatial coupling of point of gaze (PG) and movements of the finger, elbow, and shoulder during a speeded aiming task were examined. Ten participants completed 40-cm aiming movements with the right arm, in a situation that allowed free movement of the eyes, head, arm, and trunk. On the majority of trials, a large initial saccade undersh...

The role of practice is considered in view of two models: Ericsson's framework of Deliberate Practice and Scanlan's Sport Commitment Model. As tests of the model of Deliberate Practice several studies are reviewed that examine career progress in accumulated practice, amount of practice per week and relative importance and demand of various practice...

Expertise in sport deteriorates after peak performance and is susceptible to both cognitive and physiological aspects of aging. Two studies examined the relationship between age and running times in the 200, 400, 800 and 5,000 meter track events, to determine whether age related decreases in performance are best represented as a linear or quadratic...

This article outlines the development and first empirical test of a new training approach to complex decision making of police officers in potentially dangerous situations. The program was developed for the Belgian Gendarmery in response to institutional changes reflecting an increased emphasis on safe interventions in the management of violence. I...

Three experiments examined the relative importance of attributes determined largely by the efficiency of the visual/central nervous system versus cognitive domain-specific skills, in the determination of expertise in soccer. In Experiment 1, expert and intermediate soccer players were assessed on various non-specific abilities including: processing...

Three experiments examined the relative importance of attributes determined largely by the efficiency of the visual/central nervous system versus cognitive domain-specific skills, in the determination of expertise in soccer. In Experiment 1, expert and intermediate soccer players were assessed on various non-specific abilities including: processing...

This study synchronized sampling of point of gaze (PG) and hand movements in a fast aiming task, using a 60- and a 120-Hz sampling frequency. The subjects moved eyes, head, hand, and trunk freely. For limb kinematics, a significant difference between sampling conditions was only found for the number of accelerations in the profile following peak ve...

Two experiments examined the coordination of eye and hand movements in right-handed subjects who completed single (Experiment 1) and reciprocal (Experiment 2) aiming movements with each hand. In both experiments eye movements preceded hand movement, and arrived well in advance of the hand to allow pickup of visual information about relative positio...

Temporal and spatial coordination of both point of gaze (PG) and hand kinematics in a speeded aiming task toward an eccentrically positioned visual target were examined with the Optotrak 3D movement analysis system in tandem with the ASL head-mounted eye tracker. Subjects (N = 10) moved eyes, head, hand, and trunk freely. On the majority of trials,...

Support for Howe et al.'s conclusion that musical talent is largely a myth is garnered from the sport literature. One issue germane to the nurture argument is how and when motivation to practice is formed.

Two studies tested the theory of deliberate practice (K. A. Ericsson et al, 1993) and contrasted results with the sport commitment model (T. K. Scanlan et al, 1993a, 1993b). In Part I, international (mean age 25.6 yrs), national (mean age 24.0 yrs), and provincial (mean age 25.4 yrs) soccer and field hockey players recalled the amount of time they...

Suturing performance was assessed for 13 novice microsurgeons throughout a 4-5 day microsurgical training course. Time to complete a suture (from needle insertion to completion of tie-off) was assessed on a standardized suture task, for two sutures at the beginning and end of each training day. For days 2-4, suturing performance with actual tissue...

The consistent asymmetry in the birth-date distribution of senior professional soccer players has led us to investigate whether similar asymmetries emerge throughout youth categories in soccer. Birth dates were considered for professional players, national youth teams, youth players transferred to top teams, and regular youth league players. Kolmog...

The consistent asymmetry in the birth-date distribution of senior professional soccer players has led us to investigate whether similar asymmetries emerge throughout youth categories in soccer. Birth dates were considered for professional players, national youth teams, youth players transferred to top teams, and regular youth league players. Kolmog...

This experiment addresses the coordination of point of gaze (PG) and hand movements in a speeded aiming task to predictable targets of three different eccentricities (35, 40, and 45 cm). In each condition subjects moved the eyes, head, trunk, and hand freely. Performance was assessed on 5 blocks of 5 trials. Analyses were conducted for (a) frequenc...

Ericsson, Krampe and Tesch-Römer (1993) have concluded from work with musicians that expertise is the result of ≪deliberate practice≫, so how valid is this conclusion in sport? Four groups of male amateur wrestlers (n = 42); 2 international and 2 club (current and retired) recalled the number of hours they had spent in wrestling and everyday activi...

look at the practice activities of skilled wrestlers and figure skaters from the deliberate practice framework developed by K. A. Ericsson, R. T. Krampe, and C. Tesch-Römer (1993) / looks at practice in wrestlers of different skill levels to determine whether the framework of deliberate practice applies to an activity very different from the domain...

Two experiments are reported in which expert and novice gymnasts were required to walk across a balance beam as quickly as possible in various vision conditions. In Experiment 1, experts walked faster than novices in all vision conditions, showing the greatest superiority when vision was completely eliminated. Novices were more dependent on vision...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the pattern of development of open-loop (ballistic) and closed-loop (sensory guided) postural control in young children. Children (n = 81) aged 4–13 years and adults (n = 26) stood quietly on a force plate to determine velocity of centre of pressure of ground reaction forces. The results show a distinct...

Discusses the potential for training perception and cognition in sport through video simulation of game situations. The paper reviews perceptual training studies and data from studies involving slide and video training in basketball. Issues that arise when creating simulations and assessment of transfer are discussed. (SM)

This chapter discusses various issues in which the basic method of comparing expert to novice performers is applied across a wide range of skills and situations. These issues arise from the application of an approach developed to study the nature of expertise in cognitive tasks to motor tasks. In most cases where speeded motor responses are require...

Microsurgery is an ideal venue for the study of motor skill for a number of reasons. In general, very little is known about the acquisition of movement skills performed at the microscopic level. Even researchers in human factors have given little effort to the empirical study of micro-movements. In microsurgery, very little about the acquisition or...

The purpose of the study was to determine factors influencing stability limits as children and adults stand. Seventy children aged 4–14 years and 17 adults each stood on a stationary force plate with eyes open and eyes closed. They leaned as far as they could forward, backward, left and right. The best predictors for the children's maximum ranges w...

This chapter focuses on postural sway and discusses what happens to performance when one attempts to stand with eyes closed versus eyes open. Sway is the phenomenon that results from continual small deviations from the vertical and subsequent attempts to correct these deviations. When standing quietly, all human beings sway and this has formed the...

For adults, the role of saccadic information in the control of postural sway is well established. In children, the role of normal vision is less well understood. Two studies investigated how children aged 5-7, 8-9, and 10-12 years and adults use visual information in the control of postural sway. In Study 1, Romberg quotients (RQ) were used to dete...

Adults are able to use a visual target to reduce quiet-standing postural sway (Lee & Lishman, 1975). The present study was designed to determine whether children, under varying postural conditions, are also able to use a visual target to reduce postural sway. A second purpose was to determine the ability of children to visually fixate under differe...

This experiment assessed the efficacy of proprioceptive and visual information for the performance of “vertical position” by synchronized swimmers. Three skill groups of 5 senior, 5 intermediate, and 5 novice synchronized swimmers performed 40 vertical positions under four conditions. The conditions were: self-initiated with and without vision, and...

The influence of exercise-induced arousal on the processing of visual information by three age groups was tested. Subjects were required to perform the Treisman visual detection task both at rest and during a steady-state walk at 75% of their maximum heart rate. The expected age differences in perceptual performance were apparent. The detection per...

Exp I examined 8 expert (mean age 11.3 yrs) and 8 novice (mean age 10.9 yrs) dancers to determine the influence of motor performance in the recall of ballet steps. Data indicate that experts recalled more than novices, structured sequences were recalled better than nonstructured, and the last sequence element was recalled less. Although experts and...

The software described in this paper is a modification of the original ERRORCALC program by Pizzimenti, Weeks, and Lee (1984). The program has been modified for use with the IBM PC and PC-XT (and compatible) microcomputers.

Assessed the relative importance of attributes determined largely by the efficiency of the central nervous system (CNS) vs cognitive attributes in the determination of expertise in field hockey. Three groups were assessed on a battery of field hockey related perceptual and cognitive tasks: the Canadian Women's Field Hockey team, a university team,...

This study assessed the relative attention demands of an “open skill”, that of spatially locating position of a ball in flight, using the dual task technique. 7 right-handed male university students stood behind a large Plexiglas screen and spatially matched a ball projected over a distance of 20 feet. After 1-sec. flight time the ball contacted th...

Two experiments assessed relative contributions of stereo-acuity, simple reaction time, chronological age, and experience in ball sports to the development of catching as measured by actually catching a ball and a spatial matching task. The spatial matching task was designed to tap underlying perceptual requirements in catching by reducing motor re...

Compared 10 female university volleyball players and 10 female nonplayers for speed and accuracy of performance in a task involving detection of the presence of a volleyball in rapidly presented slides of a volleyball situation. Slides depicted both game and nongame situations, and Ss performed the task in both noncompetitive and competitive condit...

Five experiments compared 144 female university student athletes and nonathletes for speed and accuracy of performance in a task involving detecting the presence of a volleyball in a rapidly presented slide of a volleyball situation. The situations depicted both game action and nongame events (e.g., time-outs and warm-ups). Players and nonplayers d...

The probe technique has been employed extensively to measure the attention demands of movement control. Inherent in any RT paradigm is the potential confounding effect of anticipation. Experiment 1 studied this problem by varying probe frequency (or, conversely, catch-trial frequency) for three independent groups of subjects performing the same mov...

Attempted to replicate J. J. Adam and R. B. Wilberg's (1986) finding that skilled basketball players are faster at visual information processing (VIP) than are less skilled players. In Exp 1, with 10 male college basketball team players and 10 male controls, recall of player position and movements was assessed using schematic basketball plays. In E...