North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity Conference

June 2012, Honolulu, HI, United States of America

Questioning the importance of diversification for sport expertise development

Melissa J. Hopwood 1, Damian Farrow 1,2, Joseph Baker 3 & Clare MacMahon 1  

1. Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia

2. Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra, Australia

3. York University, Toronto, Canada

The association between sport expertise and participation in a variety of organized sports prior to specialization is widely accepted by sport researchers and practitioners. The current study examined this relationship in a sample of 193 athletes representing 2 countries, 36 sports, and 3 skill levels, with the results questioning the importance of diversification for sport expertise development. Details of participation in organized sports other than main sport were compared between non elite, pre elite, and elite level athletes aged 18-35, for the childhood and adolescent years. There were no skill level differences in the likelihood of athletes participating in other organized sports before age 18 (χ2(2) = 3.44, p > .05), and there were no skill level differences in the total number of other organized sports played (F(2,190) = 2.42, p > .05); however, elite athletes participated in a greater number of other sports at the pre elite level of competition compared to non elite athletes (F(2,72) = 3.42, p < .05). Despite participating at a higher level of competition in sports other than their main sport, elite athletes did not participate in more hours of other organized sports overall than lesser skilled athletes (F(2,70) = 1.69, p > .05). Among athletes who did participate in other organized sports during childhood and adolescence, elite athletes were more likely to have specialized in their main sport before age 18 than non elite athletes (χ2(2) = 7.11, p < .05); yet the age at which specializing athletes ceased involvement in other sports did not differ between skill groups (F(2,8) = 1.12, p > .05). These results suggest that participation in other organized sports may not be critical for sport expertise development, but it appears that elite athletes are relatively successful in other sporting endeavours outside of their main sport. Discrepancies between these results and previous investigations may be related to greater variability in sporting experiences among a larger, more diverse sample than is typically employed in studies of sport expertise development.

To cite this presentation:

Hopwood, M.J., Farrow, D., Baker, J., & MacMahon, C. (2012). Questioning the importance of diversification for sport expertise development. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 34, S236.

The Pathways to the Podium Research Project

Publications and Presentations

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Contact Us

An investigation of the development of sport expertise

Pathways to the Podium Research Project

Back to Publications and Presentations Home Page

Forward to NASPSPA 2012 Presentation 3