A Comprehensive analysis of the factors affecting the development of expertise in athletes with impairments

Abstract Objective: The overarching purpose of this dissertation was to provide an overview of impairment-related factors that influence Paralympic sport (PS) athletes sporting trajectory by examining various stages of the pathway including initiation and recruitment, development, and transfer. First, a modified version of Newells constraints-led model was introduced to collate current literature and highlight the complexity of the factors that facilitate or debilitate development. Second, the demographic and sporting characteristics of participants attending the Paralympian Search events were examined with subsequent recommendations to optimize this process. Third, a detailed overview of Australian and Canadian Paralympic sport athletes developmental trajectories, training histories, and experience in organized sports was explored while controlling for athletes onset of impairment. Last, factors impacting athletes decision to retire and/or transfer between sports were identified, which led to propositions to optimize initiatives to support athletes transfer. Methods: This dissertation used a concurrent mixed-methods approach by using the Paralympian Search survey to collect data for study 1 (Chapter 3), a modified Developmental History of Athletes Questionnaire (DHAQ) to collect data for study 2 (Chapters 4, 5, and 6), and semi-structured interviews to gain insight to coaches and athletes perspective of talent transfer (study 3, Chapter 7). A descriptive analysis along parametric (ANOVAs and Bonferroni post-hoc tests) and non-parametric (Kruskal-Wallis tests with Mann-Whitney U post-hoc procedures) tests were used to examine the quantitative data while thematic analysis guided the exploration of the qualitative data. Results: Several key findings were identified across the studies including 1) the lack of female athletes or participants from rural areas at the Search events, 2) transfer being perceived as an alternative to retirement, yet, currently only being implemented informally in less than ideal conditions, and the 3) strong synergy between athletes previous (Paralympic and able-bodied) sports to their current PS. However, the most notable finding was the influence of impairment-onset on athletes sporting trajectories. More specifically, athletes with congenital and early-acquired impairments (pre-adolescence, adolescence) reached developmental and performance milestones at younger chronological ages than athletes with late-onset impairment (acquired during adulthood), while the latter groups fast-tracked to achieve these milestones at an earlier point in their careers. There were no significant differences in the amount of training accumulated over athletes careers; however, each group demonstrated a different training profile (i.e., hours devoted to each training condition varied between groups). In addition, athletes with impairments acquired during adulthood incorporated some of the training conditions earlier in their careers in comparison to athletes with a congenital or early-onset impairment. Conclusions: The collation of findings suggests different resources may be necessary for athletes at different stages of their careers depending when the onset of impairment occurred, including more specialized pathways with access to key resources for athletes with late-onset impairments and opportunity for multi-sport programs for athletes with congenital and early-onset impairments. In addition, there is a need for initiatives to support the involvement of more female athletes, participants in rural areas, and athletes looking to transfer sports. However, the complexity and dynamics of development, including impairment-related factors, emphasize the need to consider more in-depth, individualized approaches to understanding athlete development in the Paralympic context.