Road to Expertise: Examining Existing Parasport Development Literature and Para-Athletes' Developmental Trajectories and Training Histories Leading to Successful Development

Unfortunately, research regarding development of athletes with disabilities has not kept pace with the tremendous growth of the parasports. The purpose of this thesis was to examine athletes with disabilities developmental trajectories and the training-related factors that led to expertise. A systematic literature review was performed in phase I to synthesize the existing studies exploring aspects of development of athletes with a disability. The lack of studies examining such factors facilitated second phase of the thesis, which explored developmental trajectories and training histories of athletes training at the Wheelchair Basketball Canada National Academy. Although athletes illustrated a similar developmental pattern (i.e., milestones, training modifications) as they progressed through their sporting career, there were disability-related differences (i.e., whether disability was congenital or acquired influenced onset of certain milestones). This thesis contributes to a limited literature base and provides direction for future research regarding development of athletes with disabilities.