Excellent performance in sport has a strong positive relationship with the accumulated number of hours of practice
and with the specialization years, which are considered
crucial for the development of the athlete’s skill level,
readiness and sport commitment (De Bruin et al., 2007;
Gonçalves et al., 2009). Thus, if youth athletes want to
achieve high performances, they need to engage in deliberate practice during their specialization years, focusing
on tasks that challenge their current performance. In particular to build solid competences and skills in future topperformers, sport organizations interested in the preparation of young talents select potential athletes at increasingly young ages, providing them more time and better
conditions to practice, better coaches, teammates and
opponents. This perspective seems reasonable and led
sport organizations around the world to create specialized
training centres where selected talented young athletes
practised under the supervision of experienced coaches in
order to become professional athletes and integrate with
the youth national teams. In team sports this strategy has
been adopted by professional clubs or national sports
associations, and starts usually at around 14 years of age.