GIANTS GET CHANCE TO SHOW POTENTIAL
SubscribeUK Sport/EIS 04 May 2007
Earlier this year, UK Sport in partnership with the English Institute of Sport and the NGB’s of Handball, Volleyball and Rowing launched their Sporting Giants Talent ID campaign. This public appeal involved a nationwide search for particularly tall athletes between the ages of 16 and 25, with the aim of identifying potential Olympians in the sports of Handball, Volleyball and Rowing.
All concerned have been delighted with the response to the appeal, with the buzz of a home Olympic Games resulting in more than 4,800 athlete registrations (females over 5’11 and males over 6’3 – minimum height). The first of several sports specific Talent Assessment days begin this weekend in the sport of Handball.
From studying each applicant’s player profile history, 160 men and 100 women have been selected to attend the British Handball Association London 2012 Assessment days being held in Nottingham this weekend. These ‘potentials’ appear to possess the raw physical, physiological and technical characteristics to be successful in Handball. These initial attributes, along with the right coaching and fast-track development programme could provide the athletes with the opportunity to be an integral part of the Great Britain Handball team for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
During the Assessment days the athletes will undertake a range of activities, under the expert eyes of a World Class Handball coaching panel and English Institute of Sport sports scientists (art and science working together). The Assessment days are designed to explore each athlete’s potential to develop as an elite Handball player in critical timeframes for London 2012. The assessments will include areas such as physical and physiological make-up, the ability to acquire new skills and tactics, and game intelligence specific to Handball. As the selected athletes have little, if any, experience of Handball, the focus is on ‘potential’ and not current ‘performance’ level.
Ian Yates, EIS Talent ID Coordinator explained: “At the conclusion of the assessment weekend, a number of athletes will advance to further, more sport specific rounds of testing. Each individual will be faced with ever increasing challenges as we begin to explore their potential to survive and thrive in a High Performance environment. We envisage a very small number of players being invited to undertake a more intensive Handball Talent Confirmation Programme following the initial series of auditions and short listings. The Talent Confirmation programme involves a real “try before your buy” period exposing potential “diamonds” to World Class coaching, sport specific support services and appropriate competition structures.”
“Should any players show exceptional promise following the confirmation period, they may be invited to take up full playing scholarships as part of the World Class Handball Programme. This may even involve a move to Denmark. The ultimate aim of this programme is to identify ready-made team ball sport athletes with the skills and abilities to transfer across into the sport of Handball quickly, and contribute to developing a competitive team performance at the London 2012 Olympic Games,” he added
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