Evaluation of Ten Years of Talent Identification in German Handball

Background: The German Handball Federation (DHB) conducts a talent identification program with female (14-15 years) and male (15-16 years) youth handball players each year. In 2008, the DHB launched a modified talent identification program with anthropometric, motor and psychological tests hoping to improve the prognostic validity of the talent identification.

Aims: The aim of this long-term study was to evaluate the modified talent identification program in general and especially the prognostic validity of the different tests. Therefore, we investigated which of these tests differentiates between youth team players nominated and not-nominated by the national coaches and how constant those results are over time.

Methods: The youth handball players from 20 regional selection handball teams (N = 480, an additional 240 female and 240 male players each year from 2008-2017) performed a series of anthropometric, motor and psychological tests. Additionally, they were observed playing varying forms of handball. Stepwise discriminant function analyses were conducted separately for each year.

Results: The results indicate that the identified tests per year change very little from a content perspective. Prima facie, the predictive validity seems initially sufficient.

Discussion and Conclusions: While these results show that a first step was taken, we also suggest that the predictors are not sensitive and specific enough for long-term development. Therefore, the talent identification program will be expanded by technical and tactical tests with open skills to improve `long-term predictive validity`.