Our Pathway is evidence-informed and underpinned by theory and best practise strategies to nurture a deep and rich pool of talent. Structured to provide appropriate and progressive transitions between ages and stages of development, our Pathway targets longitudinal development to grow a strong and sustainable talent pool.

Developing potential and the foundations of future performance requires time investment over many years and with time a critical input, we structure our programme to consist of year round phases of activity. Our programme encompasses training, competition and touring opportunities, with the volume of training tailored appropriately to the phase of activity and the amount of competition increasing between phases of development.

Identifying and predicting talent involves making predictions about which players have the potential for future success which is difficult when you consider the often complex, dynamic and non-linear nature of talent development. With players developing at varying ages, stages and often through non-linear development trajectories we design our programme to include extended periods of development opportunities within each phase. This allows for the identification of future potential and assessment of performance to take place over time through training and competition environments and resulting in better, more informed talent selection decisions to be made.

Talent can emerge through the process of selection and deselection across consecutive years and with this knowledge, we structure the pathway to include entry and transition points at each age of development, coupled with re-entry points for selected and deselected players the following year and allowing the opportunity for re-engagement at any point in the future through nomination. We commit to our long-term approach by providing all players who are deselected from the programme with individualised feedback at their exit point. The feedback is intended to guide the player and to help parents support their child’s ongoing development.