Abstract

CAFRUNI, Cristina; MARQUES, António  and  GAYA, Adroaldo. The Importance of Sport Results During the Long-Term’s Athlete Development: A Study with High Level Brazilian Athletes. Rev. Port. Cien. Desp. [online]. 2006, vol.6, n.1, pp.55-64. ISSN 1645-0523.

The demand for high performances in young athletes is broadly questioned in literature. According to training experts, results should be understood as relevant only during the last stage of the long-term’s athlete development. The use of strategies focused on results during the initial stages of the long-term’s athlete development may reduce the possibilities of achieving good results during the advanced stages of high level sport. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to verify, retrospectively, if high level athletes did present relevant results during the initial phases of training and competition. Sample size consisted of 165 high-level Brazilian athletes of Olympic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, swimming, tennis, volleyball, and indoor soccer. Information concerning the results during the three phases of the long-term’s athlete development was obtained by consulting sport federations documents and through a questionnaire. We concluded that a) athletes showed a low percentage (27,5%) of relevant results during the first stage of their training process, higher than hypothesized percentage (67,3%) during the second stage, and an highest percentage (87,3%) during the third stage; b) comparison between sports revealed significant differences (p<0,05) during the first and the second stages; c) during the third stage, competitive results presented high relevance for all sports.

Keywords : training; competition; children and youth; sports results; long-term’s athlete development.

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