Factors influencing success in handball: the views of youth players in focus

Abstract

Handball is one of the most popular sports in Hungary. In recent years, the number of handball players and professionals working in the sport has significantly increased. Despite the growing interest in selection and talent management, the effectiveness of forecasting success is still limited. Investigating the problem of talent and success requires both a natural and a social science approach. Exploring the views of the participants is necessary to increase the effectiveness of selection and talent management, and to improve cooperation between the interested parties. In our research, we used a questionnaire method to reveal the views of youth players (N = 82) regarding success from a pedagogical approach. We were interested in what factors are considered important for a successful adult sports career, as well as whether there is a difference in the views of national-team players (N = 41) and non-national-team players (N = 41) regarding the factors influencing success. The views of the players clearly support the influencing role of internal factors in performance, and thus in success, but they attribute special importance to external factors. It has been proven that the sports environment is not only important in reducing dropout, but also in preparation and competition performance. The views of national-team players and non-national-team players showed more differences regarding external factors than internal factors. In addition, however, there was also a difference of opinion between genders, which raises further questions especially in coach-education. Based on the results, it can be concluded that there is a need for adapting sports environment to the needs of the athletes, achieving pedagogical education of the coaches and strengthening the coach-athlete-parent relationship.