Popularity of football Essay Example

society. Elashmawi & Perry (2001) highlight the importance of cultural competence in organizations, as it leads to better performance and better relationships with clients.According to Harris (1993), the current trend is towards increasing cultural diversity, a claim supported by Daft (2002), who also added that effective communication structures and utilizing individual strengths are essential for teamwork. Therefore, effective communication is essential for football managers, as stated by Watt (1996). Additionally, athletes use verbal and non-verbal communication in culturally and individually influenced ways during sporting events (Kippenberger, 2000). As such, language and verbal communication can present a significant barrier to effective communication within multicultural football teams (Elashmawi & Harris, 1993). To effectively manage multicultural football teams, managers must recognize the need for different behaviors and communication styles (Husting, 1995).According to Watt (1996), effective communication is crucial during both Lucifer matches and preparation, and leadership style plays a significant role in successfully managing a team. This is particularly important in sports coaching, as managers are responsible for enhancing performance (Lyle, 2002). While there is no one correct approach for sports coaching, Watt (1996) suggests that a common and effective leadership style is the transformational approach, which emphasizes integrity, honesty, and commitment by developing and promoting a vision, motivation, and revising the vision (Hodgetts & Luthans, 2003). Studies have shown that younger athletes may naturally possess talent and ability at a young age and may follow the youth system of larger clubs (Owen, 2005). Thus, the developmental stage and proper guidance are crucial for successful transitions that participants must undergo; failure to do so can lead to the stunting of technical attributes' development (Nicolaou, 2008).Additionally, the early introduction

of competition in football can lead to a loss of interest and enjoyment for young athletes. As younger players typically play without competition, the emphasis on performance and winning can make the sport less enjoyable. Investigations should be conducted in countries with solid football setups to serve as benchmarks for The KFA and The FA to enhance understanding of necessary changes, allowing confirmations to occur. Holland, despite its lack of resources and a history spanning only 50 years since the formation of the professional conference, has produced consistently successful teams. This success can be attributed to the fact that 95% of the 2500 clubs in Holland have fully functional youth academies. In contrast, the delicate structure in England and Korea presents a significant contrast. Finally, it is commonly understood that athletes should develop for an average of three hours daily for 10 years or follow the 10-year/10,000-rule as agreed by researchers (Salemela, 1998).According to Balyi and Hamilton (1999), successful development in sports requires long-term preparation and development instead of a short-term approach. Their research also identifies two types of sports: early specialisation and late specialisation. The former refers to sports that require specific training like gymnastics and diving, while the latter involves a more general approach like in football and rugby. The early stages of athlete development are crucial, as it is where fundamental skills like kicking, striking, catching and running are developed through playing, leading to the enhancement of cognitive and motor skills (Gentile, 1972). The development of fundamental skills is emphasized in the first phase of the Late Specialization Model (Appendix 0.1) which focuses on developing physical capacities and key motion skills (Balyi,

2004). Gentile suggests that training younger athletes should offer a diverse program that works on both closed and open skills.Hoare (2000) claimed that younger participants tend to follow managers and move on to the following developmental phase when success is yielded. However, copying grownups from younger jocks implies the demand for qualified managers at young person degree and highlights the importance of investing in coaching to achieve success. In contrast, Gentile (1972) suggested that repetitive practice in a diverse set of environments is important for younger jocks, as they may show consistency in performing a set skill, but understanding the process of how the skill is achieved is different. Understanding the know-how procedure of skill acquisition and executing are achieved and produced at the latter phases of the LTAD theoretical model when participants reach ages of 16, where motions and skills are performed automatically known as the independent phase (Schmidt, 1987). This independent phase directly links to phase 3- Training to Compete Stage and phase 4- The Training to Win Stage in which skills nurtured and developed from younger ages are put to the test under various competitive environments in a 50:50 ratio of competition and training.The early introduction of competition and a win-at-all-costs mentality can hinder athletes' development instead of providing a competitive advantage, according to Volkwein (1995). Therefore, in Korea, many youth academies focus on training athletes with drills that aim for achievable goals rather than just winning. It is important to consider cultural and training differences when reviewing literature, as emphasized by Salmela (1995). For example, countries like Holland and Spain hire highly experienced and qualified managers to oversee the development of

individual athletes during training sessions. Dutch managers are particularly notable, with some of the best in the world including Rinus Michels, who received the Manager of the Century award from FIFA in 1999. While youth academies in England do have former professional players as managers at the youth level, Korean professional academy managers typically hold only the equivalent of a level 1 coaching badge.The consequences of managers focusing only on providing training sessions for elite-level athletes, rather than addressing the individual needs of young athletes, means that many are overlooked. This approach ignores the fact that individuals develop physically and technically at different ages (Kolb, 1984), and fails to account for variations in athletes' knowledge of motor skills and performance (Guthrie, 1972). A lack of attention to individual needs can also be detrimental to a young athlete's progress. Research shows that providing an appropriate training environment for each age group results in better performance (Snow, 2004). In Brazil, some of the world's most technically talented players developed their skills through unstructured play without direction (Balyi, 2003). Although such play may foster creativity and confidence, it can be difficult to implement. Therefore, incorporating both structured and unstructured activities may benefit young athletes' development.The focus on lifelong skills and less emphasis on young age instruction appears to be lacking in current English and Korean sports clubs. Additionally, U-17 Korean counterparts have stricter training schedules than professionals. The 'Five Stage Model of Late Specialization in Sports' was initially designed for high-performance Alpine Skiers over eight years and may not be directly applicable to football, as its validity in a football environment is questionable without research information. Despite widespread

use as a guideline in sports development, it lacks scientific credibility. In conclusion, while applied across various sports regulating bodies, it fails to meet scientific standards.Despite the wide acceptance of the theoretical model, it can be concluded for the purpose of this research that while Balyi modified the model in 2001 to accommodate different sports and The FA and KFA also made changes, the models are not identical but certain overlapping features exist. Balyi's model, focused on long-term athlete development, includes a Retirement/Retraining phase, which is a transition stage and not part of developing elite athletes. This raises questions about whether it is a performance development model or one that aims to retain participants for engagement. Due to time constraints, a final conclusion on the data collected is impossible. As a third-year student with limited time to gather information, it was impossible to review all available literature on youth setups from different countries and LTAD models. Therefore, research and reviews may be biased. Furthermore, due to the ten-year and 10,000-rule development of athletes, it is only possible to criticize the LTAD development model through extensive scientific experiments that are not feasible due to time and budget constraints.To determine the relevance and effectiveness of the LTAD model in various sports, further investigations should be conducted beyond just Alpine Skiers. Without such tests, The FA and KFA's LTAD model could be an unreliable source for establishing youth development strategies. The methodology involves a comparative study of two premier conference football clubs in different countries to analyze the youth development process, including the LTAD structure/system, and determine why one is more successful in developing young athletes. A specially

designed interview will be conducted during this project to assess the current state of the youth-setup and its connection to the LTAD model from Balyi. Due to scheduling conflicts, the majority of these interviews will take place over the phone with subjects from Korea and England who are working in elite football. Our hypothesis is that due to the success and popularity of the English Premier League, the English youth developmental process will be superior in producing more elite athletes measured on a percentage basis (number of athletes entering and exiting the system as elite).The key points of the interview will be written down and translated for Korean interviewees, while English interviewees will be interpreted directly. This qualitative data, obtained through interviews, will offer expert insight into the developmental process of young athletes in football in both countries and the effectiveness of the LTAD model in football. Additionally, this collected information will allow for an assessment of both countries' systems and ultimately answer why one system is more successful in producing elite athletes. Moreover, a comparison will be made between Korea, England, Holland, and Spain, with the last two countries' current talent development systems considered the best in the world. This will provide a better picture of further improvements that could be made for The FA and KFA, using the collected data as a benchmark for future initiatives. The method used for this research design will be a case study that takes into consideration interview or test procedures. Open-ended questions and some data in the form of interval data, such as percentages, will be used to determine which country has a better system in developing

talent.The collection of primary information is beneficial as it provides unique data that is not currently available in literature or other sources. This enables a different perspective to offer new evidence related to the hypothesis and research question. To conduct the research, international calls will be made to Korea for interviews using specific questions designed to obtain pertinent information. The information attained will then be recorded as text, and subjected to data analysis. In contrast, interviews with individuals in England will be conducted face-to-face due to their proximity to the researcher. The complete interview process should take approximately 25-30 minutes per person, but since two key managers will be interviewed, it is possible that it may exceed this duration.

Once successful collection of results has taken place, a data analysis will be conducted to evaluate youth development in Korea and England. The opinions provided by individual interviewees will be analyzed in relation to their personal experiences within football, and whether they suggest that current systems within their respective countries require change.The use of open-ended questions in the study may introduce personal bias, but the credibility of personal perspectives from high-level football managers is crucial. Conducting interviews as the primary qualitative technique allows for understanding the interviewees' emotions and motivations behind their opinions. Precision of responses is promoted by asking detailed questions specific to the research inquiry. A major emphasis of data analysis is on assessing the suitability of Balyi's LTAD model for developing talent in football. Comparisons between two countries will involve percentage-based observations, but differences in variables like player enrollment and exit may hinder outright comparisons of success rates. Qualitative techniques will be pivotal

in comparing the effectiveness of athlete development systems in producing elite athletes.

Interview Participants and Ethical Procedures

The interview will include four individuals who are currently working in professional football, with two from Pohang Steelers Football Club and two from Fulham Football Club. These participants were selected based on the difficulty in gaining access to elite managers for interviews. To ensure credibility, each participant has at least 10 years of work experience in professional top-level football.

All research conducted will follow ethical guidelines that consider the rights and safety of the participants, as well as the researchers' rights. Prior to conducting the interviews, a consent form will be sent to the participants to sign, ensuring ethical procedures are followed. The consent form establishes the purpose, usage, and relevance of the interview to this project.

Although these participants were pre-selected through convenience sampling, all individuals will be treated fairly and equally when answering the same set of questions. The researcher has a professional duty to maintain confidentiality throughout all interactions and ensure the relationship is professional during the interview process.To ensure confidentiality and avoid conflict of beliefs among interviewees regarding the vision and doctrine of the national government structure, their names will not be disclosed in this project. Ethical considerations will be observed during the interview, although personal opinions may influence their responses. The relationship with the interviewees may be closer due to previous work experience, but the benefits of obtaining information from professionals working under the current systems outweigh the risks. The results will be presented in text format with key information highlighted in bullet points, as opinions and analysis of the

current model will be mainly gathered through this interview technique.The only method available for presenting data in this survey may not provide readers with clear and easily referenced information. However, there are several risks to this survey. Firstly, the interviewing process will only take place over the phone and thus it will be difficult to analyze an individual's body language or hidden motivations. Secondly, the survey will include input from two former elite-level athletes who are now coaches, as well as two sports development officers, which may result in bias and limited perspectives. Despite these risks, this survey will still be useful for a direct comparison of perspectives and the current system of youth development in two countries as the same number of participants have answered from both countries. Additionally, the individual opinions and views of survey participants will remain confidential to save them from potential conflicts with the philosophies and beliefs upheld by the FA which may differ to personal beliefs. Interview questions include describing the current state of youth set-up in the participant's country.

1. The Football Associations (FAs) have mainly relied on the LTAD theoretical account as a source of information for their initiatives. However, there is no scientific proof of its effectiveness as stated by Balyi. What is your opinion regarding this?
2. Based on your response to question two, do you think it is appropriate for the FAs to use the LTAD theoretical account even when it has not been proven in football?
3. What modifications are necessary to ensure the development of young athletes?
4. Which phase of the LTAD theoretical account is crucial? Why?
5. What percentage of athletes successfully complete the LTAD system and become professionals?
6. What proportion
   

of young athletes enter the LTAD system?