Mind, body, and shuttle: multidimensional benchmarks for talent identification in male youth badminton

The aim of the study was to identify benchmarks for anthropometric, physical performance, motor coordination, and psychological characteristics by comparing youth badminton players of different levels through the use of a multifactorial test battery. Sixty-one male participants aged 12–18 years were divided into three groups: elite (N = 10), sub-elite (N = 24), and novice (N = 27). Standard test batteries for anthropometry (including measures to estimate biological maturity), physical performance, and motor coordination were applied, as well as the modified PCDEQ2 questionnaire for psychological characteristics of youth athletes (Hill, 2016). Multivariate analyses of covariance (MANCOVAs) with age and biological maturity as covariates were used to investigate differences between skill levels. A discriminant analysis was used to reveal to what extent participants could be correctly assigned to their skill group. Significant differences were found in physical performance (explosive power, flexibility, speed, and endurance), BMI and motor coordination. In the psychological domain, perfectionism was found to be significantly different and elites scored highest. The discriminant analysis showed that 100% of the participants were correctly classified and 80.0% were correctly cross validated. These results significantly add to the previously limited youth players’ reference values, and confirm the value of a generic, i.e. without sport-specific testing, multifactorial approach to talent identification in youth badminton.