It a common thought that genetics have a significant role to play in sports performance while the coaching and training involved often seems to be overlooked. Pickering et al., (2019) states that 30-80% of performance traits in elite athletes are inheritable. To perform at highest level, physiological traits and sport skill is non-negotiable . It is also a well-accepted fact that talent identification (TI) in sport is multifaceted (Pearson, Naughton and Torode, 2006). Understanding the demands of the specific sport and observation of the coach or selector is a common practice in TI especially in grassroot levels due to lack of time and resources. Among all the methods in TI, genetic analysis is probably one of the least explored option in sports such as cricket and football. Physiological testing batteries are also being conducted only in few well established organizations. Even though genetic analysis for TI proves to be beneficial, implementing it at ground level would remain a challenge because of mentality change, workload factors and appropriate funding.
An athlete’s performance can be improved only till a certain level through training, it is estimated that around a dozen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) out of 10 million human genomes is linked to sporting performance. There is no gene that is found to be associated with skill execution within sport. Polymorphisms within brain derived neurotropic factor, dopamine D2 receptor, catechol-O-methyltransferase are found to associated to motor learning (Jacob et al., 2018). Considering these findings, genetic analysis for TI can be used as an extra measure where possible along with other traditional methods. It can be effective in injury prediction and developing a strategy for individuals to excel in the sport most suited depending on their genes. It can also be used to determine optimal training type to certain adaptations which will make the elite athlete preparation easier (Pickering et al., 2019).
Practitioners can use genetic analysis as an advanced tool in their arsenal during assessments where finer details can be identified and worked upon besides using it for TI. The findings from genetic analysis also can be of great value for providing effective nutritional intervention since most of the modern day athletes are deficient of vital macro and micro nutrients.
References
1. Jacob, Y. et al. (2018) ‘The potential role of genetic markers in talent identification and athlete assessment in elite sport’, Sports, 6(3), pp. 1–17. doi: 10.3390/sports6030088.
2. Pearson, D. T., Naughton, G. A. and Torode, M. (2006) ‘Predictability of physiological testing and the role of maturation in talent identification for adolescent team sports’. doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2006.05.020.
3. Pickering, C. et al. (2019) ‘Can genetic testing identify talent for sport?’, Genes, 10(12). doi: 10.3390/genes10120972.
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