UPSI Strength & Conditioning Conference 2020 (UPSISC2020)
KEYNOTE 1:
Talent identification and development in sport. Are we heading the right direction?
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jeffrey Low Fook Lee
Faculty of Sports Science & Coaching, UPSI
Abstract
As Malaysia continue to pursue its first Olympic gold medal next year, no effort has been spared to identify and develop talented athletes. Institutionalized TID programs by the government and sports bodies have been implemented in the last decade or so. Of late, parents and clubs have joined in the fray in the pursuit of unearthing talents among their children. The question arose is this the right approach? The continuum of early specialization and early diversification pathways and its underlying theories will form the framework of this presentation followed by a brief review of related studies and outcomes. Data from a longitudinal study on track and field school athletes participating in the Malaysian Schools Sport Council (MSSM) will be used to discuss the topic of presentation. Future research and proposals on improving the development of young athletes will be discussed.
Jeffrey Low Fook Lee
Assoc. Prof. Dr Jeffrey Low Fook Lee, is a senior lecturer at the Sports Science and Coaching Faculty, Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI), Tanjong Malim, Perak. Upon completion of secondary School education, he pursued his career in teaching at the Specialist Teachers Training Institute (MPIK) in physical and health education. Began his career as a physical education teacher in SMK Methodist (ACS), Ipoh in 1986. He continued to further his education in the same field at the Universiti Pertanian Malaysia from 1991 - 1995. Upon graduating, he was appointed as a teacher-coach at the Bukit Jalil Sports School, KL in 1996. He specializes in cricket and has served as the national age-group coach in various tournaments in Asia. Juggling his time between teaching and coaching, he pursued post graduate education in Sports Science at Universiti Putra Malaysia. Upon completing his Masters of Sports Science, he took up the position of a lecturer with the Sports Science Dept in the Sultan Idris Education University in 2003. He then pursued and completed his PhD in motor behaviour with the Liverpool John Moores University, UK in 2011 before returning to serve as a senior lecturer with the Sports Science and Coaching Faculty, UPSI. His research area of interest includes skill acquisition in sports and the development of elite athletes. He is a member of the National Sports Institute Coaching Academy and a member of the Malaysian Talent Identification and Development panel as well as a member of the sports science and physical education curriculum panel with the Curriculum Development Centre, Ministry of Education. He has been appointed as head of the monitoring and evaluation committee for the Yayasan Sime Darby-SportExcel elite junior athletes programme and co authored the Form Five Sports Science text book that is currently being used by the secondary schools in Malaysia.