Seminary Young Athlete: Where Are You and Where Are You Going?

This event aims to develop skills for a comprehensive understanding of the young athlete’s development, taking into account biological, motor, psychological, and contextual factors. It seeks to empower coaches and sports professionals to interpret growth and performance trajectories, support talent identification and development processes, adjust training to developmental stages, and make pedagogical decisions that promote performance, health, well-being, and the continued participation of young people in sports, regardless of the discipline.

The EXPERT training event, dedicated to the development of the young athlete in athletics, brings together coaches, researchers, and athletes to discuss talent, recruitment, retention, and sporting pathways. The programme includes contributions from specialists such as Jorge Vieira, José Maia, João Valente dos Santos, Cláudia Dias, Paulo Cunha, Teresa Ribeiro, Rui Norte, João Abrantes, and Pedro Pinto, as well as roundtables with Patrícia Mamona, Patrícia Silva, Anabela Leite, and Celestino Semedo.

Programme

EXPERT Training Event Programme
Title: Young Athlete: Where Are You, Where Are You Going, and Where Do You Want to Arrive?
Date: 16 March 2026
Time: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Location: Agostinho da Silva Auditorium – Lusófona University - Lisbon University Centre
Duration: 8 hours (1.3 UC for 6h40 of training)

This training event is aimed at athletics coaches, undergraduate, master’s, or doctoral students in Physical Education or Sports Training, and Physical Education teachers. The initiative aims to reflect on the development of youth athletes, analysing different dimensions of talent, training, and sporting pathways within the context of Portuguese athletics.

The programme begins with an official opening ceremony, featuring institutional representatives from sports and academia, including the Portuguese Olympic Committee, Lusófona University, the Faculty of Sport of the University of Porto, and the Portuguese Athletics Federation.

• Session I will focus on talent in sport. The myths and realities associated with talent identification will be addressed, along with the framework of the EXPERT project and its contribution to understanding the development of the young athlete. This session includes specialist presentations and a final Q&A segment.
• Session II begins with a roundtable on the challenges of recruiting, retaining, and developing young athletes, bringing together international athletes, coaches, and sports managers who will share experiences and life stories in athletics. This is followed by a presentation on the psychological aspects of talent retention in youth sports, framed within the contributions of the EXPERT project. The session concludes with a participant discussion period.
• In the afternoon, Session III focuses on aspects related to training and the development of the young athlete. Expected responses to training and competition, the main contributions of the EXPERT project to understanding sporting development pathways, and the challenges faced by athletics coaches—particularly balancing success expectations and athlete dropout—will be discussed.
• Session IV addresses generational differences in sporting talent and the dilemmas young athletes face in their pathways, particularly balancing passion for sport with academic and personal career demands. It also includes a roundtable with student-athletes sharing experiences on balancing studies and sports practice.
• The event concludes with a closing session presenting final reflections on the day’s topics and highlighting the importance of research and continuous training in the sustainable development of athletics.
• Throughout the day, there will be coffee breaks and a lunch interval, also promoting networking among participants, coaches, researchers, and students.