Talent Development
The athlete pool for AWADs is relatively small, and Canada cannot afford to waste any of this potential. However, the purpose of talent identification is not to systematically test all individuals with a disability and direct them to the sports for which they appear best suited by virtue of body size and shape, skill potential, or physiological response. Rather, it is to ensure that each individual has the opportunity to learn about, and try, a wide variety of sports so that they find the ones they wish t_ pursue to the highest level possible.
Optimum talent development can only occur when developing AWADs master FUNdamental movement skills and have the opportunity to use them in a wide variety of recreational and sport settings. As in well organized able-bodied sport, the objective should be to re-direct athletes who are not progressing in one sport into another for which they might be better suited. Retaining all potential athletes in the talent pool, and finding the right fit between each athlete and their sports of choice, will benefit both the sport and the athlete.
The importance of developing physical literacy as the foundation upon which all future athletic success is built cannot be over emphasized. While important for all children, this is critical for children with a disability, both for the eventual contribution it makes to sport performance, but even more so for the contribution it makes to the individual's future ability to live as independently as possible.