187 General discussion 8 for example by assigning a score between the 1-10. Subsequently, asking follow up questions such as: “What needs to happen to achieve a higher score?”, or “What contributed to the current score?” can further enhance the evaluation process. In this way, SRL may become a powerful skill for improvement, benefitting the swimmers throughout their entire career. Moreover, embracing the SRL process is not only relevant for swimmers but may be also essential for coaches seeking to improve their talent development programs. In this context, the saying "practice what you preach" appears to be particularly accurate. Concluding remarks This thesis contributes to a more nuanced, fine-grained and concrete understanding of the pathway towards swimming expertise, emphasizing that talent identification and development is not an either-or scenario. Instead, it's a both-and situation in which the truth lies in shades of grey. Indeed, our findings highlight the importance of early achievements, suggesting that season best times at an earlier stage in the career could potentially serve as an indicator of future success. At the same time, it is crucial to note that being the absolute best at junior age does not appear to be a strict requirement. What does seem to be essential is achieving a minimal level of swim performance (i.e. being on track) within each age category. While most swimmers within our sample achieved this during early- and mid-junior age, only a minority of those on track to the elite level during the pubertal years sustained this trajectory into their later careers. Those who did, distinguished themselves on a multidimensional profile, exhibiting higher levels and faster rates of progression on specific variables during puberty and late-junior-to-early-senior transition. These athletic profiles, including anthropometrics, physiological, psychological, technical and tactical aspects, differed within developmental stages and between males and females. Collectively, this thesis underscores the necessity of moving beyond current season best times as the only source of information in talent identification and development practices. Instead, it advocates for continuous monitoring of individual swimmers’ development, focusing on the variables within the athletic profiles. Moreover, the developmental patterns derived from our studies provide a basis for evaluating swimmers’ proficiency and progression in relation to the elite level. These objective and evidence-informed insights demonstrate the substantial value of multidimensional and longitudinal research for sport practice. Finally, this thesis highlights the role of self-regulation of learning in swimmers’ ability to continuously improve, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing, encouraging and fostering swimmers’ active engagement in their own developmental processes in daily practice.
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