FTEM Explained

FTEM - Foundation, Talent, Elite & Mastery FTEM (Foundation, Talent, Elite & Mastery), a strategic framework supporting all system-level outcomes of sport, was originally developed by the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in 2011 (see Gulbin et al., 2013a, Weissensteiner, 2017 a & b) to directly inform the review and refinement of operations, practices and evaluation at a national level, across the entire sports pathway from early foundations to international podium. The genesis of the original FTEM framework was borne from an imperative to attend to and better support the critical ‘pipeline’ between sports participation and international podium, that of the pre-elite levels and, more specifically, the identification, confirmation, development and transition of emerging athletes. Based on compelling and objective evidence specific to prevailing poor Talent Identification and Development (TID) practice and athlete support and preparation, coupled with a diminishing sports participation base due to declines in fundamental movement competencies, diversified sports participation, free play and earlier sport specialisation (see Figure 1 below), it was apparent that an evidence-based and practicable strategy that truly supported these critical pre-elite levels was warranted.

Figure 1: The current state of the sport pathway within Australia. Sourced from Weissensteiner (2017 b), Routledge Handbook of Talent Identification and Development in Sport.

Consequently, after a comprehensive review of existent frameworks, concepts and best practice internationally (see Gulbin & Weissensteiner, 2013) and directly informed by practicable learnings from over 30 years within the AIS and the broader Australian High-Performance sector and internationally, FTEM and its aligned best practice principles were developed. The original framework (see Figure 2 below) consisted of 10 progressive and complementary pathway levels for maximising the development and long-term engagement of recreational participants and emerging and podium level athletes and provides a common language for all Australian sporting stakeholders. The framework advocates progression through the levels by driving high quality system strategy, practice and support, alignment and coordination.

Figure 2: Original FTEM Framework sourced from Gulbin, Croser, Morley & Weissensteiner (2013).

Based on compelling evidence demonstrating the inherent variability of athlete trajectories and pathways to podium and differing ages of entry and progression (see Figure 3 below), FTEM is deliberately not predicated on chronological age but instead espouses a best practice and holistic approach to athlete TID and development.

Figure 3: The magnitude and trajectories of 256 Australian Senior Elite athletes. Sourced from Gulbin, Weissensteiner, Oldenziel & Gagné (2013).

Complemented by the 3D-AD (Three Dimensional Athlete Development) model (see Figure 4 below) which articulates the holistic profile, support and synergies required at an athlete, environmental and systems level to maximise athlete development, FTEM’s catchcry is to ‘provide the right support, at the right time, for the sport participant or athlete’. Through its inherent flexibility and best practice approach, FTEM integrates and adequately caters for and supports the athlete’s journey. Figure 3: Original 3D-AD model that shows the dynamic interplay of athlete, environmental, system and chance factors across athlete development. Sourced from Gulbin & Weissensteiner (2013).

The utilisation of FTEM

In 2015, FTEM was recognised by the International Olympic Committee within the consensus statement on Youth Athlete Development as a viable, best-practice framework for supporting life-long sports participation as well as contributing to sustainable, high performance outcomes. FTEM’s foundational principles which support life-long physical activity and sport participation through the acquisition of a fuller repertoire of fundamental movement skills, physical literacy, matching of sport formats to a participant’s capability and motivation, free play, sport diversification, later sports specialisation and parental education, were also instrumental in informing and supporting at a federal government level Sport Australia’s Physical Literacy and Sporting Schools initiatives and the AIS’s Top Ten Tips for Parents resources (see Weissensteiner, 2017). More recently, FTEM was recognised within the NBA and Youth Basketball: Recommendations for Promoting a Healthy and Positive Experience (DiFiori et al., 2018). Specific to the high performance sector, FTEM has been utilised by the AIS to inform the direct review, planning, communication and implementation of talent and elite level strategies and operations with the majority of National Sporting Organisations (NSOs) through the National Athlete Pathway Framework (NAPF) strategy (see AIS NAPF Guidelines & Weissensteiner, 2017a). The NAPF assisted in operationalising the FTEM framework for an NSO, whereby the strategic intent of each FTEM level was declared and the specific contribution and integration of underpinning high performance drivers (e.g., athletes, coaches, daily training environment or DTE, research and innovation, leadership) to achieve each FTEM outcome was articulated. Incorporating customised evidence-gathering tools (e.g. the system level online survey NSO Pathway Healthcheck & online athlete survey My Sporting Journey) and the best practice principles of FTEM and through a dedicated and broad consultative process including a series of educational workshops with coaches and pathway and high performance management staff, an operational and interactive pathway blueprint (the NAPF matrix) was developed alongside a report detailing prioritised, practicable and attainable recommendations to enhance an NSO’s pathway operations.

Cricket Australia in 2013/14 were an early adopter of this approach, utilising the FTEM framework to directly inform their National Pathway Strategy, the review and alignment of participation and talent programs and products, coaching education, curriculum and operations and aligned Backyard to Baggy Green communications (See below image and link https://www.playcricket.com.au/australian-cricket-pathway ).

More recently, Swimming Australia (SAL) utilised FTEM to directly inform their review and refinement of their foundational and pre-elite level operations including their TID processes and decision making, aligned coaching curriculum, interdisciplinary service support, athlete monitoring and athlete education. This is articulated within their Australian Swimming Framework (see link www.swimming.org.au/community-1/australian-swimming-framework). Informed by evidence that emanated from the review, a notable outcome is Project H2gr0w, a research partnership between the University of Sydney (Dr Stephen Cobley) and SAL which advocates a best-practice and educative approach to promoting awareness of the impact of an athlete’s biological maturation and status on their performance and directly informing related TID practice and decision making (see link https://www.swimming.org.au/projecth2gr0w ). Whilst this NAPF process has been valuable at a National level, a common criticism is the fit to context, capacity and capability, the required operational granularity, connectivity and practical impact of the NSO level strategy with its underpinning levels and constituents, namely State and Regional Sporting Organisations and their related support and operations. This was reflected within the findings of the recent Ernst and Young High Performance Talent Pathway report (2018) (see link https://sportandrecreation.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/OOS-high-performance-pathways-project.pdf ).

FTEM NSW PARTICIPANT & ATHLETE DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK

The NSW OoS through the appointment of Dr Juanita Weissensteiner commits to collaborating with the State Sporting Organisations (SSOs) and key system delivery agencies including but not limited to the Regional Academies of Sport, the NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) and NSOs, to embed and implement operational best practices espoused through FTEM. This dedicated approach will build upon and connect with the work already completed to date with the majority of NSOs through their NAPFs and related practices including importantly talent identification, confirmation, development and transition.

Figure 4: The FTEM NSW Participant and Athlete Framework

NSW Expertise NSW Office of Sport Principal Advisor - Talent Pathways Dr Juanita Weissensteiner Dr Juanita Weissensteiner is the Principal Advisor of Talent Pathways for the NSW Office of Sport and was formerly the Head of Athlete Pathways and Development at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). Juanita is an original co-author of the FTEM athlete development framework (Gulbin et al., 2013) and a recognised author and expert in athlete development. In her former role at the AIS, Juanita implemented FTEM with the majority of Australian National Sporting Organisations informing their aligned pathway strategy, practice and support including Athlete and Environmental profiling and Talent Identification and Development (TID) strategies including the AIS Sports Draft initiative. Juanita was invited in 2014 to present to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on FTEM and subsequently was a co-author in the IOC’s consensus statement on youth athlete development (Bergeron et al., 2015). Juanita was an invited expert informing and supporting SportAUS’ Physical Literacy standards and was the author of the popular parental resource Top Tips for Parents that was launched beside the Australian Government’s Sporting Schools initiative in 2015.

Juanita will play a pivotal role in bringing the FUTURE CHAMPIONS strategy to life by being at the helm of the implementation work with pathway stakeholders across NSW to ensure operational best-practice and alignment within NSW and to a National level.

To ensure that FTEM truly speaks to and supports the primary strategies of the NSW Office of Sport and the broader NSW sports sector, including Future Champions but also its forthcoming Physical Activity strategy and achieve key outcomes, FTEM NSW has been developed (please refer to Figure 4). The graphic features inclusive (CALD, Indigenous etc) and representative imagery and NSW sporting ambassadors and female role models including Madison de Rozario and Jessica Fox. To ensure a better fit to supporting the Foundational levels of sport and importantly facilitating physical literacy, a critical adjunct to movement competency and confidence, a pre-Foundational F0 level has been added to ensure coverage across the lifespan. In addition, commentary related to recognised factors contributing to early skill acquisition and sporting development, and the fit of program and product to the sport participant’s capability, capacity and motivation have been added, as well as the complement of physical activity, modified and traditional formats of recreational sport. In acknowledgement of the multiple pathways and trajectories sport participants and athletes can take, the labelling highlights this through the usage of the term ‘pathways’ rather than ‘pathway’.

NSW’s commitment to supporting Talent pathways

Guided and enabled through FTEM NSW and specifically its dedicated T (Talent) levels, espousing evidence-based and operational best practices specific to athlete foundational development (F3), recruitment and identification (T1), confirmation (T2), development (T3) and transition (T4), the Future Champions strategy will focus its attention on enhancing the health of this critical ‘talent pipeline’ where the NSW sporting sector is best placed to directly support and enhance this ‘engine room’ of the high performance pathway. Through a firm commitment to effective practice and alignment, coupled with a more inclusive and holistic approach to TID and related decision making, athletes and their coaches will be afforded greater opportunities to pursue their high performance aspirations, and will be better supported, managed and empowered through their pre-elite experiences, preparing them adequately for their transition into the senior elite levels. The table below provides a description of each of the FTEM NSW Talent levels and advocated best practice principles, which was recently published within a peer-reviewed chapter on FTEM that featured within the Routledge Handbook of Talent Identification and Development in Sport (Weissensteiner, 2017b).

Above is a schematic depicting the flow and related tools, resources and activities specific to how

FTEM NSW will be communicated, implemented and evaluated within the NSW sporting sector.

This commitment to collaborate and provide such a high level of expertise places the state of NSW in a position to lead nationally on a state-wide systematic approach to strengthen our athlete pathways and support our FUTURE CHAMPIONS.