The high-performance sport environment: laying the foundation for a new research topic.

Abstract

Talent development and dual career literature have drawn attention to the importance of the environment in athlete development and highlighted that certain types of environments are more successful at supporting athletes to develop and perform. No such literature exists at the elite level, and it remains unclear how high-performance sport environments (HPSEs) can foster both the current and future capacities of athletes while simultaneously striving to support their wellbeing. The aim of this paper is therefore, to provide the foundation required for this question to be explored. Through the integration of five pivotal discourses-athlete career development, applied elite sport psychology, the holistic ecological approach in sport psychology, athlete mental health, and elite sport policy-this paper provides a conceptual definition of the HPSE and a typology of environments. While no research has yet made the HPSE the central object of investigation, many adjacent lines of research point to factors that may be characteristics of HPSEs that support performance and wellbeing, including: a holistic approach that balances performance objectives with athletedevelopment and wellbeing, a facilitative organisational culture, and a personalised and caring coaching philosophy. This paper has implications for stakeholders and key staff working in HPSEs who are interested in improving the organisation of their environment and the wellbeing and performance of their athletes.