Liekuut | Elite sport brings people together and makes for a great testing ground

In ‘Liekuut’, which is the Groningen dialect for straight ahead or straightforward, we regularly share the perspective of one of our academics on a topical issue. In this way, we show how UG researchers are contributing to the societal debate.

Is elite sport only fun for the people who are actually doing it? It generates money and attention, there are special arrangements in place for students who compete at the highest level, and newspapers are full of sports headlines, but how does it benefit us as a society? Well, a lot, according to Ruud den Hartigh, associate professor of Talent Development. In addition to connecting and inspiring us, elite sport provides a wealth of data that can teach us a lot about human behaviour, which ultimately benefits society as a whole.

Community

‘I can see that elite level sport inspires and connects people. During the World Cup, whole neighbourhoods turn orange, and it shows that football promotes a sense of togetherness in society. This is not only true for the Dutch national team, but also at a local level: FC Groningen brings together people from all walks of life. In this sense, football can be a breeding ground for togetherness, respect, and community spirit.

Major football clubs are also committed to their communities. For example, Kids United, a football club for children with disabilities, was ‘adopted’ by FC Groningen in 2011. Or the Scholentour (Schools Tour) initiative, through which FC Groningen visits schools in the province to promote exercise and health in children. These social initiatives can be seen at various professional clubs in football and beyond, both in the Netherlands and abroad. Elite sport, and the reach of elite sport organizations function as a vehicle for creating societal impact, so to speak.

Platform

‘Individual athletes have also traditionally shown commitment to society. Take Muhammad Ali, for example, who used his popularity as a boxer to stand up for social equality and the civil rights movement in the US. Or Billie Jean King, a tennis player who used her fame to fight for gender equality in her sport. More recently, the foundations set up by Richard Krajicek, Esther Vergeer, and Johan Cruijff are also committed to societal causes. These causes are in line with improving the physical and mental development of children and young people, particularly those for whom sport is not a self-evident part of life. By leveraging the status of current and former elite athletes and their networks, a greater impact can be achieved.’

Idols

‘Are elite athletes a source of inspiration? Well, the supposed ‘Ard & Keessie effect’—the idea that speed skating would really take off because Ard Schenk and Kees Verkerk won so many medals—doesn’t seem to exist. There might be a small boost in some sports after a Dutch success at the Olympics, for example, but that often fades away again as well. That makes sense though: just because Max Verstappen wins, doesn’t mean that suddenly loads more people start go-karting. Go-karting is an expensive sport, and not something you can just do anywhere. There are many more factors that play a part in what sports children can and want to do. Even though elite athletes don’t seem to attract new talent directly, they do serve as role models for younger athletes within their own sports: winning the World Cup in korfball might not inspire children to start playing korfball, but it does inspire children who already play korfball.

Elite laboratory animals

‘In addition, sport allows you to study processes that are difficult to research elsewhere. If you want to find out how people react to stress, there are a number of things you can do: wait until someone experiences something stressful—which is often difficult to plan—or deliberately put them under stress. However, from an ethical point of view, the latter is not really acceptable. In sports, you have a context in which people—voluntarily, in fact—seek out stressful situations. The sports field is almost like a testing ground where people have to deal with stress and setbacks, and where you can study how they cope with them. You know that there will be setbacks, you know when the competitions will take place, you know when there are tough training periods ahead. To cut a long story short: you know exactly when you can measure those athletes to find out how they react to stress, both physically and mentally, and how they recover. But there are also other interesting processes at play on the sports field, such as leadership or team dynamics: you are able to study very closely how a team cooperates. The outcome of that collaboration or the efficiency of the training sessions can then be quantified based on the number of points scored and matches won. On top of that, following a basketball team for a season is a lot easier than following a department of a company or university.’

Road to the top

‘We can very well apply those insights to other situations as well. What we learn from an elite athlete who is recovering from a setback or injury, we can also apply to those recovering from burnout or an accident. Or think of the sensors that athletes wear to monitor any physical and mental changes. Those kinds of tools and data are also incredibly useful outside sport, and the innovations that come from elite level sport can be translated for uses in the military, healthcare, and education, for example. Another application is that we could use it to select and develop talent. Because a wealth of data is available within sport, it is possible to analyse athletes’ development pathways. We now often see athletes being selected early on thinking that those young athletes could reach the top later. However, our research among thousands of footballers suggests otherwise. There are many different development pathways to the top, and early indicators of future success are difficult to identify. Such insights around the selection and development of children are not only valuable for sport, but also inspire insights and applications in other fields. Think, for example, about education and the age at which reliable school recommendations can be given. . In short, elite sport is a wonderful testing ground for gaining knowledge about an incredibly wide range of aspects associated with people and their behaviour.’

More information

• Ruud den Hartigh
• Overview of all 'Liekuut' opinion pieces