Factors Influencing Talent Development in Iranian Volleyball (A Qualitative Approach)

The talent identification program is to identify and develop talented athletes to reach the highest level of sport in the world. The study is to identify the factors affecting the development of talent in Iranian volleyball. This research was qualitative and exploratory in nature, which is considered as an applied research. The population was all volleyball experts including the coaches of the national volleyball teams of Iran, senior managers and directors of the Talent Search Committee of the Ministry of Sports and Youth and the Volleyball Federation, and the members of the faculty of sports management. The sampling method was purposive and snowballing, which was followed by 17 in-depth interviews. The responses were analyzed using the MAXQDA software version 18. From the analysis of the interviews, 15 factors were identified that they were national stars and heroes, training principles and design, education, inter-organizational communication in government institutions, human resource activities, motivational factors, intellectual and psychological factors, anthropometric characteristics, academies, volleyball federation, Higher education, legal factors, family support, value and attitude factors, facilities and equipment. Among these dimensions, the Volleyball Federation factor, academies, anthropometric characteristics, education and training principles and design played the most important role in talent development. In general, the results showed that various factors affect the development of talent management in volleyball in the country. So, it is suggested that research findings be at the forefront of talent search activities in volleyball-affiliated organizations, especially the country's volleyball federation and its affiliates. In addition, research results play a significant role in completing the theoretical foundations of sports management.