Assessment of the Taekwondo Training Program through Talent Identification: Basis for Enhanced Training Program

Abstract

The success of a training program is based on the performance of the athletes. Trainers and coaches should seek the talents of their players to develop a productive training program. When identifying an athlete’s potential, Talent Identification Program in Sports is used. This program is used by many countries around the world in their preparation for big sporting events like the Olympics. An effective training program is the key to winning, for its goal is to improve the skills or talents of the athletes. One of the sports applying to the said programs is Taekwondo. Based on Sports Industry Research Centre (2003), The International Olympic Committee medal table is largely regarded by the government, the media, and the general public as a measure of a country’s sporting achievement. This study focused on identifying the level of performance of Taekwondo athletes through standardized physical fitness tests. The researcher used Pearson r to correlate the relationship between the BMI and the performance of the student-athletes. Results revealed that athletes with underweight BMI scored advanced and skilled in all fitness tests, while athletes with normal BMI scored also advanced and skilled in physical fitness tests and the athletes with overweight BMI scored skilled and average in the fitness tests conducted. The results of the data analysis showed that there is no significant correlation between the athletes’ skill-related fitness and their BMI. To improve athletes’ abilities regardless of their BMI status, more research is required. Keywords: body mass index (BMI), physical fitness test, reaction time, flexibility, leg power, agility, speed, taekwondo, training program