The effectiveness of elite sport schools. A comparison of the career trajectory of elite athletes in Flanders, after attending or not attending an elite sport school

As a rule of thumb, research has shown that elite athletes roughly need 8 to 10 years and 10,000 hours of high quality training to develop as an elite athlete and perform at high levels (Ericsson 2003). Much of this investment of time and effort coincides with a talented person's secondary and tertiary education phases. It is impossible for athletes to combine an average of 20 hours training a week with regular schooling, without losing potential development either in one or both and with high dropouts as a result (Wylleman, De Knop & Sillen, 1998). Many countries have established programmes to help athletes to combine their academic career with a sports career. In Flanders (the Northern Dutch speaking part of Belgium) for example, the so called 'elite sport schools' were established in 1998 for secondary education and aimed to facilitate the development of both the athletic and the vocational careers of their pupils. Also the European Union has shown a significant concern, to protect athletes in relation to their education and their integration into working life (European Commission, 2004; 2008). Dawn and Henry (2010) identified four different types of responses of nations to address this issue varying from centralized to decentralized systems with higher and lower state support. Flanders uses a centralized system, where the state is facilitator, and where athletes (from 12 - 18 yrs of age) are encouraged to follow the trajectory of talent development primarily via these elite sport schools, involving increased funding throughout their secondary education.
The objective of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of the elite sport schools, from an athlete's perspective, at the level of educational as well as athletic development.