A case study of building evidence-based athlete development pathway models using the Japanese FTEM

This study reported a case study of building evidence-based athlete development pathway models, which was jointly constructed by the two National Federations (NFs) and Japan Sport Council. As a result, the building procedure of the two pathway models (one Paralympic sport and one Olympic sport) using the Japanese FTEM (Foundation, Talent, Elite, and Mastery) framework were identified as follows: "understanding the concepts", "understanding the current situation", "formulating a hypothetical model", "collecting evidence", "re-building a model ", and "visualizing/publicizing the model". The development of pathway models required constant coordination and collaboration between NFs and key stakeholders by collecting sport-specific insights of the respective athletes and their stakeholders. In addition, the following three trickle-down effects were obtained from the process: (1) sharing the pathway models with athletes and their stakeholders by visualizing the whole of sport pathway with a language that promote common understanding; (2) presenting the visualized pathway models to the stakeholders to facilitate a common understanding and clarify their roles; (3) involving more stakeholders to collaborate and individuals to work together according to the overall aim.The building procedure of the pathway models shown in this study was only a part of the co-designing of the pathway models, and further monitoring is necessary for the full implementation of the pathway models. To our knowledge, this study was the first study to report process of developing the pathway models using the Japanese FTEM framework in Japan. The trickle-down effects, issues, and building procedure obtained from this study might be useful for other stakeholders.