A clearer understanding of, and tighter boundaries between, terms are important for researchers designing studies as well as for other sport stakeholders creating evidence-informed policies. This article considers the terms ‘athlete’, ‘talent’, and ‘player’ from psychological and sociocultural perspectives and in different sporting communities to highlight the importance of terminological clarity in sport research. We present considerations to clarify the use of these terms within different contexts and how the use of specific terms may affect knowledge mobilization in diverse sporting populations. A conceptual discussion is provided to help operationalize development-related terminology and its associated stages, to better reflect contemporary academic thought, and enhance practical interpretations. Importantly, we also call for greater transparency from researchers when presenting findings and encourage practitioners to clearly define key terms when working in sport. Our intention in this paper is to energize readers to consider how we use language in athlete identification and development contexts, to stimulate deeper thought and discourse around the possible implications these terms may have at any point of an individual’s development in sport. Greater deliberation, identification, and acknowledgment of the drawbacks accompanying these terms will be needed before more confident assertions can be made on how researchers and practitioners could (or even should) implement certain terminology across youth sport contexts moving forward. This paper adds to a growing literature on the importance of clarity in terminology and acts as an impetus for those working in specific sports to co-design key terms used by researchers, practitioners, and policy makers.

对于设计研究的研究人员以及制定循证政策的其他体育利益相关者来说，更清晰地理解术语以及更严格地界定术语之间的界限非常重要。本文从心理和社会文化的角度以及不同的体育社区中考虑术语“运动员”、“天赋”和“运动员”，以强调术语清晰度在体育研究中的重要性。我们提出了一些考虑因素，以澄清这些术语在不同背景下的使用，以及特定术语的使用如何影响不同体育人群的知识动员。概念性讨论有助于发展相关术语及其相关阶段的操作化，更好地反映当代学术思想，增强实践解释。重要的是，我们还呼吁研究人员在展示研究结果时提高透明度，并鼓励从业者在从事体育工作时明确定义关键术语。我们写这篇文章的目的是激发读者思考我们如何在运动员识别和发展背景下使用语言，激发人们对这些术语在个人运动发展的任何阶段可能产生的影响进行更深入的思考和讨论。在对研究人员和从业者如何（甚至应该）在青少年体育环境中实施某些术语做出更有信心的断言之前，需要对这些术语的缺点进行更多的审议、识别和承认。本文补充了越来越多关于术语清晰度重要性的文献，并推动从事特定运动的人们共同设计研究人员、从业者和政策制定者使用的关键术语。