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A total of 54 peer-reviewed empirical articles were collected and analysed for their content. The literature reveals considerable evidence demonstrating that both early specialization and early diversification can lead to expertise development. However, the contrasting views of deliberate practice and deliberate play do not provide a sufficient spectrum of different learning activities for talent development. Furthermore, the content analysis highlights some inconsistencies in the criteria used to characterize different types of learning activities, pointing to the need for a more rigorous and detailed characterization of activities that affect talent development throughout the lifespan. Finally, this review underscores the need for different methodological approaches to complement athletes\u2019 perceptions of their past practice experiences gathered from retrospective interviews. The potential value of using systematic observations to provide a detailed examination of the microstructure of different learning activities is discussed.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/1747954116637499","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2016,4,13]],"date-time":"2016-04-13T08:29:22Z","timestamp":1460536162000},"page":"279-293","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":129,"title":["Talent development in sport: A critical review of pathways to expert performance"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Patr\u00edcia","family":"Coutinho","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Reviewers: Damian Farrow (Victoria University, Australia) Leisha Strachan (University of Manitoba, Canada) Rick Hayman (Northumbria University, UK) Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport (CIFI2D), Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Pl\u00e1cido Costa, Porto, 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