Health, Welfare and Performance: A Sustainable Approach to the Development of Physical Activity Talent

The intersection between physical activity and health psychology has gained increasing attention, shifting from a narrow focus on performance toward a holistic understanding of athlete development. Sport is recognized as a context for promoting psychological well-being, healthy lifestyles, and social development, including positive youth development and the cultivation of personal values. Key factors such as social support from family and coaches, maintaining a balance between performance, education, and personal life, and addressing transitions from junior to elite levels or retirement are essential for sustainable athletic careers without compromising health. In addition, integrating best practices that foster resilience, motivation, and long-term engagement highlights the potential of sport as a setting for enhancing both performance and overall well-being, fully aligning with the objectives of health psychology.This Research Topic aims to address the challenge of promoting sustainable athlete development while safeguarding psychological and physical well-being. Despite extensive research on performance enhancement, less attention has been given to integrating health, positive youth development, and value formation into athletic pathways. Athletes, particularly youth, often face pressures from early specialization, high training loads, and performance demands, which can compromise long-term health and engagement. Recent advances in health psychology and sport science highlight the importance of social support from family and coaches, balanced development across performance, education, and personal life, and structured interventions to facilitate key transitions such as progression to elite levels or retirement. By compiling empirical studies, theoretical analyses, and applied interventions, this Research Topic seeks to identify evidence-based strategies that foster resilience, motivation, well-being, and value-driven development in athletes, providing practical guidance for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to create healthier and more sustainable sporting environments.This Research Topic invites contributions that explore the promotion of athlete well-being, sustainable talent development, and positive youth development in sport. Specific themes include the role of social support from family and coaches, maintaining a balance between performance, education, and personal life, strategies for long-term athletic careers without compromising health, and effective management of transitions such as progression to elite levels or retirement. We also welcome studies addressing the development of personal values, resilience, and motivation within sporting contexts. Submissions may include original research articles, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, theoretical papers, and applied intervention reports. We encourage multidisciplinary approaches that integrate psychology, sport science, and education to provide evidence-based strategies for fostering well-being, sustainable performance, and holistic development in athletes of all ages and competitive levels. Topic editors: Alberto Martín-Barrero, Francisco Javier Giménez Fuentes-Guerra, Manuel Tomás Abad Robles, ABEL Merino Orozco Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80285/health-welfare-and-performance-a-sustainable-approach-to-the-development-of-physical-activity-talent