The thesis explored and defined the systemic interactions that had significant impacts in developing and consolidating the physical and personal attributes, and the sport-specific skills, that facilitated David Nilsson’s success as a Baseball player, and that positioned him as a sportsperson of historical note in Australia's sporting landscape. The thesis addresses the question – “which bioecological systems and which physical and personal attributes and sport-specific skills, are significant; and how significant are they in the development of super-elite athlete performances in international and professional sporting contexts?” The study’s qualitative, phenomenological research design employed an innovative integration of Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model of Human Development (2005) and the life course/life history approach suggested by Biesta et al. (2005), and redefined this approach as “biographical storying”, to map and retell the story of Nilsson’s journey. The fusion of developmental systems approaches to life with an examination of individual physiology, psychology and behaviours provided a platform for analysing significant influences in creating David Nilsson’s super-elite athlete performances in both professional and international contexts.

Project Owner: Uni SQ
Year commenced: 2015
Year completed: 2022
Status: Completed
Project ID: ID-230112-2550