Objectives:
The study aims to identify the needs of young athletes in order to implement optimised support structures. The goal is to develop a support concept called the DUAL2E model, which comprises five steps: recognising dual burdens (D), providing support (U), acknowledging achievements (A), facilitating learning for athletes and coaches (L2), and evaluating (E). The aim is to maximise performance potential and reduce the risk of dropouts. Taking explicit and implicit motivational structures into account should facilitate the provision of support tailored to different characters and life histories (Stambulova, 2022; Breithecker, 2018).

Methods:
Fifty-eight athletes, aged between 10 and 18 years old (mean age: 15.33 years, SD = 3.39 years), took part in the study. The study was based on the SSI-K3 (Kuhl & Fuhrmann, 2004) for self-competence, and the OMT (Kuhl, Scheffer & Eichstaedt, 2002) for implicit motivational structures. Participants were divided into three groups: highly talented older athletes (n = 35), high performers of the same age (n = 8), and younger talented athletes (n = 15). A longitudinal study analysed the motivational development of the younger athletes, and also allowed comparisons to be made with the results of the older athletes, which were collected as part of a cross-sectional study.

Results:
The most interesting results are seen in the stress-related items, which were significantly lower for high performing athletes (p>.001, η²=.556) than for the other groups. In addition, the other groups tended to perceive challenging situations as threatening (p=.038, η²=.117).
Among younger athletes, the OMT results at T2 showed a significant increase in affiliation motives, while the need for achievement decreased and ambiguous tasks shifted to the need for affiliation. The stress-related items also had a higher value at T2, which is consistent with the cross-sectional results observed in older students.

Conclusion:
The findings suggest that close supervision is necessary to provide athletes with optimal long-term support. An increase in perceived stress suggests that diverse demands can sometimes become excessive and have a negative impact on the successful progression of an athletic career. The DUAL2E concept supports athletes throughout their progress, enabling quick responses to their needs.

Keywords: Education, dual career, self-regulation.