This study investigated perceptions of academy football players participating in a tournament bio-banded for player maturity status. Players completed a post-tournament questionnaire, comparing participants in bio-banded and age group format competitions. One sample means t-tests, magnitude-based inferences and ANOVA were used to examine differences between perceptions of bio-banded and age-group competitions, and differences across maturity groups. Thematic analysis was conducted on qualitative data generated by the open-ended questions. Quantitative and qualitative results showed two major benefits of bio-banding: first, early maturing boys perceived bio-banding as a greater physical and technical challenge, which provided new opportunities and challenges. Second, late maturing players perceived less physical and technical challenge, which permitted greater opportunity to demonstrate their technical and tactical abilities, and can potentially aid the retention of these players.Overall, players understood and enjoyed the bio-banded competitions, and also perceived less injury risk associated with this format. All maturity groups reported more opportunity to engage in leadership behaviours, to influence game-play and to express themselves on the ball in the bio-banded format. Overall, results of this study contribute to the current knowledge of bio-banding efforts in youth football and may facilitate the development of both early and late maturing academy players.

A longitudinal investigation into the relative age effect in an English professional football club: Exploring the 'underdog hypothesis'The relative age effect (RAE) refers to the bias influence of birthdate distribution, with athletes born later in the selection year being under-represented in talent development systems. However, the 'underdog hypothesis' suggests that younger birth quarter (BQ) athletes are over-represented among those who successfully transition from youth systems to senior professional status. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was twofold;(1) to provide further test of the RAE over twelve seasons (n=556), and (2) to examine the BQ of professional contracts awarded to academy graduates at an English professional football club over eleven seasons (n=364). Significantly skewed (P<0.001) birthdate distributions were found for academy players (BQ1 n=224: BQ2 n=168; BQ3 n=88; BQ4 n=76). The distribution from academy graduates was also significantly skewed for professional contracts awarded (P=0.03), with greater BQ4 representation (n=8) compared to other BQs (BQ1 n=5; BQ2 n=8; BQ3 n=6). These findings are indicative that the RAE continues to manifest within an academy setting. Interestingly however, the underdog hypothesis shows BQ4s were approximately four times more likely to achieve senior professional status compared to BQ1s. Implications for talent identification and development in football are discussed.

COVID-19 represents an unprecedented challenge for the youth sport sector. Due to public health policies designed to slow down the transmission of this highly infectious disease and mitigate secondary impacts, youth sport programs around the world have experienced sudden interruptions to their activities. In this commentary, we put forward the Personal Assets Framework as a tool to explore the potential implications of COVID-19 on youth sport development. Adaptations to the dynamic elements of the sport experience, including personal engagement in activities (i.e. virtual coaching; developmental trajectories), quality social dynamics (i.e. athlete relationships; health and wellbeing), and appropriate settings and organizational structures (i.e. socialcultural factors; safety concerns), are explored. This article will also discuss the potential consequences of changes in these dynamic elements on immediate, short-, and long-term developmental outcomes. Finally, we offer contextual, methodological, and practical considerations for researchers and practitioners operating in youth sport to consider during this crisis.

A common practice in youth rugby union is to group players based on (bi)annual age with fixed cut-off dates. The overrepresentation of players born at the start of the cut-off date and the underrepresentation of players born toward the end of the cut-off date are termed relative age effects (RAEs). The aim of this study was to examine RAEs during entry into professional and international rugby union pathways in England, as well as comparing them to their respective senior cohort: U15 Regional Academy Player (n = 1,114) vs. Senior Professional Player (n = 281) and U16–23 England Academy Player (n = 849) vs. Senior International Player (n = 48). Chi-square (χ2) analysis compared birth quarter (BQ) distributions against expected distributions. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals compared the likelihood of a BQ being selected. Findings revealed a significant overrepresentation of relatively older players compared with their relatively younger peers within both youth cohorts (P &lt; 0.001; BQ1 = 42.5% vs. BQ4 = 9.6%; BQ1 = 36.5% vs. BQ4 = 15.2%). In comparison, there was no significant difference in the BQ distributions within both senior cohorts. Further, BQ4s were 3.86 and 3.9 times more likely to achieve senior professional and international levels than BQ1s and BQ2s, respectively. It is suggested that relatively younger players may have a greater likelihood of achieving expertise following entry into a rugby union talent pathway due to benefitting from more competitive play against relatively older counterparts during their development (e.g., reversal effects; the underdog hypothesis). Moreover, possible solutions (e.g., age and anthropometric banding; playing-up and playing-down) are discussed to encourage practitioners and policy makers to create the most appropriate learning environment for every player.

Talent identification and development in male youth soccer are complex and multidimensional processes. The English FA 'Four Corner Model' is often adopted by academies to support coaches and practitioners to implement a multidisciplinary approach to their talent identification and development framework. This holistic approach is characterised by Technical/Tactical, Psychological, Social, and Physicalattributes, which are central to academy recruitment and individual long-term athlete development. The aim of this narrative review is to provide a critical synthesis of the Physical characteristics within this model, which facilitate talent identification and development; namely physical performance, growth and maturation, and the relative age effect.

The association of the ACTN3 R577X and ACE I/D polymorphisms with athlete status in football: a systematic review and meta-analysisThe aim of this review was to assess the association of ACTN3 R577X and ACE I/D polymorphisms with athlete status in football and determine which allele and/or genotypes are most likely to influence this phenotype via a meta-analysis. A comprehensive search identified 17 ACTN3 and 19 ACE studies. Significant associations were shown between

The relative age effect (RAE) is almost pervasive throughout youth sports, whereby relatively older athletes are consistently overrepresented compared to their relatively younger peers. Although researchers regularly cite the need for sports programs to incorporate strategies to moderate the RAE, organizational structures often continue to adopt a one-dimensional (bi)annual-age group approach. In an effort to combat this issue, England Squash implemented a “birthday-banding” strategy in its talent pathway, whereby young athletes move up to their next age group on their birthday, with the aim to remove particular selection time points and fixed chronological bandings. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the potential effects of the birthday-banding strategy on birth quarter (BQ) distributions throughout the England Squash talent pathway. Three mixed-gender groups were populated and analyzed: (a) ASPIRE athletes ( n = 250), (b) Development and Potential athletes ( n = 52), and (c) Senior team and Academy athletes ( n = 26). Chi-square analysis and odds ratios were used to test BQ distributions against national norms and between quartiles, respectively. Results reveal no significant difference between BQ distributions within all three groups ( P > 0.05). In contrast to most studies examining the RAE within athlete development settings, there appears to be no RAE throughout the England Squash talent pathway. These findings suggest that the birthday-banding strategy may be a useful tool to moderate RAE in youth sports.

Genetic variation is responsible for a large amount of the inter-individual performance disparities seen in sport. As such, in the last ten years genetic association studies have become more common; with one of the most frequently researched sports being football. However, the progress and methodological rigor of genetic association research in football is yet to be evaluated. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to identify and evaluate all genetic association studies involving football players and outline where and how future research should be directed.Firstly, a systematic search was conducted in the Pubmed and SPORTDiscus databases, which identified 80 eligible studies. Progression analysis revealed that 103 distinct genes have been investigated across multiple disciplines; however, research has predominately focused on the association of the ACTN3 or ACE gene. Furthermore, 55% of the total studies have been published within the last four years; showcasing that genetic association research in football is increasing at a substantial rate. However, there are several methodological inconsistencies which hinder research implications, such as; inadequate description or omission of ethnicity and onfield positions. Furthermore, there is a limited amount of research on several key areas crucial to footballing performance, in particular; psychological related traits. Moving forward, improved research designs, larger sample sizes, and the utilisation of genome-wide and polygenic profiling approaches are recommended. Finally, we introduce the Football Gene Project, which aims to address several of these limitations and ultimately facilitate greater individualised athlete development within football.