Relative age effect on the reaction time of soccer players under 13 years old

Penna, Eduardo Macedo; Mello, Marco Túlio de; Ferreira, Renato Melo; Moraes, Luiz Carlos Couto de Albuquerque; Costa, Varley Teoldo da

doi:10.1590/s1980-65742015000200010

Cited by 13 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…However, it is important to note that being up to one year older may entail more time of structured training (e.g., soccer academy), but is not necessarily linked to more unstructured sport experiences (e.g., street play, school play, family play). In this regard, our results are in line with the only direct attempt to relate the RAE to perceptual-cognitive performance in soccer players [65]. Seventy-six athletes from an elite soccer academy in Brazil (13 years old) completed a choice reaction time task, which showed no significant relationships between birth asymmetries, processing speed, and inhibitory control.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Relative Age Effect in the Sport Environment. Role of Physical Fitness and Cognitive Function in Youth Soccer Players

Huertas

Ballester

Gines

et al. 2019

IJERPH

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The need to achieve short-term competitive outcomes in sports may influence the emergence of talent selection strategies, which could bias individuals’ opportunities. The present study aimed to further explore the relative age effect (RAE), a phenomenon that strongly influences youth sport development. The RAE refers to a disproportionately high percentage in sport teams of athletes born early in the selection year. Our primary focus was to explore whether the RAE is supported by behavioral evidence in favor of better fitness—and especially cognitive-attentional functioning—of early as compared to late-born players. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 105 young athletes (u10, n = 52; 9.8 ± 0.3 years old, and u12, n = 53; 11.8 ± 0.2 years old) attending two youth elite soccer academies. Attentional functioning, anthropometrics, physical fitness, and game intelligence were compared across two Age Groups (u10 vs. u12) and four Birth Quarters (BQ1–BQ4). The RAE was statistically significant (p < 0.001), showing that about 50% of participants were born in the first quarter and 75% were born in the first half of the year. More importantly, U12 players outperformed u10 players in measures that were related to sustained attention (with faster and less variable responses; p < 0.001 and p < 0.05, respectively), and in all anthropometric measures (p < 0.001), physical-fitness capacities (p < 0.05). Crucially, neither the attentional measures, game intelligence, anthropometrics, nor physical fitness were affected by BQ (all ps > 0.1 and BF10 between 0.08 and 0.6, showing strong evidence for the null hypothesis). The present findings suggest that the early selection process that occurs during scouting in youth soccer academies offsets the age-related differences that could be anticipated in cognitive skills, anthropometrics, and physical abilities, due to growth and maturation. These birth asymmetries could lead teams to disregard later maturation athletes and athletes born later in the year inducing a larger dropout of those players with the consequent reduction in the talent pool.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Relative Age Effect in the Sport Environment. Role of Physical Fitness and Cognitive Function in Youth Soccer Players

Huertas

Ballester

Gines

et al. 2019

IJERPH

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“…Even though the literature suggests that different personal cognitive or psychological variables such as motivation, selfefficacy, and self-esteem can be influenced by the relative age effect 2,18 , only one study was identified that assessed a cognitive variable under the RAE theoretical framework. In this investigation, no difference in reaction (processing) time was observed in young soccer players born in different semesters of the competitive year 19 . Hence, although personal psychological and cognitive factors being commonly pointed out as an important factor to explain the RAE in different sports, until the present there are only a few data available to confirm this hypothesis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 51%

Relative age effect and dropout causes in a multisport club setting. Is there a special reason to give up?

Penna

Campos²,

Gonçalves³

et al. 2018

Motriz: rev. educ. fis.

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The aim of the present study was 1) compare the drop-out rates between athletes born in different trimesters of the competitive year from different sports and 2) identify the causes pointed by the dropped-out athletes born in different selection year trimesters to disengage from the competitive sports environment. Methods: Data from 966 athletes who left the competitive sports context were analyzed under the Relative Age Effect (RAE) theoretical framework during 3 consecutive seasons. The drop-out rate and the reason to quit the competitive environment were analyzed by a routine club questionnaire. Results: An expected reverse RAE on drop-out rates was identified, in which the early born athletes were overrepresented (p<0.001). Regarding the reasons to disengage from competitive sports environment, no reason emerged as the main cause to dropout between athletes born in different selection year trimester. Conclusion: It was concluded that despite the common assumption that personal psychological issues related to RAE in late born athletes are important factors influencing sports disengagement, the relationship between drop-out and RAE is more complex and multifactorial.

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“…Nevertheless, Penna et al (2015) demonstrated that elite Brazilian U13 soccer players showed no differences in results of testing of the reaction time and movement time when considering their birth semesters. While there does seem to be a present-day trend to select players born in the first few months of the year and having a noticeable physical development, the question still remains complex.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Evidence for the Relative Age Effect in the Spanish Professional Soccer League

Yagüe

González

Alba

et al. 2020

Journal of Human Kinetics

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The concept of the relative age effect refers to the consequences of the physical and psychological differences that may exist between those born earlier or later within the same calendar year. The objective of the present study was to examine this phenomenon in Spanish professional soccer, identifying the influences of the competitive level and the club of origin. The sample comprised 2,130 individuals from five competitive categories: under 12 (U12; n = 480), under 14 (U14; n = 338), under 16 (U16; n = 390), under 19 years old (U19; n = 489) and professional players (n = 433), with nine teams from the Spanish professional soccer league (PSL). Statistical analysis was based on a chi-squared test followed by calculation of the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. The main results show that at all levels of competition there was over-representation of individuals born in the first few months of the year. By clubs, the same over-representation was observed. It may be concluded that the relative age effect is consistent and exists throughout Spanish soccer, whether at youth or professional levels. An analysis by age categories showed a more pronounced effect in those competitions in which the youngest players participate, while in clubs the effect continued to be significantly present in all cases investigated in the study.

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Relative age effect on the reaction time of soccer players under 13 years old

Cited by 13 publications

References 31 publications

Relative Age Effect in the Sport Environment. Role of Physical Fitness and Cognitive Function in Youth Soccer Players

Relative Age Effect in the Sport Environment. Role of Physical Fitness and Cognitive Function in Youth Soccer Players

Relative age effect and dropout causes in a multisport club setting. Is there a special reason to give up?

Evidence for the Relative Age Effect in the Spanish Professional Soccer League

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