Relationship between relative age effect and physical characteristics of young soccer players

Abstract

The junior categories of sports generally represent a particular period of extreme complexity for children and young sports players, since this time coincides precisely with the phase of puberty. During this period, there are great changes to body size and composition, as well as changes to the functional capacity of children and adolescents. In addition, the literature points towards another complicating factor observed among young soccer players: relative age. The objectives of the present study were: a) to observe the distribution of dates of birth among junior soccer players over the course of the trimesters of the year; b) to compare the players' anthropometric characteristics and physical performance according to the trimester of birth; and c) to analyze the influence of the maturity offset in the process of selecting young players. Eighty-nine male soccer players from the under-14s category participated in this study. The physical tests applied were weight, height, maturity offset, 10 m sprint, 30 m sprint and Running-based Anaerobic Sprint Test (RAST). It should be noted that there was a great imbalance in the distribution of dates of birth, with an especially large presence of individuals born in the first half of the year (p < 0.001). Anthropometric, physical and maturational characteristics were compared according to the trimester of birth and statistically significant differences were observed only in comparing the maturity offset (p < 0.005). It can be concluded that the trimester of birth may not have a relationship with physical performance and anthropometric characteristics, even if there are differences in biological maturation.

Relative age effect in Polish National Football teams

“…It is believed that the acceptance of this criterion ensures fair competition and gives equal opportunities for the competitors. As a result, according to many studies conducted on athletes [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10], players born at the beginning of a given selection year are more often identified as talented. This overidentification of talent in the older subgroup translates into greater opportunities to participate in competitions and more opportunities to represent the overall age groups.…”

“…This overidentification of talent in the older subgroup translates into greater opportunities to participate in competitions and more opportunities to represent the overall age groups. However, this talent identification may be more accurately attributed to earlier achieved biological maturity, having been born in the period close to the starting date of a given selection year [7,8,11]. In addition, as shown by research carried out by Malina et al [12] on players aged 13-15 years who practice soccer, the players who qualified for higher skills groups are, in most cases, at the final stage of the maturation process when compared to their peers with lower skills.…”