Estimating somatic maturity in adolescent soccer players: Methodological comparisons

Salter, Jamie; Cumming, Sean P.; Hughes, Jonathan; Croix, Mark De Ste

doi:10.1177/17479541211020418

Cited by 13 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(81 reference statements)

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“…Parr, Winwood [ 46 ] showed that 96% of a sample of professional academy soccer players experienced PHV during the specified window (85–96% PAH) in comparison to only 61% using the maturity offset approach (± 1-year generic age) [ 46 ]. With Salter, Cumming [ 47 ] having also showed some disparity in agreement between maturity offset and PAH methods (–1.5 to 1 year). That said, although the Khamis and Roche [ 19 ] method has been recognised by researchers and practitioners (including the present study) [ 6 , 46 , 47 ] as being the most suitable equation for estimating the maturity status of academy soccer players, practitioners should be aware that prediction error also manifests within the Khamis and Roche [ 19 ] method with median error being reported as 2.4–2.8 cm to 5.5–7.3 cm for those children who are situated on the 50th and 90th normative growth percentiles respectively (see Towlson, Salter [ 6 ]).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soccer academy practitioners’ perceptions and application of bio-banding

Towlson

Watson²,

Cumming³

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

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The primary aims of this study were to examine the application of maturity status bio-banding within professional soccer academy programmes and understand the methods employed, the intended objectives, and the potential barriers to bio-banding. Using a mixed method design, twenty-five professional soccer academy practitioners completed an online survey designed to examine their perceptions of the influence of maturation on practice, their perceptions and application of bio-banding, and the perceived barriers to the implementation of this method. Frequency and percentages of responses for individual items were calculated. In the next phase of the study, seven participants who had experience with, or knowledge of, the bio-banding process within an academy youth soccer setting were recruited to complete a semi-structured interview. Interview data was transcribed and analysed using a combination of deductive and inductive approaches to identify key themes. The main findings across the two phases of the study were that [1] there is consensus among the practitioners that the individual effect of maturation impacts their ability to accurately assess the soccer competencies, [2] the majority (80%) of the sample had implemented bio-banding, with practitioners showing a clear preference for using the Khamis and Roche method to bio-band players, with the greatest perceived benefit being during maturity-matched formats, specifically for late or post-PHV players, [3] Practitioners perceived that bio-banding enhances their ability to assess academy soccer players, and [4] practitioners who have used bio-banding believe that the method is an effective way of enhancing the perception of challenge thereby providing a number of psycho-social benefits. Findings suggest that a collaborative and multi-disciplinary approach is required to enhance the likelihood of bio-banding being successfully implemented within the typical training schedules across the adolescent phase of the player development pathway.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soccer academy practitioners’ perceptions and application of bio-banding

Towlson

Watson²,

Cumming³

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

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“…31 In instances where a biological parent was not in contact with a player and their parent/guardians, a national average for adult height was used for that biological mother or father. 32 The median error bounds between actual and predicted adult height using the Khamis–Roche method is 2.2 cm in males aged between 4 and 17.5 years. For the age groups examined in this study, 12–16 years, the lowest 50% error was 1.3 cm for 16 year olds, and the highest 50% error was 2.8 cm for 14 year olds.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 92%

A tale of two selection biases: The independent effects of relative age and biological maturity on player selection in the Football Association of Ireland's national talent pathway

Sweeney

Cumming

MacNamara

et al. 2022

International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching

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This study investigated the associations between biological maturation status (classified using the Khamis–Roche method for the percentage of predicted adult height at the time of observation) and relative age (expressed as a decimal value relative to the difference between birth date and competition cut-off date) and the extent to which their relative selection biases existed across competitive age groups in an analysis of players within the Football Association of Ireland's (FAI) national talent pathway. The players assessed were either from the U13 FAI National Academy ( n = 125), the Ireland U15 national team ( n = 18), or the Ireland U16 national team ( n = 16). A moderate to very large selection bias in favour of early maturing players was observed across all age groups, increasing in magnitude with successive age groups ( p < 0.05). A total of 46–72% of players selected into the national talent pathway were early maturing; 0% of U15 and U16 players were late maturing. A relative age effect existed across all competitive cohorts ( p < 0.05), although not increasing with chronological age and smaller in magnitude than maturation biases. A small positive correlation between relative age and absolute maturity status at U13 was observed, and an inverse correlation between relative age and relative maturity status at U15 ( p < 0.01) was observed. There were no other significant correlations between relative or absolute maturity status and relative age. We encourage Football Associations to critically reflect upon their criteria for national talent squad selection; the current system diminishes the chances of selection for late maturing players.

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“…Although previous research has recommended the use of plotted growth curves to estimate the status of an athlete relative to PHV (13,35,44), the accuracy of such assessments in classifying players as pre-, circa-, or post-PHV has not been evaluated. Results of the present study indicated substantial agreement and a high percentage of concordance with maturity status classification (pre-, circa-, post-PHV) based on complete growth curves using ±1and ±0.5-yr circa-PHV thresholds, recognizing the limitations of the narrow band.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating Maturity Status in Elite Youth Soccer Players: Evaluation of Methods

Monasterio,

Gil,

Bidaurrazaga-Letona

et al. 2024

Medicine &Amp; Science in Sports &Amp; Exercise

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Purpose To evaluate the concordance of predicted maturity status classifications (pre-, circa- or post-peak height velocity) relative to observed age at PHV in youth soccer players. Methods Longitudinal height records for 124 male soccer players were extracted from academy records spanning the 2000-2022 seasons. Age at PHV for each player was estimated with the Super-Imposition by Translation and Rotation (SITAR) model. Players were classified as pre-, circa- or post-PHV using both ±1 year and ± 0.5 year criteria to define the circa-PHV interval. Maturity status was estimated with several prediction protocols: maturity offset (Mirwald, Moore-1, Moore-2), maturity ratio (Fransen), percentage of predicted adult height (PAH%) using the Khamis-Roche (KR) and Tanner-Whitehouse-2 (TW2-RUS) equations using several bands: 85%-96%, 88%-96%, 88%-93%, and 90%-93% for the circa-PHV interval, and visual evaluation of individual growth-curves alone or with PAH% based on KR and TW2-RUS. Concordance of maturity status classifications based on complete growth curves and predicted estimates of maturity status was addressed with percentage agreement and Cohen’s kappa. Results Visual evaluation of the growth curves had the highest concordance (≈ 80%) with maturity status classifications (pre-, circa-, post-PHV) based on longitudinal data for individual players. Predicted maturity offset with the Mirwald, Moore-1 and Fransen equations misclassified about one- third to one-half of the players, while concordance based on PAH% varied with the band used, but not with the method of height prediction. Conclusions Visual assessment of the individual growth curves by an experienced assessor provides an accurate estimate of maturity status relative to PHV. Maturity offset prediction equations misclassifies the majority of players, while PAH% provides a reasonably valid alternative.

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Estimating somatic maturity in adolescent soccer players: Methodological comparisons

Cited by 13 publications

References 30 publications

Soccer academy practitioners’ perceptions and application of bio-banding

Soccer academy practitioners’ perceptions and application of bio-banding

A tale of two selection biases: The independent effects of relative age and biological maturity on player selection in the Football Association of Ireland's national talent pathway

Estimating Maturity Status in Elite Youth Soccer Players: Evaluation of Methods

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