The Birthdate Effect in School Sports Teams

Wilson, G. Lloyd

doi:10.1080/1740898990040203

Cited by 16 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…This is the first study to describe the presence of relative age effects in English schoolchildren across such a wide range of both individual and team sports. In common with previous research, we found evidence of RAEs in boys' football and rugby, 12,13 and girls' netball, 12 and hockey 13 which are commonplace for both sexes in English schools. Thus, our data support the only published study examining the presence of RAEs in autumn-born girls.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…27 If competitive sport is to be able to increase physical activity, it must be accessible to as many children as possible. While data are limited, 12,13 they show large RAEs in English school sport. If confirmed, these may present a significant barrier to participation, particulary for students born late in the school year.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…10,11 In England, school sports generally use a 1-year age-grouping with the same cutoff date as the academic year (September 1st). Two studies of English schools sports have reported that students born in 3-6 months following the September 1 st cutoff date are overrepresented in school sports teams 12,13 as reported in many other youth sport settings. 6 The overrepresentation of relatively older players in youth sport has been attributed to the physical advantages associated with advanced maturation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Maturational and social factors contributing to relative age effects in school sports: Data from the London Youth Games

Reed

Sandercock

2016

Scandinavian Med Sci Sports

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Background Few studies have investigated whether Relative Age Effects (RAE) exist in school sport. None have sought to test the competing maturational and social-agent hypotheses proposed to explain the RAE. We aimed to determine the presence of RAEs in multiple school sports and examine the contribution of maturational and social factors in commonplace school sports. Methods We analysed birth dates of n=10645 competitors (11-18 years) in the 2013 London Youth Games annual inter-school multisport competition and calculated odds ratio (OR) for students competing in based on their yearly birth quarter (Q1-Q4). Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the relative contribution of constituent year (Grade) and relative age in netball and football which used multi-year age groupings. Results In girls, RAEs were present in the team sports including hockey, netball, rugby union, cricket and volleyball but not football. In boys RAEs were stronger in common team sports (football, basketball cricket) as well as athletics and rowing. In netball and football teams with players from two constituent years, birth quarter was better-predicted selection than did constituent year. Relatively older players (Q1) from lower constituent years were overrepresented compared with players from Q3 and Q4 of the upper constituent years. Conclusions RAEs are present in the many sports commonplace in English schools. Selection of relatively older players ahead of chronologically older students born later in the selection year suggests social agents contribute to RAEs in school sports.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Maturational and social factors contributing to relative age effects in school sports: Data from the London Youth Games

Reed

Sandercock

2016

Scandinavian Med Sci Sports

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“…The results of this study could challenge this expectation. Initially the selected players could get the confirmation of their skills as a player and are more likely to continue perfecting their abilities and invest more time and effort in their sport with predictable results [31]. According to Harter's [30] competence motivation theory, athletes who perceive that they are able to perform at a high level and think that they are talented are more likely to continue perfecting their abilities and invest more time and effort in their sport with predictable results, which can also lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy because of the selection for a youth national team.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selecting players for youth national teams – a question of birth month and reselection?

Sæther

2015

Science & Sports

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“…Playing time in competition is an important factor in the development of young talent. Many players are prepared to switch clubs to gain more minutes on the pitch (Saether, 2016) which enables them to put into practice and further hone their skills (Wilson, 1999). Several studies looking at the RAE tend to take it for granted that older players are more likely to play a higher number of minutes in competition than their relatively younger peers (Barnsley et al, 1992;Helsen et al, 1998Helsen et al, , 2005.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Edat relativa, minuts de competició i debut en futbol professional

Rodríguez-Lorenzo¹,

Martín-Acero²

2019

Apunts

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The purpose of this study was to analyse the relative age effect (RAE) in all age categories in the development programme of a professional football club and to identify whether playing time and the chances of debut in the first team are influenced by the RAE. We examined the birthdate distributions of 334 elite football players from Real Club Deportivo de la Coruña: 195 young soccer players (DTG) divided into 11 age groups (U-9 to U-23), 110 professional players (FTG), and 29 players who debuted in competitive matches with the club's first team from the youth development programme (EG). Playing time was calculated by adding up all the minutes played by a player in official competition during a season. The Chi-square test results show that the RAE exists in the 3 groups and in all the 11 age groups of the DTG players. The RAE was significantly lower in the FTG compared to the DTG and EG groups (Mann-Whitney U test, p < .05). There were no differences in playing minutes between players born in the first half of the year or in the second half of the year. These findings suggest that the RAE in elite clubs originates fundamentally in the talent selection process in all categories, but mainly in the youngest ones, and is maintained in all the lower categories, influencing the chances of making a first-team debut.

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The Birthdate Effect in School Sports Teams

Cited by 16 publications

References 8 publications

Maturational and social factors contributing to relative age effects in school sports: Data from the London Youth Games

Maturational and social factors contributing to relative age effects in school sports: Data from the London Youth Games

Selecting players for youth national teams – a question of birth month and reselection?

Edat relativa, minuts de competició i debut en futbol professional

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