The Relative Age Effect in invasion team sports: A systematic review in youth sports
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v46.94211Keywords:
relative age, team sports, youth, social effects, talentAbstract
The difference in birth dates between athletes of the same age can result in an advantage for the relatively older one. This is referred to as the relative age effect (RAE). This effect can interfere in the practice of children and youth athletes and can also influence their training and development to reach a high level of the sport. This study aimed to review previous research based on the following question: “What are the influences and consequences of the RAE in the sports practice of youth athletes in invasion team sports?” The method used was a systematic literature review based on the PRISMA method. The descriptors relative age effect AND sport were used on the CAPES Periodicals Portal and Pub Med platforms. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria and performing the necessary analyses, 82 articles were included in the study. It was found that the high competitive level, the sport’s popularity, coaches’ perception, and biological characteristics, primarily in the puberty period, have the greatest influence on the relative age effect and interfere in the permanence and sports careers of youth athletes.
References
Andrade-Souza, V. A., Moniz, F., & Teoldo, I. (2015). Relative age effect in FIFA U17 Emirates 2013 World Cup: analysis of players who effectively participated in the matches. Motriz: revista de educação física, 21, 403-406. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/S1980-65742015000400009
Arrieta, H., Torres-Unda, J., Gil, S. M., & Irazusta, J. (2016). Relative age effect and performance in the U16, U18 and U20 European Basketball Championships. Journal of sports sciences, 34(16), 1530-1534. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2015.1122204
Baker, J., Schorer, J., & Cobley, S. (2010). Relative age effects. Sportwissenschaft, 40(1), 26-30. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12662-009-0095-2
Bezuglov, E. N., Nikolaidis, P. T., Khaitin, V., Usmanova, E., Luibushkina, A., Repetiuk, A., Waśkiewicz, Z; Gerasimuk , D; Rosemann, T; & Knechtle, B. (2019). Prevalence of relative age effect in Russian soccer: the role of chronological age and performance. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(21), 4055. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16214055
Bezuglov, E., Shvets, E., Lyubushkina, A., Lazarev, A., Valova, Y., Zholinsky, A., & Waskiewicz, Z. (2020). Relative age effect in Russian elite hockey. The journal of strength & conditioning research, 34(9), 2522-2527. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000003687
Bliss, A., & Brickley, G. (2011). Effects of relative age on physical and physiological performance characteristics in youth soccer. Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness, 51(4), 571.
Buchheit, M., Mendez-Villanueva, A., Mayer, N., Jullien, H., Marles, A., Bosquet, L., Maille, P., Morin, J.B., Cazorla, G., & Lambert, P. (2014). Locomotor performance in highly-trained young soccer players: does body size always matter?. International journal of sports medicine, 35(06), 494-504. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0033-1353140
Bjørndal, C. T., Luteberget, L. S., Till, K., & Holm, S. (2018). The relative age effect in selection to international team matches in Norwegian handball. PloS one, 13(12), e0209288. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0209288
Camacho-Cardenosa, A., Camacho-Cardenosa, M., González-Custodio, A., Martínez-Guardado, I., Timón, R., Olcina, G., & Brazo-Sayavera, J. (2018). Anthropometric and physical performance of youth handball players: The role of the relative age. Sports, 6(2), 47. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/sports6020047
Cassidy, T. (2018). ‘I didn’t have to tackle humungus people’: An ecological investigation into a dispensation policy in New Zealand Junior Rugby. International journal of sports science & coaching, 13(6), 947-957. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1747954118769181
Chittle, L., Dixon, J. C., & Horton, S. (2019). Youth developmental experiences among female hockey players: The role of relative age. Journal of youth development, 14(4), 83-100. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5195/jyd.2019.806
Da Silva, W. R., Freitas, K., Vieira, M. P., Ferrari, E., Greboggy, D., & Cardoso, F. L. (2018). O efeito da idade relativa na seleà § ã o de atletas em jogos esportivos coletivos. RBPFEX: Revista brasileira de prescrição e fisiologia do exercício, 12(78), 779-787.
Delorme, N., Boiché, J., & Raspaud, M. (2009). The relative age effect in elite sport: the French case. Research quarterly for exercise and sport, 80(2), 336-344. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2009.10599568
Delorme, N., Boiché, J., & Raspaud, M. (2010a). Relative age and dropout in French male soccer. Journal of sports sciences, 28(7), 717-722. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02640411003663276
Delorme, N., Boiché, J., & Raspaud, M. (2010b). Relative age effect in female sport: a diachronic examination of soccer players. Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports, 20(3), 509-515. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0838.2009.00979.x
Delorme, N., Chalabaev, A., & Raspaud, M. (2011). Relative age is associated with sport dropout: evidence from youth categories of French basketball. Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports, 21(1), 120-128. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0838.2009.01060.x
Doncaster, G., Medina, D., Drobnic, F., Gómez-Díaz, A. J., & Unnithan, V. (2020). Appreciating factors beyond the physical in talent identification and development: insights from the FC Barcelona sporting model. Frontiers in sports and active living, 2, 91. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2020.00091
Duarte, J. P., Coelho-e-Silva, M. J., Costa, D., Martinho, D., Luz, L. G., Rebelo-Gonçalves, R., ... & Malina, R. M. (2019). Repeated sprint ability in youth soccer players: independent and combined effects of relative age and biological maturity. Journal of human kinetics, 67(1), 209-221. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/hukin-2018-0090
Ferriz Valero, A., Sellés Pérez, S., García Jaén, M., & Cejuela Anta, R. (2020). Efecto de la edad relativa para el desarrollo del talento en jóvenes triatletas (Relative age effect for talents’ development in young triathletes). Retos: nuevas tendencias en educación física, deporte y recreación, 37, 27–32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v37i37.67384
Figueiredo, A. J., Coelho-e-Silva, M. J., Cumming, S. P., & Malina, R. M. (2019). Relative age effect: Characteristics of youth soccer players by birth quarter and subsequent playing status. Journal of sports sciences, 37(6), 677-684. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2018.1522703
Figueiredo, P., Seabra, A., Brito, M., Galvão, M., & Brito, J. (2021). Are soccer and futsal affected by the relative age effect? The Portuguese Football Association case. Frontiers in psychology, 12, 1838. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.679476
Fragoso, I., Massuca, L. M., & Ferreira, J. (2015). Effect of birth month on physical fitness of soccer players (Under-15) according to biological maturity. International journal of sports medicine, 36(01), 16-21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0034-1384548
Gil, S. M., Bidaurrazaga-Letona, I., Martin-Garetxana, I., Lekue, J. A., & Larruskain, J. (2020). Does birth date influence career attainment in professional soccer?. Science and Medicine in Football, 4(2), 119-126. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2019.1696471
Gómez-López, M., Angosto Sánchez, S., Ruiz Sánchez, V., & Pérez Turpin, J. A. (2017a). Relative age effect in handball players of Spain. Journal of physical education and sport, 17(1),705-711. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7752/jpes.2017.02106
Gómez-López, M., Granero-Gallegos, A., Feu Molina, S., & Chirosa Ríos, L. J. (2017b). Relative age effect during the selection of young handball player. Journal of physical education and sport, 17(1), 418-423. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7752/jpes.2017.01062
Gonçalves, C. E., & Carvalho, H. M. (2021). Revisiting the relative age effect from a multidisciplinary perspective in youth basketball: a Bayesian analysis. Frontiers in sports and active living, 2, 581845. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2020.581845
González, F. J., & Bracht, V. (2012). Metodologia do ensino dos esportes coletivos. Núcleo de Educação Aberta e a Distância.
Gutiérrez Díaz del Campo, D. Pastor Vicedo, J. C., Gonzalez Villora, S. Contreras Jordan, O. C. (2010). The relative age effect in youth soccer players from Spain. Journal of sports science & medicine, 9(2), 190.
Hancock, D. J., Adler, A. L., & Côté, J. (2013). A proposed theoretical model to explain relative age effects in sport. European journal of sport science, 13(6), 630-637. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2013.775352
Hancock, D. J., Ste-Marie, D. M., & Young, B. W. (2013). Coach selections and the relative age effect in male youth ice hockey. Research quarterly for exercise and sport, 84(1), 126-130. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2013.762325
Hancock, D. J., Young, B. W., & Ste-Marie, D. M. (2011). Effects of a rule change that eliminates body-checking on the relative age effect in Ontario minor ice hockey. Journal of sports sciences, 29(13), 1399-1406. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2011.593040
Hill, B., & Sotiriadou, P. (2016). Coach decision-making and the relative age effect on talent selection in football. European sport management quarterly, 16(3), 292-315. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2015.1131730
Huertas, F., Ballester, R., Gines, H. J., Hamidi, A. K., Moratal, C., & Lupiáñez, J. (2019). Relative age effect in the sport environment. Role of physical fitness and cognitive function in youth soccer players. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(16), 2837. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16162837
Ibáñez, S. J., Mazo, A., Nascimento, J., & García-Rubio, J. (2018). The Relative Age Effect in under-18 basketball: Effects on performance according to playing position. PloS one, 13(7), e0200408. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0200408
Jackson, R. C., & Comber, G. (2020). Hill on a mountaintop: A longitudinal and cross-sectional analysis of the relative age effect in competitive youth football. Journal of sports sciences, 38(11-12), 1352-1358. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2019.1706830
Kalén, A., Lundkvist, E., Ivarsson, A., Rey, E., & Pérez-Ferreirós, A. (2021). The influence of initial selection age, relative age effect and country long-term performance on the re-selection process in European basketball youth national teams. Journal of sports sciences, 39(4), 388-394. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2020.1823109
Korgaokar, A. D., Farley, R. S., Fuller, D. K., & Caputo, J. L. (2018). Relative age effect among elite youth female soccer players across the United States. Sport mont, 16(3), 37-41. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26773/smj.181007
Krahenbühl, T., & Leonardo, L. (2020). The relative age effect: coaches' choices as evidence of social influence on youth handball. Journal of physical education and sport, 20(5), 2460-2467. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7752/jpes.2020.05337
Lagestad, P., Steen, I., & Dalen, T. (2018). Inevitable relative age effects in different stages of the selection process among male and female youth soccer players. Sports, 6(2), 29. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/sports6020029
Leite, N., Borges, J., Santos, S., & Sampaio, J. (2013). The relative age effect in school and federative sport in basketball. Revista de psicología del deporte, 22(1), 219-222.
Lemez, S., Baker, J., Horton, S., Wattie, N., & Weir, P. (2014). Examining the relationship between relative age, competition level, and dropout rates in male youth ice‐hockey players. Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports, 24(6), 935-942. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.12127
Leonardo, L., Lizana, C. J. R., Krahenbühl, T., & Scaglia, A. J. (2016). The relative age effect affects the time of competitive participation of male handball athletes with up to 13 years. Retos: nuevas tendencias en educación fisica, deporte y recreación, 33(1), 195-198. DOI: https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v0i33.56731
Lewis, J., Morgan, K., & Cooper, S. M. (2015). Relative age effects in Welsh age grade rugby union. International journal of sports science & coaching, 10(5), 797-813. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1260%2F1747-9541.10.5.797
Li, Z., Mao, L., Steingröver, C., Wattie, N., Baker, J., Schorer, J., & Helsen, W. F. (2020). Relative age effects in Elite Chinese soccer players: Implications of the ‘one-child’policy. Plos one, 15(2), e0228611. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0228611
Liberati, A., Altman, D. G., Tetzlaff, J., Mulrow, C., Gøtzsche, P. C., Ioannidis, J. P., Clarke, M., Devereaux, P.J., Kleijnen, J., & Moher, D. (2009). The PRISMA statement for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of studies that evaluate health care interventions: explanation and elaboration. Journal of clinical epidemiology, 62(10), e1-e34. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2009.06.006
Lopez de Subijana, C., & Lorenzo, J. (2018). Relative age effect and long-term success in the Spanish soccer and basketball national teams. Journal of human kinetics, 65, 197-204. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/hukin-2018-0027
Lovell, R., Towlson, C., Parkin, G., Portas, M., Vaeyens, R., & Cobley, S. (2015). Soccer player characteristics in English lower-league development programmes: the relationships between relative age, maturation, anthropometry and physical fitness. PloS one, 10(9), e0137238. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0137238
Maciel, L. F. P., Flach, M. C., Nascimento, R. K. do, Dallegrave, E. J., Nascimento, J. V. do, & Folle, A. (2021). Efecto de la edad relativa en el baloncesto: implicaciones para la selección de jugadores exitosos. Retos: nuevas tendencias en educación física, deporte y recreación, 42, 266–275. DOI: https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v42i0.83847
McCarthy, N., & Collins, D. (2014). Initial identification & selection bias versus the eventual confirmation of talent: evidence for the benefits of a rocky road?. Journal of sports sciences, 32(17), 1604-1610. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2014.908322
McCunn, R., Weston, M., Hill, J. K., Johnston, R. D., & Gibson, N. V. (2017). Influence of physical maturity status on sprinting speed among youth soccer players. The journal of strength & conditioning research, 31(7), 1795-1801. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001654
Mendes, C., Menegassi, V. M., Jaime, M. de O., Costa, L. C. A. da C., Marques, P. G., Rechenchosky, L., Rinaldi, W., & Borges, P. H. (2021). Impacto del tamaño del cuerpo, la edad relativa y el índice de desarrollo humano en la participación de futbolistas brasileños en la UEFA Champions League. Retos: nuevas tendencias en educación física, deporte y recreación, 39, 271–275. DOI: https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v0i39.77895
Morley, D., Pyke, D., & Till, K. (2015). An investigation into the use of a movement assessment protocol for under-14 rugby league players in a talent development environment. International journal of sports science & coaching, 10(4), 623-636. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1260%2F1747-9541.10.4.623
Musch, J., & Grondin, S. (2001). Unequal competition as an impediment to personal development: A review of the relative age effect in sport. Developmental review, 21(2), 147-167.
Ortega, J. A. F., Buitrago, J. A. R., & Rodriguez, D. A. S. (2021). Aspectos centrales de la identificación y desarrollo de talentos deportivos: revisión sistemática. Retos: nuevas tendencias en educación física, deporte y recreación, 39, 915-928. DOI: https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v0i39.79323
Patel, R., Nevill, A., Smith, T., Cloak, R., & Wyon, M. (2020). The influence of birth quartile, maturation, anthropometry and physical performances on player retention: observations from an elite football academy. International journal of sports science & coaching, 15(2), 121-134. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1747954120906507
Peña-González, I., Javaloyes, A., Sarabia, J. M., & Moya-Ramón, M. (2021). Relative age-related differences between different competitive levels and field positions in young soccer players. Research in sports medicine, 29(3), 254-264. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15438627.2020.1853540
Penna, E. M., de Mello, M. T., Ferreira, R. M., Moraes, L. C. C. D. A., & Costa, V. T. D. (2015). Relative age effect on the reaction time of soccer players under 13 years old. Motriz: Revista de educação física, 21, 194-199. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/S1980-65742015000200010
Práxedes, A., Moreno, A., García-González, L., Pizarro, D., & Del Villar, F. (2017). The relative age effect on soccer players in formative stages with different sport expertise levels. Journal of human kinetics, 60(1), 167-173. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/hukin-2017-0100
Romann, M., Rüeger, E., Hintermann, M., Kern, R., & Faude, O. (2020). Origins of relative age effects in youth football—A nationwide analysis. Frontiers in sports and active living, 3, 591072. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2020.591072
Rubajczyk, K., Świerzko, K., & Rokita, A. (2017). Doubly disadvantaged? The relative age effect in Poland’s basketball players. Journal of sports science & medicine, 16(2), 280.
Saavedra García, M., Gutierrez Aguilar, Ó., Fernández Romero, J. J., Fernández Lastra, D., & Eiras Oliveira, G. (2014). Relative age effect in lower categories of international basketball. International review for the sociology of sport, 49(5), 526-535. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690212462832
Sánchez Rodríguez, C., Grande Rodríguez, I., Sampedro Molinuevo, J., & Rivilla García, J. (2013). Is the date of birth an advantage/ally to excel in handball?. Performance analysis workshop, Alicante, Spain.
Schroepf, B., & Lames, M. (2018). Career patterns in German football youth national teams–a longitudinal study. International journal of sports science & coaching, 13(3), 405-414. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1747954117729368
Schorer, J., Wattie, N., & Baker, J. R. (2013). A new dimension to relative age effects: constant year effects in German youth handball. PloS one, 8(4), e60336. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/annotation/346754d7-87e5-4e5f-90c8-86a23632227a
Sedano, S., Vaeyens, R., & Redondo, J. C. (2015). The relative age effect in Spanish female soccer players. Influence of the competitive level and a playing position. Journal of human kinetics, 46(1), 129-137. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/hukin-2015-0041
Sherar, L. B., Baxter-Jones, A. D., Faulkner, R. A., & Russell, K. W. (2007). Do physical maturity and birth date predict talent in male youth ice hockey players?. Journal of sports sciences, 25(8), 879-886. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02640410600908001
Smith, K. L., & Weir, P. L. (2013). An examination of the relative age effect in developmental girls’ hockey in Ontario. High ability studies, 24(2), 171-184. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13598139.2013.847357
Smith, K. L., & Weir, P. L. (2020). Female Youth Soccer Participation and Continued Engagement: Associations With Community Size, Community Density, and Relative Age. Frontiers in sports and active living, 2, 552597. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2020.552597
Smith, K. L., Weir, P. L., Till, K., Romann, M., & Cobley, S. (2018). Relative age effects across and within female sport contexts: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports medicine, 48(6), 1451-1478. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-0890-8
Steingröver, C., Wattie, N., Baker, J., Helsen, W. F., & Schorer, J. (2017). Geographical variations in the interaction of relative age effects in youth and adult elite soccer. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 278. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00278
Tribolet, R., Watsford, M. L., Coutts, A. J., Smith, C., & Fransen, J. (2019). From entry to elite: The relative age effect in the Australian football talent pathway. Journal of science and medicine in sport, 22(6), 741-745. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2018.12.014
Turnnidge, J., Hancock, D. J., & Côté, J. (2014). The influence of birth date and place of development on youth sport participation. Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports, 24(2), 461-468. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.12002
Van Den Honert, R. (2012). Evidence of the relative age effect in football in Australia. Journal of sports sciences, 30(13), 1365-1374. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2012.707329
Votteler, A., & Höner, O. (2014). The relative age effect in the German Football TID Programme: Biases in motor performance diagnostics and effects on single motor abilities and skills in groups of selected players. European journal of sport science, 14(5), 433-442. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2013.837510
Woods, C. T., Robertson, S. J., & Gastin, P. B. (2015). Does relative age distribution influence the physical and anthropometric profiles of drafted under 18 Australian footballers? An investigation between the 2010 and 2013 seasons. Talent development and excellence, 7(1), 83-90.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Challenges
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and ensure the magazine the right to be the first publication of the work as licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of authorship of the work and the initial publication in this magazine.
- Authors can establish separate additional agreements for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in the journal (eg, to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Is allowed and authors are encouraged to disseminate their work electronically (eg, in institutional repositories or on their own website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as to a subpoena more Early and more of published work (See The Effect of Open Access) (in English).
This journal provides immediate open access to its content (BOAI, http://legacy.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/boaifaq.htm#openaccess) on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. The authors may download the papers from the journal website, or will be provided with the PDF version of the article via e-mail.
