Abstract
The relative age effect (RAE) has been well studied in adolescent and adult soccer players; however, less information has been available about children engaged in regular soccer training and the role of performance. Thus, the aim of the present study was to examine the prevalence of RAE in children and adolescent soccer players, as well as the role of age and performance. Russian soccer players (n = 10,446) of various ages, playing positions and performance levels were examined for their date of birth. It was observed that RAE was widespread in Russian soccer teams of all age groups. RAE was most pronounced in children teams of the top tier Russian soccer academies and junior Russia national teams, where the proportions of soccer players born in the first quarter were 43.9% and 39.8%, respectively, whereas those born in the fourth quarter of the year were 7.7% and 6.3%, respectively. In top tier soccer academies, RAE did not vary by age group. In the middle tier soccer academies, RAE was less pronounced. It was still prevalent in the junior teams of the top tier clubs of the Russian Premier League, where 14.3% of the soccer players were born in the fourth quarter of the year compared to 42.9% born in the first quarter of the year. RAE can be observed in the top tier Russian adult teams as well, although it is less pronounced there. In summary, RAE is highly prevalent in Russian children and junior soccer and is associated with the level of competitiveness. At the same time, the proportion of players born in the fourth quarter of the year is higher in adult teams than in junior and youth teams, which is most likely due to the wider selection of players, not limited by their age and place of residence. In junior teams, RAE results in a bias towards selection of players who are more physically mature, whereas children who may be more talented but are less developed due to their younger chronological age tend to be overlooked.
Highlights
Introductionrelative age effect (RAE) has been highly prevalent in popular competitive sports, such as soccer, hockey, basketball, baseball, and volleyball, and occurred in the majority of age groups and sport clubs regardless of their performance level [2,3,4]
Chronological differences among humans of an age group have been described using the term relative age and their role in human performance has been defined as relative age effect (RAE) [1]
RAE has been highly prevalent in popular competitive sports, such as soccer, hockey, basketball, baseball, and volleyball, and occurred in the majority of age groups and sport clubs regardless of their performance level [2,3,4]
Summary
RAE has been highly prevalent in popular competitive sports, such as soccer, hockey, basketball, baseball, and volleyball, and occurred in the majority of age groups and sport clubs regardless of their performance level [2,3,4]. The first study of RAE in sports was that of Barnsley et al, who observed a bias toward athletes born in the first half of the year in Canadian hockey teams regardless of age group and performance level [6]. A possible explanation for the high prevalence of RAE was the maturity status theory [8,10,11] According to this theory, the selection of young soccer players by elite schools was always affected by a bias in favor of boys born in the first half of the year, as they are anthropometrically, cognitively, and physically superior to their peers born in the end of the year
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