出版社：International Research Association for Talent Development and Excellence (IRATDE)
摘要：Differences in age within annual cohorts (relative age) result inperformance discrepancies between children and youths and also bias the talentselection process in many sports. The consequences stemming from the relative ageapproach are referred to as relative age effects (RAEs). In this study, we analyzed theprevalence of RAEs according to the playing positions and countries of 1208 youthsoccer players who participated in the new UEFA Youth League. Our comparisonsshowed significant RAEs with medium effects. Youth players born in Q1 were 3.35times more likely to be selected than players born in Q4. Significant RAEs were foundfor every age group (1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999), but younger age groups showedsignificantly higher RAEs than the older age groups. The analysis did not reveal anyinfluence of playing position on the size of the RAEs. However, the results showedsignificant differences in relation to country, as well as the absence of RAEs in playersfrom Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Slovenia. All in all, the UEFA Youth League ishighly biased by RAEs. Thus, it seems RAEs reflect a type of developmental barrierthat is preventable if appropriate solutions are implemented in the future
关键词：youth soccer; birth date; age group; playing position; player selection
