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JOURNAL
OF
SPORTS SCIENCE &
MEDICINE
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Research
article
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THE RELATIVE AGE EFFECT IN YOUTH SOCCER PLAYERS FROM SPAIN |
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David Gutierrez Diaz Del Campo  ,
Juan Carlos Pastor Vicedo, Sixto Gonzalez Villora and Onofre Ricardo Contreras
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University of Castilla-La Mancha, Faculty of Education, Spain. |
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© Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2010) 9, 190 - 198 |
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| ABSTRACT | |||
| The purpose of this study was to identify the existence of Relative
Age Effect (RAE) at youth level in both elite and amateur Spanish soccer
clubs, and also to carry out an analysis providing with information on how
this effect has evolved in recent years. We have obtained information on
the youth teams of the 20 clubs belonging to the Spanish Professional Football
League (LFP) in two separate seasons (2005-2006 and 2008-2009) as well as
data on five youth academies belonging to amateur clubs. The collected data
revealed an over- representation of players born in the first months of
the selection year in all groups of analysis (Elite 2005-2006, Elite 2008-2009
and Amateurs), although only the Elite groups showed significant variations
in birth-date distribution in relation to the Spanish population. The results
showed a reduction in RAE from the 2005-2006 season to the 2008-2009 season.
The following variables - playing position, the number of years each player
has spent in their specific age group and the category of the team at each
club were shown not to have influence on the extent of RAE.
Key words: Relative age effect, season-of-birth bias, selection processes, talent identification, youth soccer. |
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