Dugdale James H, McRobert Allistair P, Unnithan Viswanath B
Physiology Exercise and Nutrition Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, University of Stirling, Stirling, United Kingdom.
The Football Exchange, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
Front Psychol. 2021 Jan 28;12:633469. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.633469. eCollection 2021.
Significant structural, developmental, and financial constraints exist in Scottish soccer that may predicate a different approach to talent identification and development. To our knowledge, no published reports exist evaluating the prevalence of the relative age effect (RAE) in Scottish soccer players. Consequently, the aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of the RAE among varied playing levels and ages of male Scottish youth soccer players. Birthdates of male youth players ( = 1,230) from U10 to U17 age groups and from playing levels: "Amateur" ( = 482), "Development" ( = 214), and "Performance" ( = 534), alongside a group of male Scottish senior professional players ( = 261) were recorded and categorized into quartiles (Q1 = January-March; Q2 = April-June; Q3 = July-September; and Q4 = October-December) and semesters (S1 = January-June and S2 = July-December) from the start of the selection year. Birthdates were analyzed for: (a) each playing level and (b) each age group irrespective of playing level. For the varied playing levels examined, an RAE was evident in "Development" and "Performance" playing levels only at youth level. When examining each age group, an RAE was observed in U12-U17 players only. While there was a slight asymmetry favoring Q1 born senior professional players, the RAE was not present within this group of our sample. Results from our study suggest that a bias in selecting individuals born earlier in the selection year may exist within male soccer academy structures, but not at amateur level. The asymmetry favoring chronologically older players at youth but not professional level questions the efficacy of this (un)conscious bias within male Scottish soccer players.
苏格兰足球存在重大的结构、发展和财务限制，这可能需要采取不同的人才识别和培养方法。据我们所知，目前尚无已发表的报告评估苏格兰足球运动员中相对年龄效应（RAE）的普遍性。因此，本研究的目的是调查不同年龄和比赛水平的苏格兰男性青年足球运动员中RAE的普遍性。记录了10岁以下至17岁年龄组以及“业余”（n = 482）、“发展”（n = 214）和“精英”（n = 534）比赛水平的男性青年球员（n = 1230）的出生日期，以及一组苏格兰男性职业成年球员（n = 261）的出生日期，并根据选拔年开始时间将其分为四分位数（Q1 = 1月至3月；Q2 = 4月至6月；Q3 = 7月至9月；Q4 = 10月至12月）和半学年（S1 = 1月至6月和S2 = 7月至12月）。对出生日期进行了如下分析：（a）每个比赛水平；（b）每个年龄组，不考虑比赛水平。在所研究的不同比赛水平中，RAE仅在青年组的“发展”和“精英”比赛水平中明显。在检查每个年龄组时，仅在12岁至17岁的球员中观察到RAE。虽然出生在Q1的职业成年球员略有优势，但在我们样本的这一组中不存在RAE。我们的研究结果表明，在男子足球青训体系中可能存在选拔选拔年较早出生个体的偏差，但在业余水平不存在。在青年组而非职业组中有利于年龄较大球员的不对称性，质疑了这种（非）有意识偏差在苏格兰男子足球运动员中的有效性。
