Doctorate School, Catholic University of Valencia "San Vicente Mártir", 46008 Valencia, Spain.
Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Catholic University of Valencia "San Vicente Mártir", 46900 Torrent, Spain.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Jan 21;20(3):2015. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20032015.
This study aimed to explore the relevance of the relative age effect (RAE), maturity status and anthropometry, and their influence on coaches' assessment of players' performance, analyzing both genders and different types of academies (elite vs. non-elite). The sample included 603 soccer players (385 male), from the under 12 (U12), under 14 (U14) and under 16 (U16) categories, belonging to elite and nonelite teams. Coaches' assessment of players' performance, chronological age, anthropometric characteristics, maturity offset (MO) and peak height velocity (PHV) were registered. Our results showed that RAE was present in both genders within the elite, but not in the nonelite academies. Early maturity players were overrepresented in the male elite, but not in the female academies. No relationship was found between RAE and anthropometry in male elite academies. Male elite players showed better anthropometric characteristics than nonelite players, while this pattern of results was not found for female players. The coaches' assessment on players' current performance was not influenced by the chronological age nor anthropometry, but it was linked to the PHV. Coaches from nonelite academies rated better in current assessment of performance the taller players. Our findings suggest that maturity status and RAE play an independent and important role in the talent selection process.
本研究旨在探讨相对年龄效应（RAE）、成熟度状况和人体测量学及其对教练评估球员表现的相关性，分析了不同性别和不同类型的学院（精英与非精英）。样本包括 603 名足球运动员（385 名男性），来自 12 岁以下（U12）、14 岁以下（U14）和 16 岁以下（U16）年龄段，分别属于精英和非精英球队。记录了教练对球员表现、实际年龄、人体测量特征、成熟度偏差（MO）和高峰生长速度（PHV）的评估。我们的结果表明，RAE 存在于精英男女中，但在非精英学院中不存在。早期成熟的球员在男性精英中占比过高，但在女性学院中并非如此。在男性精英学院中，RAE 与人体测量学之间没有关系。男性精英球员的人体测量特征优于非精英球员，但女性球员则没有这种结果模式。教练对球员当前表现的评估不受实际年龄和人体测量学的影响，但与 PHV 有关。非精英学院的教练对更高的球员在当前表现评估中评价更高。我们的研究结果表明，成熟度状况和 RAE 在人才选拔过程中发挥着独立且重要的作用。
