The relative age effect in sport: a developmental systems model
Nick Wattie1, Jörg Schorer, Joseph Baker
1Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, 2000 Simcoe Street North, Oshawa, ON, L1H 7K4, Canada, nick.wattie@uoit.ca.
Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)
|August 30, 2014
Summary
Youth sports policies create relative age effects (RAEs) due to selection dates. This paper reviews RAEs and proposes a new theoretical model to explain these developmental differences in athletes.
Area of Science:
- Sports Science
- Developmental Psychology
- Sociology of Sport
Background:
- Youth sport systems often use fixed selection dates, leading to age disparities within age groups.
- Athletes born earlier in the year are significantly older than those born later, creating relative age differences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and synthesize existing literature on relative age effects (RAEs) in youth sports.
- To propose a novel theoretical framework for understanding the complexity of RAEs in sport.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive literature review of studies on relative age in sports.
- Development of a constraints-based developmental systems model.
Main Results:
- Significant developmental effects of relative age differences are documented in sports research.
- A unified theoretical framework for RAEs has been lacking in the literature.
Conclusions:
- Relative age effects are a complex phenomenon in youth sports with significant developmental implications.
- The proposed constraints-based developmental systems model offers a new perspective for understanding RAEs.
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