From theory to practice
In this feature Josh Holt examines the academic theory and research relating to Soccer and explains its relevance to coaches and players operating at all levels of the game. In this issue Josh outlines what is meant by Relative Age Effects, potential causes and implications for youth soccer.
Tackling the Relative Age Effects – Part 1.
A great satisfaction of teaching and coaching youth soccer is helping young people progress into competent and enthusiastic players. You might manage a club side for local kids or be responsible for developing talented and future international players. Whatever the situation, all youngsters deserve a fair chance to play the game and progress to their full potential. However, a hidden problem exists at every level of youth soccer that hinders the enjoyment and improvement of young players. To ensure children receive equal opportunities for coaching and playing, teachers and coaches need to tackle the Relative Age Effects.
A definition: The Relative Age Effect or Effects (RAE) describes the biased situation that favours older children in each age group due to their superior physical, emotional and psychological development relative to their younger peers.
Research examining the RAE phenomenon has demonstrated an ‘un-level’ playing field for younger members of a cohort at all standards of the game, from local club and school sport to academy soccer.
RAE in talent development
Children born early in the selection year (September to November) who benefit from up to a year more growth, development and practice than their youngest peers (born in June to August) are more likely to be identified as talented and recruited by pro-clubs. In other words, a child’s date of birth is a greater indicator of talent or a perceived lack of talent than his or her ability to master and apply the necessary skills of the game.
During a recent season at one highly respected English professional soccer club academy there were 5 ½ times more players (aged u9 to u16) born in the first compared to the last quartile of the selection year. 78% of players were born in the first half of the year and only 8% of boys had birthdays in June, July or August. Clearly, the processes of initial and on-going player assessment based largely on the subjective opinion of game performance by coaches and scouts have deficiencies that the professional game must address. It is likely that a feature of the English academy system that occurs when the physical disparity between players is greatest has also increased the problem. Without an u15 games programme, academy boys at the end of their u14 season are expected to cope with the physical demands of u16 soccer. If this situation existed when the player voted the best in the English Premier League was 13 years old it is probable that he would have been released by his academy and Harry Redknapp, Spurs fans and Wales might not be enjoying their £50 million rated, prized asset.
Case studies
RAE survivor:
Name: Gareth Bale (Spurs & Wales; PFA player of the Year, 2011)
DoB: 16 July 1989
As one of the youngest in the year Gareth was small for his age and was second choice left back in his u15 academy team. His outstanding technical ability and athletic potential were obscured by the physical dominance of other players and after seven seasons with the Academy it came down to a one-match ‘trial’ to be offered a last-minute scholarship. He had a good game and inside 18 months was a first team and senior international player but it might have been very different. Gareth’s elevation to one of the World’s best players makes it hard to believe that just a few years ago his future was in the balance.
RAE survivor:
Name: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Saints & England u21; Saints Young Player of the Year, 2011)
DoB: 15 August 1993
Similar to Gareth, Alex’s technical ability was overshadowed by the superior physical development of his peers. As a u15 player he played down an age group and only became a starter in the u16 academy team towards the end of that season. Alex was not offered a scholarship initially and having been at the Club since the age of 7, was given extra-time to prove his ability. After a rapid period of growth and physical development, Alex made his debut for the Saints aged 16 years, having progressed from the u14 to first team in less than two seasons! Today, Alex is one of British soccer’s brightest young talents with speculation regarding a potential multi-million pound transfer to Arsenal.
Gareth and Alex were fortunate to have developed physically before their 16th birthday, but these high profile cases suggest many players did not survive the disadvantage of a late birth date. Due to their relative young age numerous other worthy players also fail to be identified and recruited into elite coaching programmes resulting in a waste of potential talent.
RAEs in grass roots and school soccer
Competition has a causal role in RAEs, which are not restricted to player selection in talent development programmes. Participation and drop-out from club soccer also suffer from RAEs. A recent study has shown that across the u9 to u18 ages, players who are born late in the age group are more likely to stop playing competitive youth soccer. This is more concerning when the youngest children in the competitive year are also less likely to start playing in the first place.
An unfair bias also exists in terms of attainment in school physical education by the relatively older students in 11 to 16 age year groups. Similarly, an over-representation by older children in competitive school teams is common. Assessment and team selection by teachers, as with youth coaches, might unknowingly be based on faulty notions that advanced physical characteristics are associated with performance.
British soccer is not alone in suffering the RAEs. France, Germany and Spain for example share the same issues as do numerous other youth sports such as ice hockey in Canada and ski racing in Austria.
NEXT ISSUE: Part II in the next edition of SoccerIQ will describe some practical steps for every youth coach, teacher or manager to examine and improve their own practice to help tackle and attack the Relative Age Effects. A three stage ‘R-A-E’ process is suggested that guides coaching action to (1) REFLECT and take RESPONSIBILITY for the issues, (2) ANALYSE personal coaching and contexts to know the extent of your problem and (3) ERASE the effects with a proactive, personal response.
Josh Holt gained the FA Advanced/ UEFA ‘A’ Coaching Licence aged 23 years and was an academy coach at Southampton FC, England for over 12 years. As the Head Coach at the Club’s successful Bath Satellite Academy he had responsibility for the development of Gareth Bale (PFA Player of the Year, 2011) from age 9 to u16 and numerous other international and first team players including Nathan Dyer (Swansea City Player of the Year, 2011) and Martin Cranie (England u21; UEFA Championship finalist, 2009). He is an experienced teacher of primary and secondary physical education and trained at Loughborough, Ohio State and Southampton Universities. Josh’s research has developed systems to measure technical learning during academy coaching to better determine and develop the most talented players.
Sources and further information:
Cobley, S., Abraham, C., & Baker, J. (2008). Relative age effects on physical education attainment and school sport representation. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 13(2), 267-276.
Delorme, N., Bioché, J., & Raspaud, M. (2010). Relative age and drop out in French male soccer. Journal of Sports Sciences, 28, 717-722.
Holt, J. E. (2009). The application of behaviour analysis to the coaching of academy football players: Towards a technology of elite player development. Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Southampton, UK.
Jiménez, I. P., & Pain, M. T. G. (2008). Relative age effect in Spanish association football: Its extent and implications for wasted potential. Journal of Sports Sciences, 26(10), 995-1003.
Wallace, S. (2008). Europe’s most wanted: The remarkable rise and rise of Gareth Bale. The Independent, retrievable from http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/europes-most-wanted-the-remarkable-rise-and-rise-of-gareth-bale-2120367.html
Wattie, N., Cobley, S., & Baker, J (2008). Towards a unified understanding of relative age effects. Journal of Sports Sciences, 26(13), 1403-1409.